Browsing through the TV comedies of the past 10 years, I was overwhelmed by the many, many strong candidates for best performances. Turns out last week’s job — curating TV’s best dramatic acting since 2008 — was easy by comparison.

There has been a resurgence of robust comedy teams in recent years, but I excluded them here. Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele of “Key & Peele,’’ Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer of “Broad City,’’ and Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein of “Portlandia’’ — they’re among my favorites, but I wanted to focus on individual roles. The same goes for members of tight comic ensembles such as those on “Happy Endings’’ and sketch comics such as Amy Schumer.

That said, there are a few supporting turns and sketch performers I just couldn’t quit. I hope you’ll understand why.

1. JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS

“Veep,’’ 2012-

If you know me, you know this was inevitable. I can’t think of a performer who has made me laugh more than Louis-Dreyfus over the past 10 years, and I’m not even counting the “Seinfeld’’ reruns I re-re-watch. Her work on “Veep’’ is classic satirical brilliance, backed, of course, by sharp writing that plays to her gifts. No one makes pettiness quite so funny, a skill she developed on “Seinfeld’’ and the entertaining “The New Adventures of Old Christine.’’ With the shallow, insincere, self-centered Selina Meyer, she has created a figure exactly of this moment.

2. KATE MCKINNON

“Saturday Night Live,’’ 2012-

I didn’t want to include sketch performers, but . . . I can’t resist here, because McKinnon is so exceptional. She has been finding just the right pitch for her topical material — in sketches, but also on the news segments — and on a show of hits and misses, she’s almost always involved in the hits. Her persona, something like Kristen Wiig’s before her, warms up the entire show. Her take on Jeff Sessions is demonically brilliant. Maybe there’s a scripted character like Selina Meyer in her future? She’d kill.

3. WILLIAM H. MACY

“Shameless,’’ 2011-

Every regular cast member on this series is extraordinary; it’s arguably TV’s best ensemble. But Macy embodies the comic — the darkly comic — side of this family show. His Frank Gallagher is Charles Bukowski by way of Charles Dickens, and Macy is inspired and seamless in the role. In critical ways, Emmy Rossum holds the show together, and her performance deserves honors. But Frank is the guy — the buffoon, the addict, the cheat, the father, the narcissist, the user — they all react to, still. He’s the dysfunction they’re trying to escape.

4. JEFFREY TAMBOR

“Transparent,’’ 2014-17

I spent extra time thinking about Tambor, in light of the #MeToo allegations that drove him from the series. But there’s no changing the past, and in the past 10 years Tambor’s turn as Maura Pfefferman has been astonishing — and surprising, given the lunkheadish quality of his two previous TV roles on “Arrested Development’’ and “The Larry Sanders Show.’’ He was perfectly natural and understated in the role, wearing Maura’s caftans and blouses without a hint of actorly strain. His performance was so authentic and deep, he seemed to have found the Maura within him.

5. PAMELA ADLON

“Better Things,’’ 2016-

I got a big kick out of Adlon on “Californication.’’ And she was a powerful recurring character on “Louie.’’ But on “Better Things,’’ she is indelible and dimensional. She is an amusing powerhouse who, as a single working mother in Los Angeles, is openly passionate, cynical, angry, chaotic, and profane. She’s a poignant nurturer, too, and those scenes in which she takes care of her three very different daughters are intimate and satisfying. Adlon brings her all to every scene of her show, making each of its many small, emblematic moments rich with meaning.

6. EDIE FALCO

“Nurse Jackie,’’ 2009-15

After her indelible turn as Carmela Soprano, Falco pulled out a distinct and rich new character, a fierce New York nurse who could save everyone, it seemed, but herself. Across the run of this extraordinary series, she drove home both the illness and the damage done — all while remaining relatable. The honesty of her performance was breathtaking, as Jackie lied obsessively, and her rapport with the indelible Merritt Wever as Zoey was its centerpiece throughout. In their relationship, the show found its best comedic footing.

7. TED DANSON

“The Good Place,’’ 2016-

Danson just keeps getting better, after decades on TV, and his role here as the wily Michael is proof. He’s fully committed to the clever madness of the show, where the good place turns out to be the bad place and then some. In his hands, the philosophical notions about life, death, and human choice that fuel the comedy are as funny as they are insightful. Is he playing his guests or are they playing him? Danson’s answer seems to be: Yes. By the way, it took me a while to decide between his work on “The Good Place’’ and on “Bored to Death,’’ which is remarkable in its very own “Bright Lights, Big City’’ way.

