While yours truly hasn't done the full statistical research to back this statement up it seems at cursory glance that the Comedy Series portion of the Emmys is ever so slightly less set in stone year to year than the Drama side. But with Orange is the New Black, last year's strongest new comedy, vacating the premises for Drama contending with Season 2 there's a bit of wiggle room here and there in addition to their usual eenie mini mo playfulness in the sixth slot in most categories. More importantly this past TV season was particularly strong when it came to new comedies. So many freshmen or revived series won strong reviews and/or much media attention (Transparent, Jane the Virgin, Black-ish, Fresh Off the Boat, The Comeback, Grace & Frankie, etcetera) that it stands to reason that the Comedy nominations will look much different than they usually do.
But do they? Find out after the jump...
COMEDY
Outstanding Comedy Series
"Louie" (3rd nom in 5 seasons)
"Modern Family" (6th season, 6th nom - 5 previous wins)
"Parks & Recreation" (2nd nom in 8 seasons)
"Silicon Valley" (2nd season, 2nd nom)
"Transparent" (1st season)
"Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" (1st season)
"Veep" (4th season, 4th nom)
Similarities to last year: 4/7 with The Big Bang Theory missing and Orange forced to relocate
Potential Record Breaker: If Modern Family wins for its 6th season, it'll be the top Emmy comedy of all time. It's currently tied with Frasier for that honor though pundits believe Veep could finally dethrone it.
Jane wasn't nominated but at least her co-star was
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie" (nom, season for this character. / previously for other stuff)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "Veep" (4th nom, 4th season with 3 wins for this character. 15 other noms/2 wins)
Lisa Kudrow, "The Comeback" (2nd nom, 2nd season. 8 noms / 1 win previously for other stuff)
Amy Poehler, "Parks and Recreation" (5 noms for 8 seasons. 8 previous other noms)
Amy Schumer, "Inside Amy Schumer" (3rd season, 1st nom/1st time eligible in this category)
Lily Tomlin, "Grace & Frankie" (1st nom/1st season. 21 nominations/6 wins previously for other stuff)
Similarities to Last Year: 3/6 Dunham and McCarthy got the heav-ho for newbies and Schilling had to compete in the far more competitive Drama category (and didn't make it)
Surprise: Frankie but no Grace. And Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt all over the place but without the actual Kimmy Schmidt
Sorry About It: Gina Rodriguez and Jane the Virgin didn't fare well proving that Emmy voters still won't watch the CW.
the brilliant Jeffrey Tambor -- will he finally win an Emmy?
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson, "Black-ish"
Louis C.K., "Louie"
Don Cheadle, "House of Lies"
Will Forte, "Last Man on Earth"
Matt LeBlanc, "Episodes"
William H. Macy, "Shameless"
Jeffrey Tambor, "Transparent"
Simiarities to Last Season: 4/7 with Jim Parsons finally booted after 4 wins and Gervais no longer eligible. Thank god.
Getting On is a great great show that virtually no one watches
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Julie Bowen, "Modern Family" (6 noms in 6 seasons, 2 wins)
Mayim Bialik, "The Big Bang Theory" (4 noms from 5 seasons of its 9)
Anna Chlumsky, "Veep" (3 noms for 4 seasons)
Gaby Hoffman, "Transparent" (1st nom, 1st season)
Allison Janney, "Mom" (2nd nom, 2nd season, 1 win. 8noms/5wins for other things
Jane Krakowski, "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" (1st nom, 1st season. 4 previous nominations)
Kate McKinnon, "Saturday Night Live" (2nd nomination in this category, 3rd overall -all for SNL)
Niecy Nash, "Getting On" (1st nom, 2nd season)
Similarities to Last Year: 5/8
Surprise: 8 nominees in this category which means the voting was ultra close to trigger that.
ENORMOUS Surprise: Niecy Nash? I mean she's great on that show but in a really quiet way and the show wasnt getting attention elsewhere nor has she for other shows. The day's biggest shock? I think so.
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Andre Braugher, "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (2nd nom for 2nd season. 7 noms/2 wins previously)
Tituss Burgess, "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" (1st nom, 1st season)
Ty Burrell, "Modern Family" (6th nom for 6 seasons. 2 wins)
Adam Driver, "Girls" (3rd nom for 4 seasons)
Tony Hale, "Veep" (3rd nom for 4 seasons.noms)
Keegan-Michael Key, "Key & Peele" (1st nom, 4th season. previous nominations for writing)
Similarities to Last Year: 4/6 with only Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Fred Armison dropping out to make way for Keegan-Michael and Tituss.
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
Mel Brooks, "The Comedians"
Louis C.K., "Saturday Night Live"
Paul Giamatti, "Inside Amy Schumer"
Bill Hader, "Saturday Night Live"
Jon Hamm, "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"
Bradley Whitford, "Transparent"
Similarities to Last Year: Louis CK gets nomianted for hosting SNL again. Jon Hamm isn't a stranger to this category either having been here for a Tina Fey show before, albeit a different one.
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
Pamela Adlon, "Louie" (1st nom for this character. Previously 2 noms/1 win for other stuff)
Elizabeth Banks, "Modern Family" (3rd nomination in this category, previously it was for 30 Rock)
Christina Baranski, "The Big Bang Theory" (3rd nomination for this character)
Joan Cusack, "Shameless" (5th consecutive nomination for this character in this category)
Tina Fey, "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" (too much Emmy history to tabulate!)
Gaby Hoffman, "Girls" (also nominated in Supporting Actress)
Similarities to Last Year: 2/6 with Tina Fey and Joan Cusack returning, Fey for a different character
Unintentional Hilarity: After finally changing the rules on guest categories so you couldn't be a regular and still get nominated, the always nominated Joan Cusack, who's been cheating as a regular cast member in the guest category for the entire run of Shameless is STILL nominated, as she had a reduced role this season and thus qualifies.
Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
"Episodes" -- "Episode 409" (David Crane & Jeffrey Klarik)
"Last Man on Earth" - "Alive in Tucson" (Will Forte)
"Louie" -- "Bobby's House" (Louis C.K.)
"Silicon Valley" -- "Two Days of the Condor" (Alec Berg)
"Transparent" -- "Pilot" (Jill Soloway)
"Veep" - "Election Night" (multiple)
Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
"Last Man on Earth" -- "Alive in Tucson" (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller)
"Louis" -- "Sleepover" (Louis C.K.)
"Silicon Valley" -- "Sand Hill Shuffle" (Mike Judge)
"Transparent" -- "Best New Girl" (Jill Soloway)
"Veep" - "Testimony" (Arnando Iannucci)
Other Stuff:
The Variety and Reality categories aren't really worth sharing as they're nearly always identical -- as per usual RuPaul's Drag Race was shunned -- though it did receive its first nomination...
Outstanding Makeup For A Multi Camera Series Or Special - 2015
but in the main categories those long in the tooth zombie competition shows are still nominated for everything instead of Ru. But you can see them here.