2016 Emmy Nomination Predictions: Best Actress in a Comedy Series

2016 Nomination Predictions
Ellie Kemper "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"
Julia Louis-Dreyfus "Veep"
Melissa McCarthy "Mike & Molly"
Tracee Ellis Ross "black-ish"
Amy Schumer "Inside Amy Schumer"
Lily Tomlin "Grace and Frankie"

Other Contenders - Jane Fonda "Grace and Frankie", Rachel Bloom "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend", Constance Wu "Fresh Off the Boat", Anna Faris "Mom", Lena Dunham "Girls", Aya Cash "You're the Worst", Micheala Watkins "Casual", Mindy Kaling "The Mindy Project", Sharon Horgan "Catastrophe", Wendi McLendon-Covey "The Goldbergs", Gina Rodriguez "Jane the Virgin", America Fererra "Superstore", Ilana Glazer "Broad City", Abbi Jacobson "Broad City", Sutton Foster "Younger", Rashida Jones "Angie Tribeca", Maria Bamford "Lady Dynamite", Laurie Metcalf "Getting On", Jamie Lee Curtis "Scream Queens", Emma Roberts "Scream Queens", Martha Plimpton "The Real O'Neals", Emmy Rossum "Shameless", Dianne Wiest "Life in Pieces", Lennon Parham "Playing House", Jessica St. Clair "Playing House"

Commentary - With Kudrow, Poehler, and Falco all gone, this race is wide open. The other three laides Tomlin, Louis-Dreyfus, Schumer feel safe, and without so much competition, I feel good about Ellie Kemper, who is awesome on a show voters clearly like. The last two slots are tricky. I think that the overwhelming positive buzz for this second season of black-ish is going to cause them to get a lot of new nominations in the Comedy categories, especially as other shows are fading or are now gone. If they go for this show, then Tracee Ellis Ross has to be a part of this conversation. I think she's in, she certainly deserves it. But her nomination banks on voters finally realizing just how good that show is. The final slot is tricky. Jane Fonda should be in if Tomlin is, but its weird they passed over her last year. Anna Faris is way overdue, Lena Dunham returns with a great season of Girls, and Constance Wu has practically a cult following. But I think that Melissa McCarthy once again defies the odds and gets back in for a very emotional final season of Mike & Molly. She has pulled off this feat before, bouncing back in after missing out, and has won when nobody saw it coming. But what about Rachel Bloom? Everybody predicted Gina Rodriguez, and it has yet to happen, and now here is Rachel Bloom. Another big precursor winner from another quirky CW show. The CW has never really made its mark. Until it does, I am leaving her out. There is Mindy Kaling, the Broad City duo, Horgan and Watkins from Amazon, Rodriguez again, Ferrera a previous winner, the duo from Scream Queens and Playing House, Sutton Foster, Emmy winner Martha Plimpton, Emmy and Oscar winner Dianne Wiest and the widely underrated role of Laurie Metcalf in Getting On. Women may struggle to find great roles on film, but on television, there are so many to choose from, you wish you had 10+ slots.