SAG Predictions: Best Ensemble in a Comedy Series

Last year’s nominees:
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
ENTOURAGE
THE OFFICE
30 ROCK
WEEDS

This is another category that could easily find itself with the same five nominees as last year. The Office and 30 Rock will be back for sure, while Weeds is a roll of the dice. Waning support for both Desperate Housewives and Entourage may lead them to be snubbed, but they’ve held on this long, so why not keep going? The strongest new contenders begin with Parks and Recreation, provided voters do actually like it. A more serious choice would be The United States of Tara, whereas the more fun selections would be fall freshmen Glee and Modern Family. Californication wasn’t nominated last year, but enough celebrity guest stars this year might help it make it there. I’d love to throw the twice-nominated Ugly Betty back into the mix and nominate the fantastic people on Chuck, but I don’t see either of those realistically happening. Never-nominated How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory could earn their first nominations given the fact that the Emmys just gave them both a vote of confidence. But don’t forget about Curb Your Enthusiasm, which was nominated for this award once (in 2006) and could benefit from the addition of four cast members this season who took home this very award three times back in the 1990s for “Seinfeld.”

Predicted nominees:
CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM
GLEE
MODERN FAMILY
THE OFFICE
30 ROCK

Final predictions will be offered on Wednesday, December 16th, after Golden Globe nominees are revealed, though that shouldn’t impact the race too significantly. SAG nominations will be announced on Thursday, December 17th, and come back to TV with Abe for a detailed look at each race.