Good times had by all

Tina Fey
A year ago, the future of Fey’s love-child sitcom 30 Rock was in serious jeopardy. It was intelligent, fiercely funny and entering the lexicon of its fans (“What’s on my mind grapes?”). It seemed no one was watching, but apparently the right people were—the show got picked up for a full second season right at the buzzer, and an Emmy for Best Comedy Series found its way into Fey’s hands. Now she and her Second City pals (castmates Scott Adsit, Jack McBrayer and Rachel Dratch) are flying high, especially after the second-season premiere was blessed by a visit from Seinfeld himself.

David Chase
If you haven’t heard about the cut-to-black controversy in the Sopranos finale by now, you’re probably Amish, and definitely not on rumspringa. Whether you hailed creator Chase’s abrupt ending as genius or a cop-out, it takes a brilliant man to keep fans guessing for six seasons, throw them for a loop at the absolute last second and light up TV message boards for, probably, forever.

Josh Schwartz
Once a wunderkind, always a wunderkind? That’s not how Hollywood stories go. But over the course of 2007, executive producer Schwartz wrapped up his beloved but burned-out The OC with a tidy, satisfying finale and then he followed it up with two buzzed-about, successful new shows, the charming Chuck and devilish Gossip Girl.

Kristen Bell
Without missing a beat, Bell said good-bye to Veronica Mars this year (as we all did, sadly) and scored plum gigs as the Gossip Girl narrator and a superpowered villain spot on Heroes. Overcoming a weak start, her work in the latter role earns her our coveted New Hero We Can Actually Stand and/or Are Interested in Award for Bravery in the Face of Lame Dialogue. Huzzah!

Ben Silverman
It’s good to be king. Just ask Silverman, who in May was named cochairman of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios, which means he’s the head creative honcho at the media megagiant. And he’s 37. And known as a “party boy.” And his own production company produces The Office and Ugly Betty. Some people have all the luck.

Aziz Ansari, Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel of Human Giant
Not since The State has an MTV sketch-comedy show looked so promising. When Giant debuted in April, New Yorkers Ansari, Scheer and Huebel came out swinging with material mined from their YouTube collection (like “Shutterbugs,” a series about casting agents for kids—where the phrase Li’l 9/11 comes from). MTV showed its faith in the young group by letting it take over the studio for 24 hours in May to do “whatever they wanted.” Indie comedy icons like Bob Odenkirk and Michael Showalter showed up, and the Giant website took more than a million hits. See you next season, boys.

Matthew Weiner
Who’d have thought the most captivating, intelligent new show in years would crop up on AMC? Probably the same number who thought a show set in an ad agency in 1960 would be a rich meditation on the nature of American identity. But in creator and executive producer Weiner’s genius hands, Mad Men was the breakout hit of the summer, surprising and delighting with each stylish episode.

Honorable mentions

Katee Sackhoff
Badassery from Battlestar Galactica’s Starbuck is the only thing worth saving in the robotic mess that is Bionic Woman.

The team behind Acceptable.TV
Hilarious, loopy sketch humor travels from TV to the Internet and back. VH1 shocks the world with actual innovative content.

Bryan Fuller
With the fantastic, happy-inducing Pushing Daisies, Fuller (Dead Like Me) has got the makings of a touching, witty, pie-fueled hit.