Emmy’s credibility down to ‘The Wire,’ again

Supporting actor, comedy
Jeremy Piven, “Entourage”; Kevin Dillon, “Entourage”; Neil Patrick Harris, “How I Met Your Mother”; Rainn Wilson, “The Office”; Jon Cryer, “Two And a Half Men”

A very solid bunch and you might as well roll a dice to see who’d come out on top. The breadth of Harris’ career, which began decades ago on “Doogie Howser M.D.,” makes it feel like he’s the most deserving.

Supporting actress, comedy
Kristin Chenoweth, “Pushing Daisies”; Jean Smart, “Samantha Who?”; Amy Poehler, “Saturday Night Live”; Holland Taylor, “Two and a Half Men”; Vanessa Williams, “Ugly Betty”

Couldn’t be happier for Poehler, who might be the most talented comedian on television today. Her Hillary Clinton impersonation on “Saturday Night Live” not only made people laugh, but it actually changed the nature of the campaign as well. That’s impressive.

Reality show
“The Amazing Race,” “American Idol,” “Dancing With the Stars,” “Project Runway,” “Top Chef”

Of all the Emmy news of the last 10 years, nothing might be more astonishing than the domination of “The Amazing Race.” The adventure series has won five times in a row, but clearly the buzz shows at the moment are “Idol,” “Runway” and “Top Chef,” the latter being a tasty treat for foodies. Could a chocolate soufflé finally top the “Race”?

Reality show host
Tom Bergeron, “Dancing With the Stars”; Heidi Klum, “Project Runway”; Howie Mandel, “Deal or No Deal”; Jeff Probst, “Survivor”; Ryan Seacrest, “American Idol”

This is the first year for this category and all make their jobs look easy, which is a credit to their emcee skills. Seacrest deserves major props over his competition in that he's guiding not only the most-watched show, but the most scrutinized one too. Every miscue is magnified to the nth degree. That's a lot of pressure, and he nails it every time.

Stuart Levine is a managing editor at Variety. He can be reached at .

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