Dear Emmy Voters: A Final Plea for These Deserving Nominess

Ken Tucker
·Critic-at-Large, Yahoo Entertainment
Updated
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Because today is the final day for Emmy voting for members of the Television Academy, I’m making one last plea for a few races I feel passionate about. (Shhh — don’t tell anyone I’m trying to sway votes!)

Dear Emmy Voters,
Today is the last day for voting; you have until 10 p.m. tonight to get your ballots in. There are a couple of categories I’d particularly like you to consider, some folks who really deserve recognition this year in particular.

* Amy Poehler, Comedy Actress: She’s won a Golden Globe, she’s won a Peabody, but she’s never won an Emmy for Parks and Recreation — how unjust is that? Don’t give me that line about how the show was never a big hit: We’re talking rewarding quality here. Poehler deserves an Emmy for her performance as Leslie Knope; it’s her last chance now that Parks and Rec is off the air.

* Viola Davis, Drama Actress: This, to me, was at once one of the most brave and exhilarating performances any actor gave this year. Davis’s work on How to Get Away With Murder was superb. She took hold of this latest melodrama from ShondaLand and walked the line between over-the-top and straight-down-the middle, and in the process gave us so many scenes that were marvelously controlled yet often surprising. 

* David Letterman, Variety Talk Show: Yes, like Poehler, this is another last-chance example, but Letterman’s final season hosting Late Show found him operating at peak power. He knew he was heading for the final lap, and like the race-car fan he is, he calculated his speed (with his jokes) and control (with his interviewing) to out-pace competitors many years his junior. There’ll be other years to give the Emmy to John Oliver; Letterman merits a career-capping Emmy.

* Niecy Nash, Comedy Supporting Actress: In one of HBO’s more under-the-radar yet excellent comedies, Getting On has provided Nash with her best showcase since Reno 911. Getting On gives Nash a lot of room for her brassy toughness, but it also allows her to play subtler comedy, as a nurse with great empathy for her patients. In a category dominated by Allison Janney (who won last year for Mom), and surrounded by formidable competition like Veep’s Anna Chlumsky, Modern Family’s Julie Bowen, and SNL’s Kate McKinnon, Nash should be singled out.

* Jon Hamm, Drama Actor and Comedy Guest Actor: I’d say that it goes without saying that Hamm deserves an Emmy, so highly acclaimed as he’s been for Mad Men’s entire run, but the guy has never won one, so… last chance, Emmy voters! Also, The Hammster is in the running for his wild comic turn in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and he deserves an Emmy there even amidst competition as formidable as Mel Brooks, Bill Hader, and Louis C.K.

Come on voters, you can do it. Put these people on the stage on Sept. 20 with a winning trophy! 

The 67th Emmy Awards air live on Sunday, Sept. 20 at 8 p.m. on Fox. Be sure to tune into Yahoo’s 67th Emmy Awards red carpet, live on Sept. 20 at 3:30 p.m. PT/ 6:30 p.m. ET.