Emmy Predictions: Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series

This category is a bit more complicated since the list of top ten contenders is still unknown. I’ll take my best guess at a top ten and a top five among them. Episodes submitted by performers are listed in parentheses after their names. Beware of minor spoilers for the episodes described. My analysis may be somewhat more limited here as I haven’t seen a good number of the performers and their episodes. Nominees are pictured in order of likelihood of getting nominated, and listed below alphabetically.

Revising my previous top ten predictions, I’m booting the late Stanley Kamel (Monk), though it would be nice to see him get recognized for a great recurring performance, for Dean Winters (30 Rock).

WILL ARNETT, 30 ROCK (Jack Gets in the Game)
The “Arrested Development” alum got snubbed last year for an equally hilarious turn on the show. I think the increased popularity of “30 Rock” will allow Arnett to break through, my only worry is that there will be far too many “30 Rock” guest stars in contention and Arnett may miss the mark. He was the only “Arrested” cast member to receive an Emmy nod for the third season, and I know that “30 Rock” fans love him on the show.

BEAU BRIDGES, MY NAME IS EARL (No Heads and a Duffel Bag)
Bridges has racked up an impressive ten Emmy nominations in the past twenty years, the latest of which was last year for his guest-starring role on “Earl”. The once raved-about NBC comedy has fallen off the radar, leading to a surprising snub for last year’s winner Jaime Pressly. It’s probable that Bridges should be able to return based on his name, and shows with faded buzz often still manage to do well with guest nods (like “ER” and “Law & Order”).

MATTHEW BRODERICK, 30 ROCK (Cooter)
Broderick appeared in a subdued but amusing turn as a government official desperate to escape from his job with the help of Alec Baldwin’s character in the “30 Rock” finale. I think Broderick stands a terrific chance of getting nominated based on his own name and the fact that he quite honestly hasn’t been around in a while and people might like to honor him. And voters love “30 Rock”.

VICTOR GARBER, UGLY BETTY (Grin and Bear It)
Garber is an Emmy favorite who managed nominations in this category for both “Frasier” and “Will & Grace” as well three consecutive nods for “Alias”. I’m not sure the extent of his role as a substitute teacher (?) since I haven’t seen the episode but I assume that, while he’s certainly good, he’ll miss out to “bigger” performances on other shows.

MATTHEW MODINE, WEEDS (The Two Mrs. Scottsons)
Modine turned in a fantastic performance as the seedy, manipulative yet effective Sullivan Groff on “Weeds” this season. His interactions with both Mary-Louise Parker and Elizabeth Perkins are wonderfully entertaining. Modine’s role isn’t as showy or laugh-out-loud as some of the other contenders in this category, but if he can make it into the top ten, perhaps he can get nominated. I’d like to hope so.

GIOVANNI RIBISI, MY NAME IS EARL (Bad Earl)
Formerly best known as Phoebe’s brother on “Friends”, Ribisi has been turning in fine supporting work for years and finally got recognized last year with an Emmy nod for his guest-starring role on “Earl”. Guest actors on comedy shows rarely repeat year-to-year, though Alec Baldwin (Will & Grace) and Fred Willard (Everybody Loves Raymond) did manage to do so several years ago. My bet is that Ribisi makes the top ten, but misses out on the final five.

FREDDY RODRIGUEZ, UGLY BETTY (Bananas for Betty)
Rodriguez was nominated way back when for his performance in the first year of “Six Feet Under”. His role on “Ugly Betty” is considerably less substantial, but he plays it well enough. His submitted episode has him heavily overshadowed by star America Ferrera and it’s just not as outstanding a role as some of the other actors in contention.

DAVID SCHWIMMER, 30 ROCK (Greenzo)
Schwimmer received good mark for his guest spot on “30 Rock” but the truth is that, much as he gets into his role, it’s the episode that’s much funnier than the performer himself. Schwimmer’s only been nominated for an Emmy once, for the very first season of “Friends” way back in 1995, but if he’s going to get another nomination, this is certainly it.

JERRY SEINFELD, 30 ROCK (Seinfeld Vision)
Seinfeld guest-starred on what I would probably consider the best “30 Rock” installment yet, with a number of laugh-out-loud moments throughout the episode. Seinfeld was a part of most of them, including the insertion of archive footage from his show inter several NBC series and Tina Fey conversing with him using his very own trademark voice. I don’t think people will give Seinfeld too much credit for it, but it’s possible he’ll be rewarded with a nomination.

DEAN WINTERS, 30 ROCK (Subway Hero)
Winters has been a recurring guest star on “30 Rock” almost since the beginning, but it’s in his submitted episode, “Subway Hero”, that his true comic genius shows through. He milks his newfound fame and glory by acting just like the jerk he always is. I think fans like him a lot and this is where he could catch his first big break in terms of awards recognition.

Current predictions:
WILL ARNETT, 30 ROCK
BEAU BRIDGES, MY NAME IS EARL
MATTHEW BRODERICK, 30 ROCK
MATTHEW MODINE, WEEDS
DEAN WINTERS, 30 ROCK