AFT Awards: Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

This is the first category of the 1st Annual AFT Television Awards to be announced. Episodes listed in parantheses for actors and shows indicate a great sample of their work, however I look at the entire season when choosing my nominees and winners. Nominees are listed in alphabetical order.

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

TRAYLOR HOWARD AS NATALIE, MONK (Mr. Monk and the Big Game)

Playing opposite Tony Shalhoub is a difficult thing to do, especially after replacing the popular Bitty Schram in the role of Monk's assistant. Howard infuses Natalie with a certain energy that overcomes her generally sarcastic nature. She becomes an important part of the show where she could easily be a throwaway character.

JENNA FISCHER AS PAM, THE OFFICE (The Job)

Fischer has been fantastic for three seasons now on "The Office", but her brilliant acting really shines in the final two episodes of the season, "Beach Games" and "The Job", where she goes from a mere secretary who gives humorous looks at the camera to a vital and excellent character. Her work with John Krasinski (Jim) and Rainn Wilson (Dwight) is particularly commendable.

ANGELA KINSEY AS ANGELA, THE OFFICE (The Negotiation)

Kinsey has for the past two seasons been somewhat unnoticeable among a stellar supporting ensemble. This year, as her super-secret relationship with Dwight heats up, her character grows and Kinsey's performance becomes unforgettable. Her relentless obssession with hearing about Dwight's act of heroism in "The

Negotation" is particularly hilarious.

JANE KRAKOWSKI AS JENNA, 30 ROCK (Hardball)

Even being noticed in a cast that includes Tina Fey and the extremely showy actors Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan is hard. But Krakowski, in a fairly limited and somewhat infrequent role, excels as the very often clueless star of the inscrutable "The Rural Juror". Her joy after telling "Hardball" host Chris Matthews that U.S. forces should have been used to hunt down Barack Obama and that she is voting for Osama in the next election is great proof of her comedic talent. That entire episode is essentially a showcase for Krakowski's brilliance (and Jenna's stupidity).

ELIZABETH PERKINS AS CELIA, WEEDS (Corn Snake)

It is hard to find an actress who acts with such a sardonic tone in every single one of her scenes. Perkins excels at that particular element of her character, but also makes her character just the slightest bit sympathetic so as to make her at least a tiny bit likeable. Her scenes with Allie Grant (her daughter) and Kevin Nealon (Doug) are great, but the truly great moments come when Celia is bullying her husband (played by Andy Milder). Picking an episode for her is truly difficult as she is so uniformly great in every one (I have also seen only half the season).

And the winner is...

JANE KRAKOWSKI, 30 ROCK

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