8. ALEC BALDWIN

“30 Rock,’’ 2006-13

This list could be filled with “30 Rock’’-ers, not least of all Jane Krakowski. And of course all the “30 Rock’’ writers deserve extra scoops of ice cream for life. But Baldwin was unforgettable as Jack Donaghy, a semi-parody of a conservative profit-based boss. Baldwin made Jack into a sly fox and not a Colbert-like buffoon, which upped the stakes on the show’s ongoing political comedy. He was a very twisted Lou Grant figure, dropping lines that still evoke Baldwin’s voice: “I like when a woman has ambition. It’s like seeing a dog wearing clothes.’’ Baldwin also deserves kudos for his Trump grotesque on “Saturday Night Live.’’ As a public figure, Baldwin’s a mess, like Roseanne Barr. But, as with Barr, his scripted characters work.

9. ISSA RAE

“Insecure,’’ 2016-

Her character, Issa Dee, makes me happy, because she’s so human and flawed and funny. Her predicaments are consistently entertaining and sympathetic, not least of all when she decided to try to be a player — “try’’ being the operative word. She’s reactive and makes bad decisions, she seems to have more awkward interactions than most people, and she rolls her eyes at the absurdities she encounters being young and black in LA; but then she finds compassion and wisdom in her tight best friendship with Yvonne Orji’s Molly, a character who could probably carry her own show. Rae doesn’t hold back as she gives us a faceted and complicated woman looking for fulfillment.

10. JASON GANN

“Wilfred,’’ 2011-14

I suspect many viewers were not fans of Gann’s broad turn as a — well, as a man in a dog suit that only one character actually sees as a man. But I found him deeply enjoyable, particularly when he incorporated inside jokes for dog lovers into his man-dog character. Gann’s Wilfred was the corrupting bro from hell, the stoner who never leaves your couch as he sucks you into his slacker vortex. But then he was also an insecure dog who dug holes in the yard for reasons he couldn’t quite understand. The energetic Gann hit countless comic notes on the show, and he had the perfect acting partner in Elijah Wood, as the wide-eyed, vulnerable, and suicidal guy who sees Wilfred as a man and possible savior.

VERY HONORABLE MENTIONS

LOUIE ANDERSON

“Baskets,’’ 2016-

He plays an unhappy, passive-aggressive and loving mother for comedy and pathos in this miracle of a performance.

ZACH WOODS

“Silicon Valley,’’ 2014-

He has been remarkable on many comedies, but he’s best as Jared, the traditional sitcom mother figure in the “Silicon’’ gang, turning gender clichés on their head.

LISA KUDROW

“The Comeback,’’ 2015-

I wouldn’t have bet money on Kudrow as the “Friends’’ alum to flourish, but her Valerie Cherish is brilliant. Extra credit: “Web Therapy.’’

LAKEITH STANFIELD

“Atlanta,’’ 2016-

An incredibly versatile actor, he’s eccentric, funny, strangely wise, and likable as Darius.

AMY POEHLER

“Parks and Recreation,’’ 2009-15

Every “Parks and Recreation’’ character was a kick, but Poehler held it all together with her noble leader. I always say yup to Knope.

TY BURRELL

“Modern Family,’’ 2009-

He takes a cliché — the uncool dad — and runs with it to an entirely original place.

LAURA DERN

“Enlightened,’’ 2011-13

She was neurotic, difficult, victimized, triumphant, and always riveting on this two-season gem.

TINA FEY

“30 Rock.’’ 2006-13

Really, Fey has been a major influence on TV comedy in general for years. But her turn as Liz Lemon was a pitch-perfect updating of Mary Richards.

MERRITT WEVER

“Nurse Jackie,’’ 2009-15

She was essential to the success of the show, as Jackie’s adorably self-conscious mentee who ultimately became the adult in the room.

LAURIE METCALF

“Getting On,’’ 2013-15

As the bossy head of an extended-care hospital wing, she was offensive, un-self-aware, and terminally hysterical. Extra credit for her Boston mom on “The McCarthys.’’

Matthew Gilbert can be reached at gilbert@ globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewGilbert.