2019 Emmy Nomination Predictions – The Comedy Categories

Erik Anderson July 8, 2019

I’ve let the wonderful Amanda Spears and Eddie Mouradian tackle the majority of this year’s Emmy nomination predictions but as we get close to the announcement date (July 16th) it’s time for me to do what I’m here to do.

The comedy categories last year were minus the reigning champ Veep, which took a year off so that its Emmy-winning star Julia Louis-Dreyfus could recover from breast cancer. Thankfully, after chemotherapy and surgery she is now in full recovery. Taking Veep‘s place was the freshman season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel from Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino. That series swept the Emmys last year, winning Comedy Series, Directing and Writing (both for ASP, a first in history), Lead Actress for Rachel Brosnahan and Supporting Actress for Alex Borstein among its eight wins and 12 nominations. Can its sophomore season hold its own again Veep‘s last?

Comedy Series

Last year’s nominees: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – WINNER, Atlanta, Barry, black-ish, GLOW, Silicon Valley, and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Atlanta and Silicon Valley did not air any episodes/seasons during the eligibility period but the rest are all looking to return…or be replaced.

While we now that Barry, Mrs. Maisel and Veep are assured to return I find the next four to be very up in the air. Netflix’s GLOW has a critically better second season than its first but feels lost in the buzzier Russian Doll and old guy network of The Kominsky Method for the streamer. Then there’s the fact that Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt has made it in for all of its seasons. Can Netflix get four shows in? It seems really unlikely and I’m ultimately going with some fresh blood. I’m knocking out black-ish for The Good Place, for the “network” slot as TGP is on the uptick (despite next season being announced as its last) and cultural phenomenon Fleabag (from Amazon and Phoebe Waller-Bridge) to finds spots.

My predictions:

Barry (HBO)
Fleabag (Amazon)
The Good Place (NBC)
The Kominsky Method (Netflix)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)
Russian Doll (Netflix)
Veep (HBO)

Just on the outside: The Big Bang Theory, black-ish, GLOW, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Last year’s nominees: Bill Hader, Barry – WINNER; Anthony Anderson, black-ish; Ted Danson, The Good Place; Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm; Donald Glover, Atlanta; William H. Macy, Shameless.

My predictions:

Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method
Ted Danson, The Good Place
Jim Carrey, Kidding
Don Cheadle, Black Monday
Bill Hader, Barry
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Just on the outside: Anthony Anderson, black-ish; Ricky Gervais, After Life; William H. Macy, Shameless; Ramy Youssef, Ramy.

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Last year’s nominees: Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – WINNER; Pamela Adlon, Better Things; Allison Janney, Mom; Issa Rae, Insecure; Tracee Ellis Ross, black-ish; Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie.

My predictions:

Pamela Adlon, Better Things
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Natasha Lyonne, Russian Doll
Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie
Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag

Just on the outside: Christina Applegate, Dead to Me; Linda Cardellini, Dead to Me; Allison Janney, Mom; Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek; Issa Rae, Insecure; Tracee Ellis Ross, black-ish.

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Last year’s nominees: Henry Winkler, Barry – WINNER; Louie Anderson, Baskets; Alec Baldwin, Saturday Night Live; Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt; Brian Tyree Henry, Atlanta; Tony Shalhoub, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel; Kenan Thompson, Saturday Night Live.

My predictions:

Alan Arkin, The Kominsky Method
Tony Hale, Veep
Stephen Root, Barry
Tony Shalhoub, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Kenan Thompson, Saturday Night Live
Henry Winkler, Barry

Just on the outside: Charlie Barnett, Russian Doll; Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt; Anthony Carrigan, Barry; Sean Hayes, Will & Grace; Timothy Simons, Veep; Andrew Scott, Fleabag; Matt Walsh, Veep; Michael Zegen, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Last year’s nominees: Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – WINNER; Zazie Beetz, Atlanta; Aidy Bryant, Saturday Night Live; Betty Gilpin, GLOW; Leslie Jones, Saturday Night Live; Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live; Laurie Metcalf, Roseanne; Megan Mullally, Will & Grace.

My predictions:

Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
D’Arcy Carden, The Good Place
Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
Anna Chlumsky, Veep
Olivia Colman, Fleabag
Sarah Goldberg, Barry

Just on the outside: Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory; Aidy Bryant, Saturday Night Live; Betty Gilpin, Glow; Marin Hinkle, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel; Laurie Metcalf, The Connors; Megan Mullally, Will & Grace; Molly Shannon, The Other Two.

