A little advice for Emmy voters

New vs. old, network vs. cable: It's shaping up to be an interesting field of Emmy nominees. At least it will be if voters mark their ballots wisely — which has never been the way to bet with Emmy voters. We'll know when nominations are announced July 8; but in the meantime, USA TODAY offers a little advice on who should make the cut.

Comedy series

The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Glee (Fox)
The Middle (ABC)
Modern Family (ABC)
Nurse Jackie (Showtime)
30 Rock (NBC)

In the best-comedy category, voters might want to look past some fading favorites — and past their curious recent fondness for deservedly obscure oddities — and embrace a few shows that have the temerity to be both popular and good. It was a crime last year that The Big Bang Theory was not nominated for best comedy, a crime that would be compounded in a season when it was even better and better-liked.

What should join it? The wonderful problem voters face this year is that even with an expanded roster (they now can choose six nominees rather than five), there isn't room for all of the shows that merit recognition. That's long been true of the dramas, but it's a refreshing experience for the sitcoms.

The best course is to start with the best new comedy — and maybe the best comedy, period —Modern Family. Next, throw in the exuberant, sometimes uncontrolled pleasures of Glee, an odd fit for the category, but an essential one. Add Nurse Jackie, which is not precisely a comedy either, but is most definitely Emmy-worthy. For the final two spots, I'd go with The Middle and, despite its fall-off this season, 30 Rock. But good cases can be made for Cougar Town, Community or Better Off Ted — which means voters should ignore the not-so-good case that will surely be made in some corners for Parks & Recreation.

Drama series

Breaking Bad (AMC)
TheGood Wife (CBS)
Lost (ABC)
Mad Men (AMC)
Rescue Me (FX)
True Blood (HBO)

As they have been for years, the riches are even more abundant on the drama side, which is why it's so hard for new nominees to break through. Still, break they must, starting with the season's best new drama, CBS' The Good Wife, and including HBO's best series, True Blood — a wildly entertaining show that has yet to register with vampire-averse voters.

Despite our yearning for change, the voters also have to make room for three of last year's nominees: Mad Men, Breaking Bad and Lost, which ended its vastly influential run with a fabulous, much-discussed finale.

That leaves just one more spot, which should go to the underrated (and, I fear, forgotten) Rescue Me — but will more likely go to Treme, Damages, Dexter, House or, if its most rabid critical fans have their say, Sons of Anarchy.

Which, if nothing else, would keep things interesting.

Lead actor, drama

•Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad (AMC)
•Michael C. Hall, Dexter (Showtime)
•Timothy Olyphant, Justified (FX)
•Matthew Fox, Lost (ABC)
•Denis Leary, Rescue Me (FX)
•Jon Hamm, Mad Men (AMC)

Let's start with TV's toughest category. Whomever you choose, you have to resign yourself to rejecting someone with an almost equally good claim.

It's almost impossible to imagine a nominee list without last year's winner, Cranston, or two of the men he edged out, Hamm and Hall. And it would be nice if the voters took this one last chance to recognize Fox, though it's more likely that broadcast spot will go to House's also excellent Hugh Laurie. For the final two spots, I'd pick the entertaining Olyphant and the fearless Leary, but I could also be content with Ray Romano (Men of a Certain Age), Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights), Joshua Jackson (Fringe), Simon Baker (The Mentalist) or Kiefer Sutherland (24).

Lead actress, drama

•Khandi Alexander, Treme (HBO)
•Glenn Close, Damages (FX)
•Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife (CBS)
•Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer (TNT)
•Anna Paquin, True Blood (HBO)
•Connie Britton, Friday Night Lights (NBC)

Repeat after me, voters: Khandi Alexander. Snubbing her brilliant performance in The Corner remains one of Emmy's greatest sins; doing so again for Treme would be unforgivable.

Nor would it be easy to forgive the voters if they skipped over one of the signature, showcase performances of the year, Margulies' triumph in The Good Wife, though such a mistake seems as unlikely as a failure to renominate Close and Sedgwick.

Now let's hope they make room for Paquin, and remember that Britton, who last year put herself up in the supporting-actress category, has moved into the more fitting lead category. Of course, they'll also have to remember that Friday Night Lights is on the air, which may be too much to ask.

