N.B. These ballots are based on the official submissions and follow the Emmy rules for nominations (i.e. 10 for Programs, 6 for Actors and 5 for Casting). All ballots are in ranked order, with winners in bold.
Looking back on the 2015-2016 season, there's no doubt that the Comedy Series categories will be some of the strongest at this year's Emmy race. With the allure of "Modern Family" finally starting to wane for many viewers (including myself, a former champion of the show), the "Next Big Thing" has come from surprising new places. Indeed, all my Comedy winners this year are first-timers. And of course, one of the most exciting developments is the diversity within the quality, which is evident all over my ballots. Much of that is thanks to the greatly improved "Black-ish", which had an endlessly hilarious season that also touched on the zeitgeist in thoughtful ways. Showrunner Kenya Barris et al. certainly proved that you don't need to be on cable to fuel a conversation (or thinkpiece).
So without further ado, here are my picks for the best of the best in the various Comedy categories for 2015-2016:
OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Fred Armisen, Saturday Night Live (for "Host: Fred Armisen")
Christopher Abbott, Girls (for "The Panic in Central Park")
Peter Scolari, Girls (for "Good Man")
Corey Stoll, Girls (for "Love Stories")
Mike Carlsen, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (for "Kimmy Kidnaps...")
Sam Elliott, Grace and Frankie ("The Goodbyes")
Honorable Mention: Colin Salmon, Master of None
Previous Winners
2013: Martin Short, Saturday Night Live
2014: Nathan Lane, Modern Family
2015: Jon Hamm, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Amy Schumer, Saturday Night Live (for "Host: Amy Schumer")
Amy Sedaris, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (for "Kimmy Walks Into...")
Megan Fox, New Girl (for "The Decision")
Anna Camp, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (for "Kimmy Goes on...")
Jenny Slate, Girls (for "Love Stories")
Tina Fey & Amy Poehler, Saturday Night Live (for "Hosts: Tina Fey...")
Previous Winners
2013: Megan Mullally, Parks and Recreation
2014: Uzo Aduba, Orange is the New Black
2015: Lennon Parham, Veep
OUTSTANDING CASTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
Transparent
Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp
Black-ish
Girls
New Girl
Previous Winners
2013: Modern Family
2014: Orange is the New Black
2015: Veep
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Mike Epps, Survivor's Remorse (for "The Date")
Marcus Scribner, Black-ish (for "Any Given Saturday")
Titus Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (for "Kimmy Goes to a Play!")
Glenn Howerton, It's Always Sunny (for "Mac & Dennis Move to...")
Charlie Day, It's Always Sunny (for "The Gang Goes to Hell: Part Two")
Adam Driver, Girls (for "I Love You Baby")
Previous Winners
2013: Max Greenfield, New Girl
2014: Max Greenfield, New Girl
2015: Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jenifer Lewis, Black-ish (for "Churched")
Amy Landecker, Transparent (for "Kina Hora")
Kathryn Hahn, Transparent (for "Cherry Blossoms")
Jane Krakowski, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (for "Kimmy Walks Into...")
Carol Kane, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (for "Kimmy Goes to a Play!")
Elizabeth Banks, Wet Hot American Summer (for "Staff Party")
Previous Winners
2013: Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
2014: Kaitlin Olson, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
2015: Aidy Bryant, Saturday Night Live
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish (for "Daddy Dre-Care")
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent (for "Man on the Land")
Thomas Middleditch, Silicon Valley (for "The Uptick")
Aziz Ansari, Master of None (for "Indians on TV")
Fred Armisen, Portlandia (for "Lance Is Smart")
Jessie T. Usher, Survivor's Remorse (for "The Dagger")
Previous Winners
2013: Jake Johnson, New Girl
2014: Josh Radnor, How I Met Your Mother
2015: Don Cheadle, House of Lies
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep (for "Mother")
Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish (for "Black Nanny")
Lena Dunham, Girls (for "I Love You Baby")
Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (for "Kimmy Meets...")
Jane Fonda, Grace and Frankie (for "The Coup")
Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie (for "The Coup")
Previous Winners
2013: Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
2014: Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
2015: Zooey Deschanel, New Girl
OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
Black-ish
Master of None
Transparent
Girls
New Girl
Veep
Modern Family
Silicon Valley
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Survivor's Remorse
Previous Winners
2013: Modern Family
2014: Modern Family
2015: New Girl
