BEST COMEDY and BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA

BEST COMEDY

If you’ve made it this far, you can likely figure out the seven series (yes, the Academy has gone to seven now just in the series categories) that I’d recommend here. Only one is a network show, and it’s been canceled, so, sorry CBS, ABC, and FOX—although “Black-ish,” “Fresh Off the Boat” and “The Last Man on Earth” DO make it clear that there’s still life left in network comedy. In fact, any of those three series could be best comedy candidates next year with stronger sophomore seasons. But cable still rules the day with HBO producing three of the best comedies on TV, and FX claiming the fourth. What’s most notable to me about shows like “Louie,” “Togetherness,” and Amazon’s “Transparent” is how much one could accurately say that they’re not really comedies. They push genre boundaries. And then there’s the show that NBC passed on before it jumped over to Netflix—“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” the strangest comedy of the year. Again, this is an incredibly robust group, much more so than in recent years, and all but one aired in the last six months. Comedy is on the rise and it’s changing fast. Academy members have the opportunity to really look to the future with their best comedy picks this year. I hope they don’t miss out.

“Louie”
“Parks and Recreation”
“Silicon Valley”
“Togetherness”
“Transparent”
“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”
“Veep”

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BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA

As it has been for years, best supporting actor for drama is dense with candidates. What about John Slattery for the final season of “Mad Men”? Jon Voight is still bringing his A-game to the declining “Ray Donovan,” as is Mandy Patinkin on “Homeland”. What about the cast of “The Good Wife”? Alan Cumming is always a terrific choice, and I suspect “Downton Abbey” will entice a number of voters here, possibly with Jim Carter. I’d love to see a “Boardwalk Empire” guy drop in, maybe the underrated Michael K. Williams. I wouldn’t be stunned to see Sam Waterston show up here for the final season of “The Newsroom” too. And, yet while those are all decent picks, there are six better ones.

First, I’m going to break my “one per category per show” rule because I can’t pick between Michael McKean and Jonathan Banks on AMC’s stellar “Better Call Saul.” Again, Banks has the better single episode but McKean had a hell of a season. Banks seems like a definite nominee, but consider McKean again. He’s more than worthy.

Peter Dinklage certainly didn’t falter in the fifth season of “Game of Thrones,” even if I think the show is a bit down overall. Not suggesting he get nominated here is like not suggesting the sun will rise. It’s inevitable. (And a good call.) Similarly, Walton Goggins has been nominated before for “Justified” and it would be sinful to omit him for one of his best seasons. The show’s final year really let Goggins shine as Boyd Crowder realized that he may not be able to trust the one person for whom he would do anything.

Banks, McKean, Dinklage, Goggins. It leaves us with two spots. I expect “House of Cards” to be a major player again this year—Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright are locks—but you won’t find it anywhere but here on my dream ballot. The truly rocky third season of the Netflix hit was rescued for me by Michael Kelly’s arc as a man dealing realistically with the emotional and physical tolls of rehabilitation. And he has strong competition for the “Best of Netflix” title from the fantastic Ben Mendelsohn, who carried “Bloodline” as the man who came home again to a family unwilling to let the past stay buried.

Jonathan Banks, “Better Call Saul”
Peter Dinklage, “Game of Thrones”
Walton Goggins, “Justified”
Michael Kelly, “House of Cards”
Michael McKean, “Better Call Saul”
Ben Mendelsohn, “Bloodline”