Emmy Winner Predictions: Best Comedy Series

Nominees are pictured and listed in alphabetical order. Submitted episode titles are in parentheses. Beware of major spoilers for listed episodes.

THE BIG BANG THEORY
"The Closet Reconfiguration" / "The Bakersfield Expedition"
"The Tangible Affection Proof" / "The Egg Salad Equivalency"
"The Love Spell Potential" / "The Spoiler Alert Segmentation"

I don’t watch this show regularly, but I always look forward to watching the submitted episodes in advance of Emmy night. This year’s crop was very consistently funny, and I also enjoyed the three episodes chosen by the nominated actors. Tape one features a slightly dramatic look at Howard’s relationship with his father and an extremely humorous trip to Comic-Con. Tape two focuses on Valentine’s Day and Sheldon failing at understanding the nature of sexual harassment. Tape three shows the gang playing “Dungeons and Dragons” and a major shift in living situations among these friends. The only CBS sitcom in the past twenty years to win this award was “Everybody Loves Raymond,” and, great as this show is, I don’t see it winning this year or any year except perhaps its last.

GIRLS
"Bad Friend" / "It’s a Shame About Ray"
"One Man’s Trash" / "It’s Back"
"On All Fours" / "Together"

After performing better than expected last year, this show is back for its less impressive second year. I have mixed feelings about these submissions, and I’ll start by saying that there’s almost no chance that this show will win. The first tape is actually the best since it contains two truly compelling episodes from early in the season, featuring Hannah finding herself in the right for once and everything falling apart in the next episode. On tape two, “One Man’s Trash” is terrific, but I really didn’t like “It’s Back,” Which reintroduced Hannah’s OCD. Tape three I like least, since it features the final two episodes of the season, the first of which is disturbing but effective, while the second is interesting but not justified by what happened before it. This season was a bit messy, and I think these submissions echo that.

LOUIE
"Telling Jokes/Set Up" / "Daddy’s Girlfriend, Part 1"
"Late Show, Part 1" / "Late Show, Part 2"
"Late Show, Part 3" / "New Year’s Eve"

This show finally broke into the top category for its third season, and Louis C.K. is flush with nominations once again. This is a show I don’t watch regularly and don’t particularly like, though I’ll admit it grew on me as I was watching it this season. Tape one comes early in the season and features two awkward but entertaining installments. Tapes two and three contain the final four episodes of the season, which are good but are severely dark and depressing at points. I know voters love C.K., and this show winning wouldn’t surprise me, but is this really what constitutes the Best Comedy Series on television? I’m not so sure, and I think this show won’t win as a result of its unusual tone.

MODERN FAMILY
"Fulgencio" / "Career Day"
"The Butler’s Escape" / "Arrested"
"Mistery Date'" / "Party Crasher"

This show has won three times in a row, and some viewers are just as sick of it as Emmy voters seem to love it. I liked about half of these episodes, while I was less enthusiastic about the other half, conveniently evenly split, one per tape. “Fulgencio” was decently funny, while “Career Day” wasn’t all that interesting. “The Butler’s Escape” was uninventive, while “Arrested” was a lot of fun. “Mistery Date,” Ty Burrell’s submitted episode, is great, while Manny’s surprise party in “Party Crasher” was disappointing. The issue is that, aside from the final season of “30 Rock,” there isn’t really another show that might be able to unseat it, so I still consider it the frontrunner.

30 ROCK
"Stride of Pride" / "A Goon’s Deed in a Weary World"
"Mazel Tov, Dummies!" / "My Whole Life is Thunder"
"Hogcock!" / "Last Lunch"

Though I often forget it, I do like this show, but I find some of its episodes wholly ridiculous. I’m really not a fan of tape two, which features an unfunny wacky wedding and the degradation of women. Tape one is half good thanks to Jack’s enlistment of typical partners and less exciting because of the silly Willy Wonka theme. Tape three, on the other hand, contains the two-part season finale, which, to its credit, was pretty funny. I can’t comprehend why the best episode of the season, “Governor Dunston,” wasn’t submitted. This show won three times in a row before “Modern Family” knocked it from its perch three times in a row, and if voters want to recognize it again, which I imagine they might, this is their last chance to do it.

VEEP
"Midterms" / "First Response"
"Hostages" / "Helsinki"
"Running" / "D.C."

I’m thrilled that this comedy, which currently ranks as my second-favorite on TV, got nominated again, along with two more cast members in addition to Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who won the lead actress trophy last year. Tape one contains the season premiere and the episode in which Selina does an interview. Tape two includes Sue testifying and Selina getting hit on by the Finnish prime minister’s husband. Tape three is the final two episodes of the season, which were great, particularly the awesome finale. If this show won, I would be overjoyed? It’s a spoiler for sure, but its chances of an upset are low.

What should win (based on entire season): “Veep”
What should win (based on individual episodes): “Veep” or “The Big Bang Theory”
What will win: Short of “30 Rock” getting a farewell nod, it will be Modern Family for the fourth time.

Next up: That’s a wrap!