Preliminary SAG Predictions: Best Ensemble in a Comedy Series

The following represents some preliminary thoughts on Screen Actors’ Guild Awards contenders for the given category. Predictions will be revisited following the announcement of the Golden Globe Awards nominations, which often indicates how well new shows will fare. This category recognizes ensembles of as little as four people and as many as well over twenty.

Last year’s nominees:
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
ENTOURAGE
THE OFFICE (winner)
UGLY BETTY
WEEDS

This year’s top contenders:
CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM
This is the last show I would ever think of when the word “ensemble” comes to mind, but SAG voters nominated it two years ago when the show was last eligible. This feels like a one-time thing to me because there really are only about four of them and while they work hard they are hardly an ensemble.

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
The ABC show has been nominated three years running, picking up the award twice before finally losing to “The Office” last year. I think it may be time to say goodbye to Wisteria Lane, as the show has been packing on new characters who have really been doing nothing to enhance the quality of the show, with the exception of Dana Delany. Only Felicity Huffman is generating any buzz, and just because the ensemble now includes 25+ members does not mean it is a good one.

ENTOURAGE
The relatively small but excellent cast of the HBO comedy was nominated for the first time last year. They continue to work so well together and each member has only gotten better in the interim. An HBO comedy has been nominated in this category for the past seven consecutive years, and with “Sex & the City” off the air and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” not the typical ensemble show, “Entourage” seems a safe bet.

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
I was going to put “My Name is Earl” in the top ten because it is the only other currently running show to ever earn a nomination in this category (going alphabetically, of course). It then occurred to me that if they did not nominate it last year there is little reason to bring it back (only three shows have ever been nominated after a break). Instead, how about a highly buzzed-about show as an unexpected nominee? This kind of inclusion often happens in the drama ensemble category with freshmen series, but I just feel like HIMYM is on the cusp of receiving a nomination.

THE OFFICE
While the recent episodes have waned a bit in quality, the ensemble has remained strong. They are underused to a point, but each has had his or her moment to shine in the past year. I think “The Office” is absolutely safe and could easily pull off another win.

PUSHING DAISIES
This seems like the new comedy most likely to succeed. I do enjoy the ensemble of Lee Pace, Anna Friel, Chi McBride, and Kristen Chenoweth who all bring something markedly different to the table. Throw in Chuck’s two aunts and you have a pretty impressive cast. I still think that the genre may be too much for SAG members, but this is the freshmen series with the best shot.

SCRUBS
SAG voters have had six chances to nominate this terrific ensemble for this award and never once done so. I sadly fear that it is too late for this departing series. The cast is no longer as stunningly brilliant as they were in the first two seasons, and the show itself is becoming less inventive. I predicted “Scrubs” in this category the past two years, hoping they would finally take the hint, but I think it is time to let it go.

30 ROCK
Last year, this wondrous cast missed out on a nomination when viewers will still unsure of how they felt about the show and all the buzz was for Alec Baldwin. “The Office” scored a nomination (and win) in this category following its Emmy win for Best Comedy Series, and I think “30 Rock”, with its barrage of supporting players, including Jack McBrayer and Jane Krakowski, should definitely make it in.

UGLY BETTY
Last year’s buzzed-about ABC comedy failed to win this prize after snatching up the Golden Globe for Best Comedy Series. I would hope that voters lose interest, but I am not confident that all the hype was just there at the beginning and I feel like anyone who liked it back then still likes it.

WEEDS
The Showtime comedy made an entrance into this category last year for the show’s second season. The ensemble has been just as hard-working this past year with a few notable additions and I think it should have no trouble returning to the list.

Current predictions:
ENTOURAGE
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
THE OFFICE
30 ROCK
WEEDS