Defamer Predicts the 2008 Emmys: Comedy Edition!
It's just two days before television's biggest event (that isn't the American Idol finale, the Oscars, or a political convention speech), and we at Defamer are gearing up to fulfill all your Emmy needs — at least, the ones that don't involve white linen slacks. Don't forget, we'll be blogging the Emmys live from the East Coast starting at 7pm EDT/4pm PDT (West Coast spoilerphobes, beware: the Emmys air here tape-delayed). So who do we expect to be taking home the hardware? After the jump, get our official predictions in the Emmys' comedy categories (for dramas, head right here):Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series 30 Rock - Alec Baldwin Monk - Tony Shalhoub The Office - Steve Carell Pushing Daisies - Lee Pace Two and a Half Men - Charlie Sheen With last year's surprise winner Ricky Gervais out of the mix, the stage is set for Alec Baldwin to take home the first of what will most likely be several Emmys for his role as Jack Donaghy on 30 Rock. Clinching the deal? Baldwin submitted the episode containing this season's instant classic therapy scene: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series 30 Rock - Tina Fey The New Adventures of Old Christine - Julia Louis-Dreyfus Samantha Who? - Christina Applegate Ugly Betty - America Ferrera Weeds - Mary-Louise Parker If this is not Tina Fey, Sarah Palin will have all the Emmy voters fired. Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Entourage - Kevin Dillon Entourage - Jeremy Piven How I Met Your Mother - Neil Patrick Harris The Office - Rainn Wilson Two and a Half Men - Jon Cryer While Neil Patrick Harris has had a career-best year, How I Met Your Mother is still little-seen. The Emmys fear change, especially in the comedy category (five-time winner Candice Bergen and four-time winner John Laroquette both eventually withdrew their names to give other actors a chance), so this award should go to the Pivs in a walk. Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Pushing Daisies - Kristin Chenoweth Samantha Who? - Jean Smart Saturday Night Live - Amy Poehler Two and a Half Men - Holland Taylor Ugly Betty - Vanessa Williams My Name is Earl's Jaime Pressly took home this award last year, but this time she's not even nominated (neither was dark horse Jenna Fischer for The Office). Kudos to Amy Poehler for becoming the first modern Saturday Night Live performer to score a supporting actor nomination, but Emmy loves a veteran, so we expect this to go to two-time winner Jean Smart. Outstanding Comedy Series 30 Rock Curb Your Enthusiasm Entourage The Office Two and a Half Men Curb Your Enthusiasm is a weak-fill in for last year's nominee Ugly Betty; frankly, we're surprised that the dazzling Pushing Daisies pilot couldn't muster up the votes to fill that fifth slot (the strike-truncated season could have sapped its momentum). All the buzz is with 30 Rock right now — not only did it win in this category last year, but none of its challengers are coming off their best seasons. If anything besides Tina Fey's expertly crafted sitcom wins, we promise to liveblog an episode of Two and a Half Men as penance.