Outstanding Comedy
Series
Last year Outstanding Comedy Series was far and
away the strongest of the three major categories. And if anything this year
will be even more contentious. With Curb Your Enthusiasm and Reservation
Dogs finished and Palm Royale ineligible this would leave open three
slots for contenders in multiple categories. Furthermore several of the shows
that made an impressive debut before the strike returned for brilliant second
seasons and we have a far more impressive lot of freshmen comedy series than we
have since the beginning of the decade.
Four of last year's frontrunners I have no
problem with coming back this year, even though I haven't seen two of them yet.
I have zero problem with two of the most likely newcomers as freshmen, though I
have yet to see one of them and I have no problem with the most likely
newcomer. As for the last spot, that one I'm going to go off the reservation.
Here are my predictions for Outstanding Comedy
Series.
Abbott Elementary (ABC)
You wouldn't think after four seasons of reviving
the network comedy there would be any ways left for Quinta Brunson's remarkable
series to astonish viewers. And it's almost like Brunson goes out of her way
each season to find new and hysterical ways to prove us all wrong.
After three years of simmering Janine and Gregory's
romance has finally become full bloomed and none of the sexual tension has gone
away. If anything this new couple keeps finding ways to be adorkable in all the
right ways possible and Tyler James Williams keeps finding ways to make us love
him. We watched the show deal with a golf course coming and the owner being
willing to give them 'bribes' in order to make their lives better. Of course
the district found out and took them away and in a stunning turn of events Ava
lost her job. Ava landed on her feet – because she's Ava, of course – but even
though Gregory was doing a more than competent job, everyone rallied to bring
her back. At the end of the penultimate episode when we found out just how much
not only the teachers but the student body and the entire community loved Ava,
it was one of the most moving – and still funny – episodes of the series so
far.
The show continues to find way to make us laugh,
whether it's having the first white student show up voluntarily at the school,
having the cast of It's Only Sunny In Philadelphia show up as 'volunteers'
(I can't wait for that crossover either) finally meeting Ava's father (Keith
David), Melissa's family or the wonderful season finale at the Please Touch museum
where we actually saw how much the student body loves their teachers and how
much the teachers are growing after four years.
I know at some point Abbott is going to
drop in quality. It just hasn't happened yet and it doesn't look like its going
to happen anytime soon. Maybe someday it will win the prize for Outstanding
Comedy Series; I just don't think it'll happen this year. But we all know its
going to be here for a while. And we're all fine with it.
The Bear (FX on Hulu)
Perhaps the reason The Bear didn't win
Outstanding Comedy Series at the Emmys had less to do with the discussion of it
being a comedy and more to do with the fact that the third season dropped while
the nominations were coming out and it underwhelmed even some of its most loyal
fans. For the first time the shine was off the rose and while the second season
was still good enough to win nine Emmys, its sweep was denied by a show whose
luster had never dimmed during three seasons.
And while The Bear has gotten multiple
nominations from the Golden Globes and the SAG Awards for the first time in two
awards seasons it's not doing as well. It was completely skunked by the Critics
Choice Awards, who only gave it a single nomination after it won four awards
last year. It was nominated for Best Streaming Comedy by the Astras but not
Outstanding Comedy. And Jeremy Allan White's odd of making it a three-peat have
been dropping by the day in what is quickly becoming a crowded category.
For all that it's almost certain The Bear will
be contending for multiple awards. It might have been inconsistent compared to
the first two seasons but there's just too much good stuff for it not to
contend. There is the now classic 'Napkins' episode which gave us the backstory
of Maria. We saw Piper's pregnancy play out and we realized that she had every
intention of breaking the cycle of her family. And the show does continue to
deal with experimental formats that few series of any kind dare to try.
I also think the habit of the Emmys is likely to
keep it contending – this is, after all, the way of the show. I will eventually
get to review it for this site but again, The Bear is a comedy. And if
it has faded, it is only because the competition is much better and its own
standards are higher than Carmy's by now.
Hacks (HBO Max)
As I mentioned in my rave for it just yesterday
the biggest shock in many years at last September's Emmys was Hacks winning
Best Comedy. For the first few months of 2025 it continued to mop them up,
winning not just the Golden Globe and Critic Choice Awards for Outstanding
Comedy series but prevailing at the writers and directors guilds award. It is
now the out-and-out front runner in this category, though there are signs its
momentum may be shifting. ((I'll explain why in a few of the other major
categories below.)
But it is not because the fourth season
diminished in quality one iota from the previous three. Indeed the show
continues to find ways to get out of its comfort zone almost from the start.
Deb and Ava spent half the season feuding after Ava's betrayal of Deb at the
end of Season 3. In the past this would matter only to them but now that Deb is
hosting late night – and they are under immense pressure to be a hit right out
the bat – everything is exponentially more important. And of course, much funnier.
