Why He Will Be Nominated: Ansari plays Tom perfectly: He's sleazy without being gross and lame without being annoying. We still love Tom, even though he's an absolute idiot. Or do we love him because he's an idiot? Whatever, the point is we love him. A lot. Plus, the whole Tom-Ann stuff this year was amazing.
Why He Won't: You know we love you, Ansari, but Parks and Recreation will only get one nomination in this category (if we're lucky), and it's simply your costar Nick Offerman's turn. Stay golden.
Do you think he'll get a nomination? Go vote for your favorite!
Why He Will Be Nominated: It's Phil Dunphy, yo! Seriously, do we need to go on?
Why He Won't: Modern Family could have four horses in this race this year, meaning the show's vote could be split four ways, leaving plenty of room for a dark horse to come in and win.
Why He Will Be Nominated: During Glee's somewhat hit-or-miss third season, the ever-consistent Colfer proved to be a much-needed grounding force for the Fox hit. And is there any other actor who can make us laugh and cry in one scene as easily as Colfer does? We think not!
Why He Won't: We're not sure Colfer, who has already been nominated two times by the Academy but has never won, was given enough material this season to warrant a nomination.
Why He Will Be Nominated: We don't think there's ever been a guy on TV quite like Adam. He's emotional. He's funny. He's disgusting. He's aggressive. He's complex. He can be sweet. He can be cruel. He can be supportive. He can be brutally honest and hurtful. It sounds impossible for one character to be all of these things on a half-hour comedy about hipsters in Brooklyn, but that is the beauty of Mr. Driver: He makes it look easy.
Why He Won't: At the end of the day, Girls is about, well, the girls.
Why He Will Be Nominated: While costar Danny Pudi gets a lot of the attention (and deservedly so), the true star of Community's ambitious third season for us was Glover, whose reaction shots alone are worthy of a nom.
Why He Won't: Though it's a cult favorite, Community hasn't been an awards-show mainstay. To (kind of) quote Abed, not cool. Not cool, not cool, not cool. Plus, could the show's recent controversy surrounding creator Dan Harmon's exit tarnish the Greendale gang's rep?
Why He Will Be Nominated: Who's that girl? More like who's that guy? At least, that's what New Girl viewers were saying after they were introduced to the scene-stealing eccentric that is Schmidt. Who knew Veronica Mars' Deputy Leo had that perfect comedic timing hiding behind that sweet smile? Greenfield was the sitcom breakout star of the season and New Girl was a critical darling.
Why He Won't: Considering Modern Family already owns at least half of the slots, Greenfield and his costar Jake M. Johnson could split the vote. Schmidt happens, you know?
Why He Will Be Nominated: Critics love them an Arrested Development alum, don't they?! Bonus: Hale is incredibly endearing as Gary on the pretty cynical HBO comedy.
Why He Won't: All of Veep's buzz (and is there really that much of it?) is centered on star Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Why He Will Be Nominated: Um, he's Neil Patrick Harris? And, hello, it's Barney Stinson. In case you haven't heard...he's legendary. (No need for the "wait for it" on that one, we all knew it was coming.)
Why He Won't: Could How I Met Your Mother fatigue, now that seven seasons are under its belt, be setting in with voters? We'll find out soon enough.
Why He Will Be Nominated: Often playing the straight man to his slightly more animated and cartoonish roommate, New Girl let Johnson rip towards the latter half of the season and my how beautiful it was to watch.
Why He Won't: There's only room for one male New Girl roommate on the ballot and co-star Max Greenfield simply garnered more attention during the show's freshman season. Bottle those tears for your future self, Johnson!
Why He Will Be Nominated: Parks and Recreation has been building steam in the past couple seasons, and Ron Swanson is consistently a highlight of each episode. Offerman has yet to be recognized, and this feels like the year of P-Rex.
Why He Won't: Parks and Rec got off to a rocky start in season one, and Emmy voters are just now recognizing the show as a whole. Like last year, they might think giving a nod to Amy Poehler is enough for this year. Plus, Offerman had less to do this season. He really should've gotten the nod last year. (We're still bitter).
Why He Will Be Nominated: Oh, his character, Max, the straightest gay dude you'll ever have the pleasure of accepting a limousine ride from, is only one of the best characters currently on television. Oh, and Pally can just as easily bring the emotion as he can the funny. Yeah, we're going to stop gushing now.
Why He Won't: Could Happy Endings, and Pally, be too fast-paced and quick to stick with Emmy voters? Possibly.
Why He Will Be Nominated: On a show filled to the brim with scene-stealers, Pudi is often the scene-stealiest...and he's the heart at the center of the quirky little show that could.
Why He Won't: He's already been unjustly left off the ballot twice before and we don't think the Academy will be changing their tune about the NBC comedy anytime soon. If they haven't gotten It by now...
Why He Will Be Nominated: Let us count the ways: 1) He's already been nominated twice. 2) He won the award in 2010. 3) Look up the definition of scene-stealer in the TV dictionary and chances are you'll find a picture of Stonestreet. The man doesn't even need words, he's that good.
Why He Won't: Stonestreet's biggest competition? His three costars Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ed O'Neill and Ty Burrell, who is definitely the favorite heading into this race.
Why He Will Be Nominated: How many actors in this crazy ol' town they call Hollywood are as willing as Van Der Beek to openly embrace and mock their past jobs? Answer: not many, which is why Van Der Beek's outlandish version of himself on the ABC breakout comedy is such a breath of fresh air. Who needs vanity when you have a sense of humor?
Why He Won't: Is it really that much of a stretch to play an exaggerated version of yourself? That is the question facing the Academy when it comes to Dawson. Still, Matt LeBlanc proved it's possible with his turn as himself on Episodes, right?
Why He Will Be Nominated: While Happy Endings flew a bit under the radar in its first season, the same cannot be said for its sophomore outing, when it was arguably one of the most consistently funny comedies of the year. Wayans looks to have the edge over his costars thanks to his Critics' Choice nomination. Wheeeee!
Why He Won't: We're not sure Happy Endings is a favorite amongst voters, which is a damn shame. If he can twirl, why can't a brother get a nomination?
NEXT GALLERY: 2012 Emmy Contenders: Supporting Actor in a Drama