Our picks for the best supporting actors in a comedy series from the 2009-2010 TV season.

#15 Rex Lee, Entourage

Lloyd finally came into his own, branching out as his own agent and becoming a hilarious rival to Ari Gold.

 

#14 Dan Byrd, Cougar Town

Putting up with a needy, alcoholic mom can’t be easy, but Byrd’s sarcastic yet down-to-earth son made him the funniest straight man in this show of oddballs.

 

#13 Chris Colfer, Glee

Colfer’s constant fabulousness, killer voice and deep vulnerability helped make him one of the best parts of this great new show.

 

#12 Jason Segel, How I Met Your Mother

Continuing his excellence as the bumbling giant, Segel gave another great year as the devoted friend and husband.

 

#11 Ed O’Neill, Modern Family

The elder statesman of Modern Family, O’Neill’s exasperated attempts to deal with his family’s foolishness added a great everyman quality to this terrific ensemble.

 

#10 Ted Danson, Bored to Death

Danson’s recent role on Damages proved he’s capable of serious work, but as a successful man who tags along with a young novelist/private investigator, he reclaimed his status as a great comedian.

 

#9 Danny DeVito, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Well into his career, DeVito is finding a whole new fan base thanks to his gloriously offensive performance as the increasingly gross Frank.

 

#8 Aziz Ansari, Parks and Recreation

The self-proclaimed player of the Parks and Rec department was on fire all year and Ansari became so popular that he got to host the MTV Movie Awards.

 

#7 Tracy Morgan, 30 Rock

Tracy Jordan’s quest to get the EGOT (Emmy, Golden Globe, Oscar and Tony awards) helped make him every bit as funny and strange as we’ve come to expect.

 

#6 Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family

The uptight Mitchell added a very real humanity to this show as well as some big laughs, like in the finale when a bird was loose in his house.

 

#5 Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother

There was a lot to love about Barney this season, but he would earn a spot on this list just for singing the wonderful musical number, “Nothing Suits Me Like a Suit.”

 

#4 Danny Pudi, Community

This show has a better understanding of TV than any other, and Pudi’s offbeat Abed helped point that out with his brilliant self-referential humor.

 

#3 Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family

Cam is a larger-than-life kind of guy, and Stonestreet savored every glorious minute, combining flamboyance with a Midwest background.

 

#2 Nick Offerman, Parks and Recreation

We always loved Offerman’s surly, anti-government boss, but his utter delight over the government shutdown in the season’s finale episodes helped shoot him to the top of our list.

 

#1 Ty Burrell, Modern Family

This clueless husband provided some of the funniest moments of the funniest show on TV, and after several failed sitcoms, Ty Burrell’s brilliant comedic skills were finally put to great use.

 

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John Kubicek

Senior Writer, BuddyTV

John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.