Lead actor, comedy

•Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock (NBC)
•Neil Flynn, The Middle (ABC)
•Joel McHale, Community (NBC)
•Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
•Matthew Morrison, Glee (Fox)
•Johnny Galecki, The Big Bang Theory (CBS)

Last year, Parsons' nomination marked Bang's first big Emmy breakthrough. This year, it would be nice if he won as well. But for now, let's settle for getting him and his co-star, Johnny Galecki, nominated.

No doubt voters will want to renominate Baldwin, as well they should: He's the most consistently funny component of a wildly inconsistent show. Otherwise, though, the time has come to clear some of the old names out of this category and substitute three first-year stars: Morrison, McHale and, in particular, Flynn — who proved he could be just as winning as a normal dad on The Middle as he was as a deranged janitor on Scrubs. But don't look for any Modern Family names: They're all in support.

Lead actress, comedy

•Courteney Cox, Cougar Town (ABC)
•Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine(CBS)
•Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie (Showtime)
•Patricia Heaton, The Middle (ABC)
•Toni Collette, United States of Tara (Showtime)
•Lea Michele, Glee (Fox)

Here's a nice turn of events: The comedy actress category has become as tough to winnow down as its male dramatic counterpart. Thank the arrival of such terrific shows as Cougar Town, The Middle and Nurse Jackie — which is why any list that doesn't include Cox, Heaton and Falco is no list at all. (Falco, in fact, may be giving the best performance by any actor in any category.) And while Tara has slipped a bit in its second season, Collette surely hasn't.

That leaves two slots, and many more contenders. I'd go with Michele and Louis-Dreyfus, but would understand if nods went to Big Bang's Kaley Cuoco, Drop Dead Diva's Brooke Elliott, Desperate Housewives' Eva Longoria or Parks and Recreation's Amy Poehler. And I'd let Emmy favorite Tina Fey sit this one out.

Supporting actor, drama

•Alexander Skarsgard, True Blood (HBO)
•Josh Holloway, Lost (ABC)
•Michael Emerson, Lost (ABC)
•John Noble, Fringe (Fox)
•Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad (AMC)
•Lenny Clarke, Rescue Me (FX)

The Fringe finale alone should assure a spot for Noble, who was overlooked last year. Paul would seem to be a shoo-in, as would Clarke if people paid attention to his work in Rescue's last few episodes. You could fill out the rest with any actors from True Blood and Lost, but please don't forget Holloway, who was in many ways the sexy soul of Lost's final season.

Supporting actress, drama

•Lisa Edelstein, House (Fox)
•Christina Hendricks, Mad Men (AMC)
•Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife (CBS)
•Mary Lynn Rajskub, 24 (Fox)
•Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy(ABC)
•Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy (ABC)

Panjabi is the surprise here, as she (and the writers) turned what had seemed to be a background character into one of TV's strongest, most interesting women. Voters may also want to consider Men's Elizabeth Moss, who is back in the supporting category this year — but Hendricks really had the stronger year.

Supporting actor, comedy

•Ty Burrell, Modern Family (ABC)
•Ed O'Neill, Modern Family (ABC)
•Simon Helberg, The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
•Josh Hopkins, Cougar Town (ABC)
•Chris Colfer, Glee (Fox)
•Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother(CBS)

How tough is this category? You could make another excellent list out of six different actors: Clark Gregg (Old Christine), Paul Schulze (Nurse Jackie), Eric Stonestreet and Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family), Dan Byrd and Brian Van Holt (Cougar Town) — and you'd still be leaving off Two and a Half Men's Jon Cryer, Community's Danny Pudi, Cougar Town's Ian Gomez and Modern Family's Rico Rodriguez.

Supporting actress, comedy

•Julie Bowen, Modern Family (ABC)
•Jane Lynch, Glee (Fox)
•Busy Philipps, Cougar Town (ABC)
•Sofia Vergara, Modern Family (ABC)
•Eden Sher, The Middle (ABC)
•Emily Rutherfurd, The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS)

Lynch will certainly be nominated, and Bowen and Vergara certainly should be. So let's make a special pitch for Sher, who has made her Sue the sweetest, strangest, most inappropriately optimistic teenager on TV.

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