Emmy Musings: Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Now that the 2012-2013 TV season is almost over, it’s hardly too early to start thinking about the Emmy nominations, which will be announced in July. Consider these preliminary thoughts rather than official predictions – look for those at the beginning of July. As always, chime in with your reactions and predictions in the comments, and don’t hesitate to let me know if I left any strong contenders off the list!

Last year’s ineligible nominees: Kathryn Joosten (Desperate Housewives), Kristen Wiig (Saturday Night Live)

Last year’s eligible nominees:
Mayim Bialik (The Big Bang Theory)
Bialik was a bit late to the party, earning her first nomination for her show’s fifth season. The show continues to be a hit, and unless, and even if, voters have grown tired of it, she’ll likely be back since this category likes dependable supporting players who do a great job of standing out from or blending in to the ensemble. Bialik’s character is quirky enough that she should be back.

Julie Bowen (Modern Family)
Bowen is in good shape right now, winning this category twice in a row after earning her first nomination the year before. Recently, Bowen has tended to get better plotlines than costar Vergara, which suggests that she’s a safer bet in this category since she’s asked to do more. Her two wins indicate that people do like her, and she’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

Sofia Vergara (Modern Family)
Despite the quality of her storylines, Vergara has dominated the awards circuit in the past few years, never winning but earning three Golden Globe nominations and three SAG nominations to Bowen’s long SAG nod. I don’t expect it to come down to one or the other being nominated anytime soon, but Vergara’s character has been less creative recently, so a snub is always possible if extremely unlikely.

Merritt Wever (Nurse Jackie)
Wever was nominated for the first time last year for her show’s fourth season, joining lead actress Edie Falco, who has been nominated since the show’s debut. It’s not as if one of Showtime’s more senior series is gaining popularity, but there’s no reason that Wever would necessarily be booted so soon after being welcomed into the race for the first time.

Past nominees:
Jane Krakowski (30 Rock)
Krakowski was nominated for her show’s third, fourth, and fifth seasons before being snubbed last year. Now, her show is over, and it’s likely that it will be celebrated with many nominations for its final year. Krakowski’s storylines were wild and wacky, but that’s nothing new. She’s on the fence, and could easily get nominated if voters want to commemorate one of their favorite comedies.

Jessica Walter (Arrested Development)
Walter earned four Emmy nominations for four different roles between 1975 and 2005, and the most recent was for the second season of her once-cancelled returning show. Before she was snubbed for seasons one and three, she’s not a sure thing, but it would be hard to believe that one of the most beloved elements of this show wouldn’t be recognized after such a long time off the air.

Betty White (Hot in Cleveland)
Now 91, White is a force to be reckoned with. White earned four nominations in the past four years, all for different series. She was nominated for this TVLand show back in 2011 and as a host of “Betty White’s Off Their Rockers” last year. SAG voters gave her a trophy twice in a row and nominated her last year, but I think that Emmy voters are done recognizing her for this particular role. I would never count her out though, since she could easily be back.

Other possibilities:
Portia de Rossi (Arrested Development)
I almost wrote about de Rossi as if she was a past nominee before realizing that she never did get nominated for the first three years of the FOX comedy. Now that it’s back, I think it may go into overdrive and voters will want to honor as much as they can about it, so she’s fairly likely to contend, unless voters just aren’t that into her.

Allison Williams (Girls)
I’m not convinced that anyone aside from Lena Dunham can earn an acting nomination for HBO’s boundary-pushing series, but Williams has had a standout role this year, one that forces her to put herself on the line and truly embarrass herself on many occasions. Whether that will translate to a nomination is another question, and costars Zosia Mamet, Adam Driver, or Alex Karpovsky could also take some of the buzz.