Unusually for me, I’m more up to date on the comedies than the dramas this year. Or maybe it’s not so unusual. Considering what this year has been like, we all needed a good laugh.
BEST COMEDY SERIES
Curb Your Enthusiasm: 19-2. Larry David continues to do everything wrong, inappropriately, politically misbehaving and generally lunatic funny. To try and describe what happens in a season of this series is missing the point – it’s been around for twenty years for a reason. Pro: Seriously, how many performers could wear a MAGA for the sole purpose of getting privacy and make it funny? David is an artist, and there’s no point in arguing that he keeps stepping over the line – there’s never been a line; that’s the point. This series keeps coming back after long hiatuses and still seems fresh. That’s genius. Con: Given everything going on recently, a lot of people may have a problem with a comedy about a crotchety old white guy behaving very badly.
Dead to Me: 17-2. Jen and Judy had to deal with the ramifications of Jen’s killing of Steve in the first season finale. Then Steve’s twin brother showed up. Then Judy fell in love with a girl… who happened to be the detective investigated all of their crimes. You wouldn’t think this could be funny, but it’s a tribute to Liz Feldman and the two dazzling leads (Emmy nominees Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini) that this series that so many (myself included) passed over on Netflix initially demonstrated that it has the staying power for true genius. Pro: Of all the series mixing comedy and drama this may be the most genius of the group. In the wrong hands, this is a cut rate Big Little Lies, but here everything that can work for laughs or winces can. Con: Only got four nominations total. Generally in order to win big at the Emmys, you need a lot more than that.
The Good Place: 7-1. One of the greatest series in television history completely stuck the landing. The Cockroach Club managed to save humanity, finally get to the Good Place, found out it wasn’t nearly as good as you’d think, found a way to fix that too. And after all that, everybody on the series got the ending they deserved. This is not just one of the greatest comedy series of all time; it may be the greatest merger of philosophy expressed for anyone – which is an accomplishment in itself. Pro: In what should be a fitting climax for a great series, the show got more Emmy nominations than it ever has. In an era when we are struggling so hard to determine what it means to human, this series might just be the best record. Oh, and it was really forking funny right to the end. My personal favorite. Con: Could this series be too deep for Emmy recognition? It was always funny, but maybe it’s just too cerebral to get honors in a comedy category. Which is kind of sad… but fitting for this show.
Insecure: 15-2. An already brilliant series went to new levels in its fourth season. Issa and Molly spent much of the season drifting apart due to flaws in their own characters more than anything else. When it erupted at the block party the show was building, the series actually got even deeper, showing how the three central characters – Issa, Molly and Lawrence had changed over the years. Then, just when it seemed like there was happiness on the horizon for Issa at least, the ultimate heartbreak came for both her and Molly but it may have saved their friendship. Pro: I fully admit that I may be the completely wrong demographic for this series, but I personally thought it was one of the best shows of the year. The splintering of the friendship that was at the center of the series, showing true crime series for black people as an Easter egg, and so confident in its work that Issa didn’t need to talk to herself most of the year – this is an extremely confident show and exceptionally funny. Con: You have to be a series on the level of Atlanta or black-ish to really break through the Emmys record with comedies in this category. While I personally believe that it’s at that level of greatness, the fact that it took this long to finally get nominated for Best Comedy doesn’t speak well for its overall prospects.
The Kominsky Method: 10-1
Sandy continued to deal with the mess of his life – his daughter’s boyfriend was his age, and to his surprise they bonded – which didn’t make Mindy happy. He began to rebuild his relationship with his girlfriend, and then he got cancer. Norman actually seemed to be getting closer to normal – he finally rebuilt his relationship with his daughter and reconnected with an old love, only to flub it near the end. Throughout their friendship remained both poignant and funny. Pro: IMHO, this is one of the funniest series on Netflix, which is saying a lot. Let by the sterling performances of Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin, it would’ve been easy for this series to be the male equivalent of Grace & Frankie. But it gets bigger laughs and more realism in my opinion, and after being ignored for Best Comedy after winning at the Golden Globes last year, it more than deserves to be here. Con: It’s an old fashioned show. Granted its run by one of the true masters of the genre, but its demographic is very old. And while you’d think that might help it with the Emmys, they have a tendency to recognize hipper comedies and there are a lot of them here.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: 5-1. Midge finally broke big…sort of. As she went on her first major tour why Shy Baldwin and became closer to superstardom, everyone else kept moving along. Abe tried to embrace his radical roots, Sophie tried to become more modern, and we said goodbye to their apartment. Joel tried to make his own way, running into more obstacles and love with a Chinese casino owner. Susie got Sophie Lennon as a client, for all the good it did here. And as the series entered the sixties, we got a look at was coming for everyone. Pro: Is it too early to project this series as one of the greatest comedies ever made? The Palladinos continue to demonstrate their mastery of the genre, and the cast continued to show why its one of the greatest assembled, even as it expanded (welcome back, Liza Weil!) The cast was astounded they won the SAG award for Best Comedy over Fleabag. I wasn’t. 20 nominations show the Emmys haven’t forgotten. Con: There really isn’t an argument against it winning again. The thing is, last year the juggernaut was stopped by a show in its last season. Could it happen again? See below.
Schitt’s Creek: 4-1. The Rose family finally got to the end of the road. David found happiness on his wedding day, Johnny tried to make things perfect for their son, and as they finally left the title town which they all hated at the beginning, the idea of departure left them feeling… well, Schitty. A heartwarming exit to a superb show. Pro: Until last year, this show on a network that no longer produces original programming any more wasn’t even a blip on Emmys radar. Now, it’s a sensation the world over, got Emmy nominations up the yin-yang and is the slight favorite to win a lot of awards. Con: Overnight success stories don’t happen that often at the Emmys, but given how rapturous the world went over Fleabag last year, that maybe changing. We’ll certainly see.
What We Do In the Shadows: 17-2. Yes, this is a show about three vampires who’ve lived for over a century on Staten Island. And it only gets crazier from there. Jermaine Clement is one of the most eccentric minds in comedy today and turned a series with no real names into one of the hidden gems on FX. I think it’s safe to say it’s the biggest shock of the comedy nominations. Pro: It’s weird, even by the standard of FX series, but it has a lot of pull with the Emmy voters considering it nabbed three of the seven writing nominations this year. That level of devotion indicates that it could become for the Emmys what it is on an FX: a real sleeper. Con: A vampire comedy. That’s not the kind of description that smacks of Emmys, which have trouble recognizing fantasy in the drama category. And personally, as I thought Better Things was more deserving of Emmy love, I’m inclined to dismiss it.
Prediction: I really, really want to see The Good Place triumph after everything it’s been through. But so far, it’s looking like Maisel or Schitt’s Creek will prevail. Then again, I underestimated the Fleabag juggernaut last year too.
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