Tony Hale is the only actor to break into the Comedy Supporting Actor Emmy race. But will a brilliant viral campaign benefit secret weapon Timothy Simons?
First, let me assure you, I love Tony Hale as a comic actor. I’ve loved him on Arrested Development. I love him on HBO’s Veep. Yet, with a supporting cast like the one Veep boasts, it’s time, Emmy friends, to ask Tony Hale to step aside and let some of the others have a turn. Kevin Dunn. Gary Cole. Matt Walsh. Reid Scott. On any series with a smaller cast, these guys would be raking in the awards. Yet, it’s incredibly difficult to break through when Emmy loves a particular actor as much as they love Tony Hale. Still, let me propose an alternative: comic ninja warrior Timothy Simons.
Timothy Simons has emerged as an extremely reliable comic presence on Veep. Previous arcs saw the political beanpole run an independent “Washington insider” website in addition to the many peaks and valleys of his hilariously inept career. Yet, Veep season five has given Simons and the audience a brilliant, brilliant gift.
Jonah Ryan is running for Congress.
I was born and raised here in the Granite State in the shadow of the majestic White Mountains. I grew up swimming and fishing in our lakes, hiking and skiing on our mountains, exploring our fields and forests and enjoying the fine dining and rich cultural offerings of our vibrant towns and cities. I attended the University of New Hampshire, first in Durham and then after a year off, at the Manchester campus and, although I left before completing my degree, I can attest firsthand to the world-class quality of that fine institution. – Jonah Ryan
The “why’s” of the situation hardly matter. Set up as a patsy to run against an recently deceased New Hampshire politician’s popular widow, Jonah had… well… a very hard time connecting with the eccentric voters of New Hampshire. He wasn’t above engaging in verbal and physical assaults with his potential constituents. None of it worked until he embarked upon a verbal tirade against incumbent President Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). That seemed to click, and Jonah’s fortunes started to rise with his poll numbers.
Now, we don’t know what will happen with Jonah, but, for Timothy Simons’ sake, please let him win. It would be astoundingly amazing to see Jonah Ryan losing yet again, but the loser note is one Simons has played multiple times over the course of the series. I’m betting Timothy Simons would love to get in a win or two for Jonah. Imagine Congressman Jonah Ryan.
With this recent enhanced focus on Timothy Simons, I’m wondering if Emmy voters wouldn’t find themselves a little more likely to consider the actor thanks to a unique and very funny unofficial Emmy campaign. Meet the Jonah Ryan for Congress website, a brilliantly funny bit of viral marketing that provides ten (as of publication) campaign ads. Each ad is more wonderfully awful than the last. Here’s a sample:
The website has gone viral a thousand times over and has been featured in many major entertainment publications. In an Emmy world where each category could be filled three times over thanks to the gluttony of excellent content, it’s side stunts like this one that could make or break an Emmy campaign.
I’m not 100 percent convinced of Timothy Simons ascension into the upper ranks of the Comedy Supporting Actors just yet, but he definitely has more buzz than Transparents‘ Jay Duplass. So, for now, he’s in the tenth slot on the Emmy Tracker. A convincing argument could be made for the talented comic actor to actually warrant a nomination, though. Simons has long labored as the (relatively) unsung hero of Veep. And he’s really, really funny on the show.
Maybe it’s time Emmy paid a little attention. After all, he’s won’t… back… down. That is, until Tom Petty follows through with that copyright infringement lawsuit.
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