'Mad Men', 'The Office' Stars Switch Up Their Emmy Submissions

With Emmy submission season upon the television community, Ed Helms of "The Office" and "Mad Men" star January Jones have decided they'll heed words once spoken by "Cathy" cartoonist Cathy Guisewite: "If at first you don't succeed, try something different."

The two are respectively swapping out their traditional Emmy categories and breaking some new ground. While the good reasons backing their respective switches abound, how the moves will pan out could vary.

First off, take Helms. He's a reliably delightful, over-the-top cornball as loveable Dunder Mifflin sycophant-turned-regional-manager Andy Bernard. Filling the departed Steve Carell's shoes is about as thankless a job as a sitcom star could be given, considering how iconic and central to the series Carell's Michael Scott was from the show's debut.

But God love him, Helms is as fitting and acceptable a substitute as there could be.

Though he's playing a more central role than ever to offset the loss of Carell, there's room for speculation about whether joining the Best Actor field could really be called a promotion. True, Helms has always submitted himself as a Best Supporting Actor candidate, never receiving even a nomination. But even if he gets a nod this year, he could be a long underdog. "The Office" looks like a shadow of its former self without Carell's presence this season. If nominated, Helms represents a declining show against a two-time winner from one of prime time's strongest-performing comedies coming off its strongest season yet, Jim Parsons of CBS' "The Big Bang Theory".

Meanwhile, Jones' move makes sense on a few fronts.

Her Betty Francis has been seen noticably less this season of "Mad Men", not even being seen in the two-hour AMC season premiere. Had Jones entered the Best Actress field as she often does, she'd have likely only been overshadowed by more visible performers.

It's not like luck has ever been hers in the category, in the first place. In four previous seasons, she's been nominated once in 2010. She lost to Kyra Sedgwick for her work on TNT's "The Closer". This season, she'd face 2011 victor Juliana Marguiles of "The Good Wife".

In the Best Actress category, there's no incumbent defending her crown. The 2011 winner, Margo Martindale of "Justified", is no longer with the show, leaving the field more open.