Emmys 2015: Why Bobby Moynihan, Timothy Omundson, Ken Jeong, Nick Offerman deserve Supporting Actor nods

It’s funny that we sometimes have difficult debates here at CarterMatt when it comes to who to nominate for some of these Emmy Preview articles, but the Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series race was a pretty easy one to figure out. Even with so many awesome candidates (we can think of a dozen or so not on the list below), we still determined pretty quickly who we found to be not only the most hilarious, but also the most consistently captivating to watch. Some of these characters are the heart of the show, some of them are endearing, and some of them have that ability to shine even with only a line or two of dialogue.

As with every other one of these articles we’ve written at CarterMatt, we have a poll below for you to vote on your favorite from the year (or for you to include your own). Granted, we’re not giving out trophies or anything, but doesn’t bragging rights count for something?

Tituss Burgess, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” (Netflix) – While he was tremendously funny in a few isolated appearances as D’Fwan on “30 Rock,” clearly Robert Carlock and Tina Fey saw there that Burgess had potential to do so much more. Titus Andromedon is both completely ridiculous and yet completely relatable; he is a man with a dream, but no real understanding of how to make that a reality most of the time. He also has zero understanding about money and is the master of excuses. He’s one of the reasons why the Netflix series works so well, and why we’re already thrilled to see season 2 air.

Ken Jeong, “Community” (Yahoo Screen) – While Jeong was once again fantastic as Chang throughout the entire season, we feel as with Offerman that there is one episode that really locks our nomination into place: “Queer Studies & Advanced Waxing.” Chang’s storyline about a “Karate Kid” production in this episode is tremendously funny, but also somewhat poignant in how it gives you a real picture into Chang’s psyche and his longing for acceptance he’s had for some time. The guy’s had quite a journey in general, from him teaching Spanish (if you can call it that) to his attempts to join the study group to his “Changnesia” to him even at one point living in an air vent.

Bobby Moynihan, “Saturday Night Live” (NBC) – It doesn’t really matter if Bobby is playing a politician, a crazy guy like Riblet, or a wrestler being completely humiliated / catfished by Dwayne Johnson’s Coco; ultimately, he steals so many scenes he is a part of on “SNL” and has been consistently the show’s unsung hero for years. He’s almost instant energy in just about any sketch, and even with impressions he understands the importance of creating an over-the-top character to along with actually getting the voice right.

Nick Offerman, “Parks and Recreation” (NBC) – Go watch the episode “Leslie and Ron” and try to tell us that Offerman doesn’t deserve this. He’s deserved it for ears, and consistently has been snubbed by the Emmys. We’ve talked about how it would be a shame if Amy Poehler never wins for playing Leslie Knope; we don’t know how Offerman has never even been nominated for an award! Ron Swanson is to us a defining TV character from this era.

Timothy Omundson, “Galavant” (ABC) – All all the King! The moment Omundson joined this show as the title character’s main adversary King Richard (at least before Madalena more or less took control of everything), we knew this show would be our cup of tea. It somehow proved to even be beyond our expectations thanks to some brilliant songs, great physical comedy bits, and Omundson making this king somewhat endearing even if he has shown time and time again to be a pretty awful person / inept when it comes to many facets of being a ruler.

Zach Woods, “Silicon Valley” (HBO) – His name may not actually be Jared, but you can call him whatever you want and he’d still be one of the show’s best characters. Woods plays one of the more subtle presences on the series, and somehow simultaneously grounds the group and occasionally enrages them at the same time. Anytime that Jared gets a lengthy storyline on the show to us is a cause for great celebration.

Honorable mentions – Jaime Camil (“Jane the Virgin”), Andre Braugher (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”), Timothy Simons (“Veep”)