We watch Deb and Ava try to struggle to lead. We
watch Jimmy and Kayla beginning to slowly grow and flourish in their worlds. We
watch as they finally manage to achieve everything they want – and then in the
penultimate episode something that was almost inevitable happens and Deb does
something we never expected her to do because we knew her to well. What happens
next we don't know (though Deb doesn't die) but we really want to find out.
Hacks has
always been one of the most consistent award winners during this decade; it has
never gone through an Emmy season winning fewer than two awards. Jean Smart has
won every year she's been nominated and seems certain to get her fourth
straight Emmy (or will she? See Outstanding Actress below for why) Recognition might finally come for Hannah
Einbinder and it will dominate the writing and directing categories as it
always does. There's nothing these women – either the ones in front of the screen
or the ones in the writers and directors room – can't do at this point.
Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Selena Gomez's reaction when this series won Best
Ensemble in a Comedy at the SAG Awards this past February was nearly as
delightful as the victory itself: "But we never win anything!" This
has to do more with the incredibly high caliber of nominees that is more cutthroat
then living in the Arconia seems to be. In three impressive and masterful
seasons the show has lost to Ted Lasso, The Bear and Hacks each
of which are already as much classics the same way Murders is. Steve
Martin has struggled to get nominated in a field that has included Jason
Sudeikis, Bill Hader, and Jeremy Allan White and Selena Gomez only got
nominated for Best Actress last year in an incredibly crowded field. Compared
to this year, it's going to be even tougher.
But no one pretends that Only Murders isn't
one of the best comedy series of the decade to this point. It features two Baby
Boomer comedians working with a Millennial in an absolutely perfect set of
matches. Each year they are forced to investigate murders of those near and dear
to them as their success keeps getting bigger. Now their podcast is becoming a
movie as if somehow having Paul Rudd and Meryl Streep last year was too modest
a guest list. Now here comes Eugene Levy and Melissa McCarthy as well as they
now investigate the murder of Charles's body double.
But the fate of Only Murders seems to be second
best; the last few years it hasn't even been the most popular comedy on its
streaming service. But it is the only winners for its current season so far
(Hacks won all of its awards for Season 3). Will that be enough to help
its cast finally win? Who knows?
Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
One of the early contenders at the end of year
awards shows starting in December was Netflix's new rom-com Nobody Wants
This which has been nominated for multiple Golden Globes, Critics Choice
Awards and SAG awards. The trend continued at the Astras and at this point the
obvious joke is who's the nobody in the title? It's certainly not critics or
viewers and not me.
The show features two of the greatest talents in
the history of 21st century television Kristen Bell and Adam Brody. Bell
plays Joanne who with her sister Morgan (a very Emmy worthy Justine Lupe) do a
podcast about relationships and sex that is on the verge of going national.
Then one night the crass Joanne is invited to a party and immediately clicks
with Noah (Brody). Then she learns that he is a 'hot rabbi' and their
attraction is very big. The problem is Joanne is a shiksa and Noah's family
really is still hoping he and his ex-girlfriend get back there. The fact that
he chose to end the relationship is irrelevant to the conversation; that he is
clearly in love with Joanne is a minor detail.
On a separate level as someone who is technically
Jewish I love this show because it clearly gets the details of being part of a Jewish
family. Noah is the golden child even before he became a rabbi. This is something
that everybody, including his brother Sasha accepts. Timothy Simons is
wonderful as playing someone who is basically a good guy who knows his lot in life
is not to have relationships his wife doesn't approve of. He secretly likes
both Joanne and Morgan but because his wife is best friends with Noah's fiancée
he has to hide that fact.
Every part of this show is both funny and sweet,
continuing the trends of so many funny and sweet comedies during this decade
(much of which are in this category!) Brody and Bell are certain nominees for
lead Actor and Actress and I could easily see many of the writers and stars
getting nominations as well. To be blunt the Emmys will want this show and for
good reason.
Shrinking (Apple TV)
It's not entirely surprising that Season 1 of
this delightful comedy didn't get nominated for as many awards as it should
have when it debuted in 2023. The field back then was incredibly strong and one
of the shows it had to compete against was Ted Lasso which everyone
thought was in its final season. Then came the strike which postponed filming.
But in October of 2024 it debuted and it has been getting the recognition it
deserves from award shows. It was nominated for the Golden Globe and SAG Award
for Best Comedy Series. It was not nominated for the Critics Choice Award but
it's sole nominee Michael Urie did win. And earlier this month it managed a
somewhat shocking but not entirely surprising win in Best Streaming Comedy
series beating previous winners Hacks and Only Murders in the
Building.
