When Comedy Central created the Comedy Awards last year, it seemed like a joke. In fact, South Park devoted an entire episode to mocking the concept of an awards show for comedy. But looking at this year's nominees, it's hard to argue that these awards are infinitely better than any other awards show when it comes to television.

While Modern Family and 30 Rock lead all TV shows with five nominations each (which is like the Emmys), other big nominees include shows neglected by other awards such as Parks and Recreation, Louie and even ABC's Happy Endings.

Also great are the nominees for Animated Series, which include such underappreciated gems as HBO's The Life and Times of Tim and FX's Archer.

If there's one clear trend from this year's Comedy Award nominations, it's that Louis C.K. and Kristen Wiig are officially the king and queen of comedy. Wiig scored three nominations thanks to starring in Saturday Night Live as well as writing and starring in Bridesmaids.

Louis C.K. is the big winner with six nominations. He was recognized for acting, writing and directing his FX series, Louie, which was also nominated as a series, as well as for his stand-up special and his stand-up tour.

Here is the complete list of 2012 Comedy Award nominations.

COMEDY SERIES
30 Rock
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Happy Endings
Modern Family
Parks and Recreation

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR--TV
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Louis C.K., Louie
Steve Carell, The Office
Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS--TV
Zooey Deschanel, New Girl
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family

ANIMATED COMEDY SERIES
Archer
Family Guy
The Life and Times of Tim
The Simpsons
South Park

BREAKOUT PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
Zooey Deschanel
Josh Gad
Donald Glover
Melissa McCarthy
Jason Sudeikis

COMEDY WRITING--TV
30 Rock
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Louie
Modern Family
Parks and Recreation
Saturday Night Live

COMEDY DIRECTING--TV
30 Rock
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Louie
Modern Family
The Office

LATE NIGHT COMEDY SERIES
The Colbert Report
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Late Show with David Letterman
Real Time with Bill Maher

SKETCH / ALTERNATIVE COMEDY SERIES
Children's Hospital
Louie
Portlandia
Saturday Night Live
Tosh.0

COMEDY SPECIAL OF THE YEAR
Louis C.K.: Live at the Beacon Theater
Norm Macdonald: Me Doing Standup
Patton Oswalt Finest Hour
Colin Quinn Long Story Short
Daniel Tosh: Happy Thoughts


COMEDY FILM
The Artist
Bridesmaids
Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Horrible Bosses
Midnight in Paris

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR--FILM
Jason Bateman, Horrible Bosses
Steve Carell, Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Zach Galifianakis, The Hangover Part II
Owen Wilson, Midnight in Paris

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS--FILM
Jennifer Aniston, Horrible Bosses
Cameron Diaz, Bad Teacher
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Emma Stone, Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids

ANIMATED COMEDY FILM
Cars 2
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss In Boots
Rango
Rio

COMEDY SCREENPLAY
50/50
Bridesmaids
Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Horrible Bosses
Midnight in Paris

COMEDY DIRECTOR--FILM
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
James Bobin, The Muppets
Paul Feig, Bridesmaids
Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

STAND-UP TOUR
Dave Attell
Lewis Black
Louis C.K.
Kevin Hart
Jerry Seinfeld

CLUB COMIC
Ted Alexandro
Hannibal Buress
Pete Holmes
Anthony Jeselnik
Moshe Kasher
John Mulaney
Kumail Nanjiani
Chelsea Peretti
Amy Schumer
Rory Scovel


(Image courtesy of ABC)