2016 Golden Globes: Why Aziz Ansari, Joel McHale, Dwayne Johnson deserve Comedy Actor nods

The 2016 Golden Globes may not be on the air until January, but that is not stopping us at all from previewing what the nominees should be when they are announced on December 10. We’re doing this article series throughout the next week and a half, and today we’re sharing what our ballot would be, were we a member of the Hollywood Foreign Press, for the Actor in a Comedy Series category. This is a fun one, since we really think that this category made a little bit of a comeback this year after sagging for a little while beyond just a handful of contenders.

At the end of the article, we’re going to be asking you to pick your own favorite! We’ll announce the results for all categories in an article on December 9 at noon Pacific time.

(Editors’ note: We are writing this article prior to the season 2 premiere of “Transparent,” and therefore cannot judge the performance of Jeffrey Tambor.)

Aziz Ansari, “Master of None” (Netflix) – We always knew that Aziz was a talented guy, but somehow this particular performance took his work to another level. While you probably laughed often watching this show (or watching, depending on your binge-watching habits), this show also has a variety of pointed, thought-provoking, and even meaningful moments. This brought our respect for Ansari’s work to another level.

Louis CK, “Louie” (FX) – Obviously, CK is the sort of performer who has a ton of respect thanks to the past several seasons of the show, and could easily just rest on his laurels. What makes him special is that he never tries to do the same thing twice. That is why he makes the show almost on his own terms, and comes up with ideas that are creative and in many ways inspiring.

Dwayne Johnson, “Ballers” (HBO) – The man otherwise known as The Rock has critically long been underrated. Commercially? Not so much, given how many of his movies are smash hits. In between his commanding presence and layered performance on his HBO show and quite possibly the best regular episode of “Saturday Night Live” of 2015, this has been a banner year for Johnson. Let’s hope he doesn’t get ignored.

Joel McHale, “Community” (Yahoo) – In many ways “Community” had such an ensemble feel through six seasons that it was harder to single out McHale in the lead role. However, there was something different about this season. He always had that great ability to make us laugh and to even at times move us, but his performance in the finale, where he realized fully (not to mention accepted) that he would be the last one standing among his friends at Greendale, was on another level. Outstanding, and terribly overlooked.

Thomas Middleditch, “Silicon Valley” (HBO) – While we don’t always get the emotional undercurrent from this show that we have with “Master of None” or some others on this list, we’d say that “Silicon Valley” is the pound-for-pound funniest show on this list. Having Middleditch at the center of the madness is a big part of the reason why. Sometimes, the guy keeping the show grounded doesn’t get the recognition they deserve.

Honorable mention – Anthony Anderson, “black-ish” (ABC), Will Forte, “The Last Man on Earth” (Fox), Rob Lowe, “The Grinder” (Fox), William H. Macy, “Shameless” (Showtime), Sir Patrick Stewart, “Blunt Talk” (Starz).