The reason it shouldn't come as a surprise is, of
course, it is one of the best comedy series on TV today. The combination of
three of the greatest minds in comedy – Bill Lawrence, Brett Goldstein and
Jason Segel – has led to one of the most sublime works of television that
Lawrence has ever walked on, including Ted Lasso. This season we see the
past coming back to haunt Jimmy as the drunk driver who was in the hit and run
that killed his wife (Goldstein in a work that is the polar opposite of Roy
Kent) came back into his life and then his sister and his best friend (Urie) starting
talking to him without telling Jimmy.
We've also seen how Gaby's past with her sister
and her mother is becoming part of her life as she tries to move on with her
future. We've seen Liz (Miller) who's been a force of nature starting to spiral
and ending up connecting with an old college friend, only to endanger her
marriage. (Ted McGinley continues to inspire.) And we saw how Paul continued to
deal with his past in his modern life while facing the inevitable fate of his Parkinson's.
The question is how many nominations Shrinking
will get. Segel and Jessica Williams are certain to repeat. Michael Urie
will compete against co-star Harrison Ford who is already becoming the
frontrunner for the Emmy in this category. I would hope to see Miller there in
some form and maybe even McGinley. But this is a sublime balance of humor, tragedy
and pathos that even in this era of extraordinary comedies we rarely get.
Somebody Somewhere (HB0)
This one is my long shot. I know it's far more
likely that What We Do In The Shadows will be here for its final season
and I don't deny it deserves to be. But considering last time out the Emmy
voters gave Reservation Dogs the recognition it deserved with five
nominations (including Best Comedy) I'm holding out hope they might do the same
for the final season of this equally understated, midwestern masterpiece.
There is a chance it will be here: the Critics
Choice and the Astras nominated it for multiple awards and it has done well at
other awards shows, such as the Peabodys. But Somebody has never been as
flashy or as laugh at loud hysterical as so many of its competitors. It is
quiet and subtle, even in its bathroom humor. Like its lead character, played
by the superb Bridget Everett, it is about the quiet everyday battles of life, particularly
if you are a heavy set woman or gay in Nebraska. It's about trying to be part
of a relationship for the first time and the give and take. It's about dealing
with your friends moving on and trying to start your own life. It's about
dealing with an empty nest and finding your ex-husband gave you a parting gift.
And as is always with Everett, it's about making your own kind of music and finding
the bravery to sing.
Somebody received notice of its cancellation before it could film a proper
final season or series finale. But I have to say watching the final episode it
seemed to be a fitting, quiet end for a show that has dared to be different but
never in the kind of ways that stand out. What would be a fitting finale would
be for the Emmys to recognize for its final year. I know that it won't win, but
it deserves to be there.
The Studio (Apple TV)
The Studio almost since it debuted become the breakout comedy of 2025. It's
managed to win the top prize at the Gotham TV awards and prevailed for Best
Comedy overall at the Astras (though it lost the Best Streaming prize to Shrinking).
And who can argue with the logic? Like Hacks it is another in-house
brand show, dealing with Hollywood. It has one of the great comic talents in
this century Seth Rogen, writing and playing the lead as an executive who takes
over a studio from a failed executive (Bryan Cranston). It has some of the
greatest comic actors of this century or of all time working for him, such as
Ike Barinholtz and Catherine O'Hara. And it manages to get so many of the
greatest Hollywood figures playing themselves, from Scorsese to Ron Howard down.
Hell, he wants to get Daniel-Day Lewis.
The thing is while The Studio does have a
deep cynicism and pragmatism about the industry, it is just as much a love
letter to it. It clearly loves the business even as it acknowledges the reality
of it. It is full of the in-jokes which are cutting but also kind. And it is in
love with the kind of films the new head of the studio loves himself – with the
genuine love of the cinephile?
It's odds at prevailing have been increasing by
the day at Gold Derby but no one is prepared to say for sure. But it's going to
get a lot of nominations which makes sense. Hollywood loves Hollywood as much
as Rogen does.
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
St. Denis Medical (NBC)
The network comedy was pronounced as all but dead
at the start of the decade. It has been granted fresh life over the last few years.
And St. Denis medical demonstrates how much life the brand still has.
An exceptional cast of comedy veterans revive the
documentary type comedy in a hospital format, showing so many superb and
hysterical doctors who are also dedicated professionals. Some of them are more goofy
then others in their behavior, some have bigger egos then others. But all of
them are competent professionals. Even the intern who came in clueless and is
still struggling has clearly managed to make immense character and emotional
growth all season – and actually started a slow-burn romance.
The show has been nominated for Best Comedy by
both the Critics Choice and the Astra awards this past year. It may not be able
to make the crossover as easily as Abbott Elementary has to the Emmys
but it is just as deserving and has the same tone.
Tomorrow I will deal with what may be the
toughest category to predict this year: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy.
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