Emmy Race: Best Guest Actress in a Comedy Series

The Emmy Award nominations are still a few weeks away, but this year looks to be quite competitive in all the major categories. This year, there will be six, rather than five, nominees in the regular acting categories and series categories, but not in the guest categories. At this point, I’d like to offer a rundown of the potential nominees. I’ve profiled, in alphabetical order, the top ten contenders who, right now, have the best shot at a nomination.


Last year’s nominees:
Past winners Kathryn Joosten (Desperate Housewives) and Elaine Stritch (30 Rock) may have another shot at the trophy this year, while the other four are not eligible. Despite appearing in two episodes this season, Polly Bergen (Desperate Housewives) isn’t on the ballot. The same goes for Sarah Silverman (Monk), though her minute-long appearance this year was only in a special retrospective-style 100th episode. Both Carrie Fisher and Edie Falco did not appear on “30 Rock” this season.

The contenders:
JENNIFER ANISTON as CLAIRE HARPER, 30 ROCK
Once the most popular actress on television, Aniston guest-starred this season on today’s most acclaimed NBC Thursday night offering as Liz’s crazy ex-roommate who seduced Jack. For her role on “Friends,” Aniston picked up five consecutive Emmy nominations and a win in the middle. Both her status as an actress and the depth of her role aren’t as esteemed as past “30 Rock” nominees Elaine Stritch, Carrie Fisher, and Edie Falco, but Aniston will definitely garner some votes.

TINA FEY as SARAH PALIN, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
Fey is the hottest actress (or even actor) on television right now, and she scooped up three Emmy awards last year, for starring in, producing, and writing “30 Rock.” She lost her fourth nomination in the now-axed variety performance category, and now she’s eligible here for her hilarious mimicry of Sarah Palin during election season. No one can argue the brilliance of her performance, and especially considering how popular she currently is, she’s a shoo-in for a nomination and probably the win.

SALMA HAYEK as ELISA, 30 ROCK
Hayek had a recurring arc this past year as Jack’s Puerto Rican girlfriend who started out as his mother’s nurse. Hayek’s character was fodder for a number of hilarious jokes and plotlines, not that Hayek had much to do with that. She managed to get nominated for a less substantial role on “Ugly Betty” two years ago in this category, and “30 Rock” is red-hot right now, so Hayek is a pretty safe bet to return to the lineup for her work on NBC’s comedy.

KATHRYN JOOSTEN as KAREN MCCLUSKEY, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (2 nominations/1 win)
Joosten is an interesting case, firstly because her performance is hardly comic and her storylines usually bear the brunt of the dramatic core of “Desperate Housewives.” She picked up an Emmy after being nominated for the first season of the show, and then tried to switch to the supporting case during the third season and managed a top ten placement. She returned to the guest category last year, and somehow beat out five very comedic actresses with the relatively weak, if even existent, material she had. This year she plotted comically with onscreen sister Lily Tomlin and was subject to the wrath and framing of Neal McDonough’s Dave. Don’t underestimate her. She’ll very likely be back.

MEGAN MULLALLY as BEV, 30 ROCK
Mullally was nominated for seven consecutive Emmys for “Will & Grace” and won the first and last of them. She’s an Emmy favorite, and guest-starring on one of Emmy’s favorite shows should almost guarantee her a nomination. It may not be that easy, for two reasons: her role on the show was very minimal since the plotline required her to forget what she had just done and stammer around incoherently, and her recent ABC series, “In the Motherhood,” fizzled without even a hint of buzz. Mullally may just not be on Emmy voters’ radar these days.

BERNADETTE PETERS as JODIE, UGLY BETTY
Peters led her distinctively loud and high-pitched voice to Jodie, the head of Betty and Marc’s YETI (Young Editor Training Institute) class. She was a recurring guest star who had a clear spotlight episode (where she steals Betty’s job offer), and she wouldn’t be the first guest actress on the waning-in-popularity series to get nominated. Recurring actresses Salma Hayek and Judith Light made it in for year one, and Annie Potts got to the top ten runoff list last year. Peters will probably get just as far, and only a resurgence of favor for either her or the show can get her all the way.

AMY RYAN as HOLLY, THE OFFICE
Emmy prognosticators were shocked last year when Ryan, who guest-starred in the fourth season finale of “The Office” as a new HR rep and love interest for Michael, was left off the list of Emmy nominees. This year, Ryan dominated the first few episodes with her charm and humor, and returned for a stunningly awkward sketch at the company picnic in the season finale. She made the top ten runoff last year, and clearly just missed the mark. She’ll likely get in this year, much like Will Arnett did last year after being omitted the year before.

ELAINE STRITCH as COLLEEN DONAGHY, 30 ROCK (2 nominations/1 win)
Stritch was winning Emmys long before “30 Rock” came onto the air, and has thus far been nominated for both years of the NBC comedy’s run, winning the first time around. She appeared this year with new material, including a nurse, a boyfriend, and a very strong desire to keep Jack from finding out who his father was. Stritch has many “30 Rock” actresses to contend with here, but she’ll likely be at the head of the pack.

LILY TOMLIN AS ROBERTA SIMMONS, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
Tomlin has been nominated for 11 Emmys for acting, writing, and producing over the years, and this year she guest-starred on ABC’s fading dramedy. My reaction to seeing her on the series was one of shock and delight, although she had precious little to do. Appearing onscreen with Kathryn Joosten and on this show in particular should do her favors – Lupe Ontiveros, Shirley Knight, Laurie Metcalf, Dixie Carter, and Polly Bergen have all made it in here over the past four years. Tomlin should have a pretty good shot.

OPRAH WINFREY as HERSELF, 30 ROCK
There isn’t a person in the world who hasn’t heard of Oprah. Her guest spot on NBC’s hit comedy was momentary at best, where she played straight man to Tina Fey’s lunatic Liz Lemon. Three guest actors with bit-sized parts on “30 Rock” got nominated last year, so it’s hardly out of the question for Oprah to make it in. It just seems that voters won’t remember much of her being in the episode, and will opt for actresses with more substantial parts instead.

Other contenders to watch out for: Christine Baranski (The Big Bang Theory), Swoosie Kurtz (Desperate Housewives), Sarah Chalke (How I Met Your Mother), Gene Rowlands (Monk), Betty White (My Name is Earl), Kristen Bell (Party Down), Jane Lynch (Psych), Mary-Kate Olsen (Samantha Who?), Patti Lupone (30 Rock), Rebecca Romjin (Ugly Betty)

The roundup:
This category has the potential to be dominated by “30 Rock” ladies, but, like last year, I think the playing field will be a more even. Joosten and Stritch are near-locks to be back, and Fey is definitely getting in. Beyond that, it’s a question of whether past nominee (for a different show) Hayek and last year’s snubbee Ryan can get in over all the other popular former TV stars and personalities. I think my choices are pretty safe.

Current predictions:
TINA FEY, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
SALMA HAYEK, 30 ROCK
KATHRYN JOOSTEN, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
AMY RYAN, THE OFFICE
ELAINE STRITCH, 30 ROCK

Who could win? Tina Fey

Next Up: Best Directing in a Drama Series