Which series deserve Emmy nods for Best Comedy? ('Two and a Half Men'? Nah.)

Emmy nominations come out in less than 48 hours, but before I begin an afternoon-long chanting session on behalf of Vanessa (L. Yeah!) Williams in the Supporting Actress division, I thought it was high time to dish the Best Comedy Series category.Yeah, I know, we should probably prepare ourselves for the standard operating lineup of Entourage and Two and a Half Men, as well as (deservedly) 30 Rock and The Office. But I’ve also got to believe that with the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences expanding its nominations lists from five to six contenders this year, there has to be room for at least one fresh program. With that in mind, here are my longshot candidates:

Better Off Ted:Try as I might, I can’t convince any of my friends or family members to tune into ABC’s delightfully warped workplace comedy.Is it the title? Is the fact that ABC’s decision to run fresh summer episodes feels more like burn-off than hot stuff?All I can say is that an Emmy nod might help folks get hip to a crisply written show featuring creepy corporate-advertising parodies, guffaw-worthy science-based punch-lines, and hilarious turns by Portia de Rossi as an icy boss-lady and Jay Harrington as a genial middle manager.

Ugly Betty:The candy-colored fashionista fantasy may have slipped in the ratings this year, but not in terms of artistic merit. Betty‘s got the best ensemble cast in prime-time, dressed in the best costumes on television, delivering the kinds of bitchy one-liners that translate beautifully into everyday conversation. “What is with white people and Taye Diggs?” Holla!

Okay, those are my picks. Which series are you hoping will score some love from Emmy come Thursday morning? List your faves (and your reasons why) below. And remember: Thursday’s Emmy snubs could turn out to be next month’s EWwy nominees! (Oh, and hey, follow me on Twitter @EWMichaelSlezak! Fun!)

More on Emmys:
Who deserves an Emmy nod for Supporting Actor/Actress in a Drama? (Fresh faces encouraged!)
Who deserves an Emmy nod for Lead Actor/Actress in a Drama? (Not just the usual suspects!)
Who deserves an Emmy nod for Lead Actor/Actress in a Comedy? (Underdog picks encouraged!)
Who deserves an Emmy nod for Supporting Actor/Actress in a Comedy? (Other than Vanessa L. Williams, naturally)
Dream Emmy Ballot part 5: Best Comedy and Drama Series

addCredit(“Ted: Bob D’Amico/ABC; Betty: Andrew Eccles/ABC”)