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Emmy Spotlight: Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Jun 5, 2006  •  Post A Comment

With three nominations and one win, ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” dominated this category last year, and the panelists seem to think it could happen again. “There are really four more or less equal co-leads,” said Lifetime’s Tim Brooks. “It now becomes a game to see if each of them can win her own Emmy.”

TV Guide’s Matt Roush is thinking along the same lines. “‘Desperate Housewives’ has forever changed this playing field,” he said. But he adds, “This season, they’re not the only players.”

One player who could stop the “Housewives” juggernaut is Mary-Louise Parker of Showtime’s “Weeds,” who got the attention of a number of panelists. And Debra Messing is another strong contender in the final season of NBC’s Emmy darling “Will & Grace.”



TVWeek’s Emmy Panel

  • Matt Roush, senior TV critic for TV Guide

  • Diane Gordon, author of the television e-mail newsletter The Surf Report

  • Tim Brooks, executive VP of research for Lifetime

  • Ray Solley, program development consultant



    Panelists’ predictions

    Mary-Louise Parker, ‘Weeds’ (Showtime)

    “I don’t think the show was on enough people’s radar, but those who watched saw the many shades of Parker’s luminous performance and kept coming back for more.”

    -Diane Gordon



    Marcia Cross, ‘Desperate Housewives’ (ABC)

    “If there were justice, she’d be the housewife to beat. Even when the reviews were bruising this season, this actress and her character of the twisted, tragic Bree rose above-if not with dignity, then with conviction.”

    -Matt Roush



    Felicity Huffman, ‘Desperate Housewives’ (ABC)

    “She won last year. She got an Oscar nomination. There’s nothing not to like about her, except for the silly story lines she was trapped in at her workplace.”

    -Matt Roush



    Teri Hatcher, ‘Desperate Housewives’ (ABC)

    “‘Housewives’ is still so strong and so visible that Hatcher will continue to score nominations for her celebrity, even though her dithery character was arguably the worst served by the story lines.”

    -Matt Roush



    Debra Messing, ‘Will & Grace’ (NBC)

    “It’s the show’s final season and there are still people who think she’s the next Lucille Ball.”

    -Diane Gordon

    “Voters love this intelligently written (and gay) show.”

    -Tim Brooks



    TelevisionWeek staff picks

  • Lisa Kudrow, ‘The Comeback’ (HBO)

  • Debra Messing, ‘Will & Grace’ (NBC)

  • Mary-Louise Parker, ‘Weeds’ (Showtime)

  • Marcia Cross, ‘Desperate Housewives’ (ABC)

  • Julia Louis-Dreyfus ‘The New Adventures of Old Christine’ (CBS)



    2005 contenders

    Winner: Felicity Huffman, ‘Desperate Housewives’ (ABC)



    Other nominees:

  • Marcia Cross, ‘Desperate Housewives’ (ABC)

  • Teri Hatcher, ‘Desperate Housewives’ (ABC)

  • Patricia Heaton, ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ (CBS)

  • Jane Kaczmarek, ‘Malcolm in the Middle’ (Fox)