Can Jane Lynch Be an Emmy Host and Winner in the Same Year?

While there are a lot of big name Emmy nominees, only one of them will get to be the star of the show. After winning the Best Supporting Actress Comedy Emmy for "Glee" Jane Lynch now gets to be on stage for more than a minute, as the host of the 2011 ceremonies. But in addition to trying to be a good host, Lynch would also have to give another acceptance speech if she wins again- yet being the host could be too much of a jinx.

Lynch isn't the first Emmy nominee to also host the show, as Neil Patrick Harris did it as recently as 2009. With that kind of setup, Harris looked certain to win his first Best Supporting Actor Comedy Emmy for "How I Met Your Mother." But as it turned out, Jon Cryer pulled the upset and kept Harris winless, as his abilities as a host proved to have no influence.

That same lesson was learned at the Oscars months ago, as James Franco co-hosted after being nominated for "127 Hours." But even before Franco was tarred and feathered for his hosting performance or lack thereof, he was a massive underdog against Colin Firth. As such, his predictable loss to Firth was one last insult to injury for Franco that night.

This leaves Lynch in a questionable position, as she tries to buck the trend by winning an Emmy and hosting at the same time. Unlike Harris, she does have a past Emmy for her show and is probably the odds-on favorite to repeat. The Emmys do like to honor the same people over and over, like Tony Shalhoub, Alec Baldwin and Jeremy Piven, so Lynch could easily have the same habit as well.

But she is a lot less of a heavy favorite than she was last year when "Glee" and Sue Sylvester became cultural icons. One year later, "Glee" has taken a lot of hits and backlash for its second season, and even Sue wasn't left immune to it. As such, it may be easier for the likes of Sofia Vergara, Julie Bowen, Kristen Wiig, Jane Krakowski and Betty White to pull an upset.

What's more, Lynch is submitting an episode largely devoid of Sue's trademark one-liners. In fact, it barely qualifies as a comedy submission, since she is submitting the largely dramatic "Funeral" episode where Sue mourns the death of her beloved handicapped sister. But regardless of the category, dramatic episodes that show a character's soft side are ideal awards-bait, so perhaps the voters won't mind a lack of actual laughs. Yet can she win without her usual putdowns- and will it even matter since she's facing the even more beloved White this time?

Lynch won't win because she is an awards host, as Harris and Franco have proven, and she likely won't lose because she is the host either. But it is a hard feat to host an awards show and win one at the same time, so it is far from a guarantee. If Lynch was hosting last year it wouldn't have been a problem at all, yet considering her competition, the state of "Glee" and her less-than-comedic Emmy tape, being the host might not be enough on its own to put her over the top this time.