If anything, I’m even more in alignment with the Comedy nominations than I was with the Drama nods. It helped immensely to see that the HCA was at least willing to acknowledge The Wonder Years, something I’m certain the Emmys will ignore. I’m also more than thrilled to see Somebody Somewhere a very good HBO comedy series that I thought would be too quiet for any awards show to recognize. And I’m glad to see that the Critics were willing to acknowledge Better Things as it left. There were some problems, but I’ll go through them.
BEST BROADCAST COMEDY SERIES.
I think everybody in the world can agree that Abbott Elementary deserves to be the dominant series. I’m somewhat shocked to see that Ghosts did as well as it did, but that was one of those shows that had a higher critical and audience reception than I thought. Glad to see black-ish being credited as it goes out the door. I kind of figured Young Rock would be here as it was nominated last year, and I’m less surprised there are no acting nominations for it, as with Mr. Mayor and American Auto. I’m glad to see Brooklyn Nine-Nine finally getting nominated as it leaves television for good. Problems with the format, it was a great comedy. The Wonder Years will be here for years to come.
BEST CABLE SERIES, COMEDY
I will note being disappointed there’s nothing for Breeders this year as there was last year. That said, it’s really hard to argue with the nominees – well most of them.
Atlanta, Barry and What We Do in the Shadows will be fighting it out for the grand prize. I’ve noted my pleasure about Somebody Somewhere and Better Things being here. I understand why last year’s winner Resident Alien is back and I can get behind The Righteous Gemstones being acknowledged. I still believe it would have been more logical for the final season of Insecure to be nominated for Curb Your Enthusiasm, but I guess I’m not that shocked.
BEST ACTOR IN A BROADCAST OR CABLE COMEDY
Bill Hader is almost certain to win here. Anthony Anderson and Andy Samberg more than deserve their nominations; I’m actually shocked it’s taken this long for any other critics group to nominate him for his work in Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Donald Glover was an inevitability and I now totally understand why Kayvan Novak earned his nomination for What We do In the Shadows. I understand why Larry David was nominated.
Can we realistically consider Utkarsh Ambudkar a lead in Ghosts and not a co-star? Perhaps it would have made more sense to have Alan Tudyk here and certainly Ted Danson. Oh well.
OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A BROADCAST CABLE OR COMEDY
I’m honestly not sure I have to criticize. But let’s go through it anyway.
Quinta Brunson is almost certainly a lock in this category. Tracee Ellis Ross and Issa Rae deserved nominations as they exited from the stage. Pamela Adlon is finally getting the love she deserves from some critics organization. Natasia Demetriou has more than earned her spot. I’ve always loved Rose McIver and I get why she’s here, and I had not dared hope that Bridget Everett would get nominated for Somebody Somewhere. I’m not even going to nitpick Jasmine Cephas Jones for getting nominated for Blindspotting even though I really thought Daisy Haggard earned it this year. Starz has never gotten enough recognition as a network and a series this raved about deserves recognition. I’ll count it as a win.
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY, BROADCAST OR CABLE
Honestly, even less to complain about. Anthony Carrigan and Henry Winkler were among my picks for this years Emmy nominations and are likely gaining ground. I had pushed for both Brian Tyree Henry and Harvey Guillen for nominations though I thought them unlikely. Chris Perfetti and Tyler James Williams are so good in Abbott Elementary I overlooked them as a matter of course. I’m glad to see them here. Bowen Yang is one of Saturday Night Live’s best performers, and I’d honestly rather see him here than Keenan Thompson. I even understand why Brandon Scott Jones, who was a surprise nominee for the Broadcast Critics for Ghosts, is here. Would I rather have seen Andre Braugher included? Sure. But nobody’s perfect, though this category is close.
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY, BROADCAST OR CABLE
Start with the very, very good. They acknowledged Zazie Beetz for Atlanta and Janelle James for Abbott Elementary, actresses I pushed for even though I thought they’d be overlooked by the Emmys. Sarah Goldberg was a sure thing for Barry and I’m always glad to see D’Arcy Carden nominated for anything, and her work in Barry was a joy. I hadn’t dared hoped that Sheryl Lee Ralph would earn an Emmy nomination for her work on Abbott Elementary, and I think Kristen Schaal’s work on What We Do In the Shadows is among the best she’s ever done. Stephanie Beatriz never got the credit she did for her work on Brooklyn Nine-Nine; I’m glad she was chosen.
Did they have to nominate Danielle Pinnock for Ghosts? Not saying she isn’t funny, but couldn’t we maybe have nominated Yvonne Orji instead? Oh well. Lot of good nominees anyway.
Writing and Direction: very few complaints. Atlanta earned both its nominations and I’m glad to see Pamela Adlon get another for directing. At this point, it’s a question of how many awards Bill Hader or Donald Glover take for their work on Barry or Atlanta in this category. And I’m actually glad to finally see Danny McBride getting some love for The Righteous Gemstones – I’m kind of shocked its taken three brilliant HBO comedy shows for this to happen. Two African-American women are competing for Best Comedy writing. About time. And Jay Duplass finally got some love from an awards show – in honesty he’s more overdue that McBride.
Tomorrow I shall wrap this wonderful group of nominees up as I consider Best Limited Series and TV Movie nominees for (mostly) Cable and (some) Broadcast. Bunch of pleasant surprises here too.
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