Guest Actor in a Comedy Series

Last year’s nominees: Katt Williams, Atlanta – WINNER; Sterling K. Brown, Brooklyn Nine-Nine; Bryan Cranston, Curb Your Enthusiasm; Donald Glover, Saturday Night Live; Bill Hader, Saturday Night Live; Lin-Manuel Miranda, Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Contenders who have been nominated in this category before (bold indicates a win): Peter MacNicol, Veep (2016 *nomination was revoked after violating # of episodes eligibility rule); Bob Newhart, The Big Bang Theory (2013, 2014, 2016).

My predictions:

Matt Damon, Saturday Night Live
Luke Kirby, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Peter MacNicol, Veep
John Mulaney, Saturday Night Live
Bob Newhart, The Big Bang Theory
Adam Sandler, Saturday Night Live

Just on the outside: Matt Bomer, Will & Grace; Don Cheadle, Saturday Night Live; Danny DeVito, The Kominsky Method; Adam Driver, Saturday Night Live; Lin-Manuel Miranda, Brooklyn Nine-Nine; David Schwimmer, Will & Grace.

Guest Actress in a Comedy Series

Last year’s nominees: Tiffany Haddish, Saturday Night Live – WINNER; Tina Fey, Saturday Night Live; Jane Lynch, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel; Maya Rudolph, The Good Place; Molly Shannon, Will & Grace; Wanda Sykes, black-ish.

Contenders who have been nominated in this category before:

Jane Lynch, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2018)
Maya Rudolph, The Good Place (2018)
Molly Shannon, Will & Grace (2018)
Christine Baranski, The Big Bang Theory (2009, 2010, 2015, 2016)
Blythe Danner, Will & Grace (2005, 2006)

My predictions:

Ann-Margret, The Kominsky Method
Christine Baranski, The Big Bang Theory
Cate Blanchett, Documentary Now!
Rachel Brosnahan, Saturday Night Live
Jane Lynch, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Sandra Oh, Saturday Night Live
Maya Rudolph, The Good Place

Just on the outside: Awkwafina, Saturday Night Live; Regina King, The Big Bang Theory; Molly Shannon, Will & Grace; Paula Pell, Documentary Now!; Fiona Shaw, Fleabag; Tilda Swinton, What We Do in the Shadows; Wanda Sykes, black-ish; Kristin Scott Thomas, Fleabag; Emma Thompson, Saturday Night Live.

Directing for a Comedy Series

Barry, “ronny/lilly” (Bill Hader)
The Big Bang Theory, “The Stockholm Syndrome” (Mark Cendrowski)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, “All Alone” (Amy Sherman-Palladino)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, “We’re Going To the Catskills!” (Daniel Palladino)
Veep, “Discovery Weekend” (Dale Stern)
Veep, “Veep” (David Mandel)

Just on the outside: Barry, “The Audition” (Alec Berg) Better Things, “Shake the Cocktail” (Pamela Adlon); Fleabag, “Episode 1” (Harry Bradbeer); The Kominsky Method, “Chapter 1: An Actor Avoids” (Chuck Lorre); Russian Doll, “Ariadne” (Natasha Lyonne); Schitt’s Creek ,”Life is a Cabaret” (Daniel Levy and Andrew Cividino).

Writing for a Comedy Series

Barry, “ronny/lily” (Alec Berg and Bill Hader)
Fleabag, “Episode One” (Phoebe Waller-Bridge)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, “Midnight at the Concord” (Amy Sherman-Palladino)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, “Vote for Kennedy, Vote for Kennedy” (Daniel Palladino)
Russian Doll, “Nothing In This World Is Easy” (Natasha Lyonne, Leslye Headland, & Amy Poehler)
Veep, “Veep” (David Mandel)

Just on the outside: Better Things, “Shake the Cocktail (Pamela Adlon); The Kominsky Method, “Chapter 2: An Agent Grieves” (Chuck Lorre); The Good Place, “Janet(s)” (Josh Siegal & Dylan Morgan); The Other Two, “Chase Gets the Gays” (Chris Kelly & Sarah Schneider); Ramy, “Strawberries” (Ramy Youssef); Schitt’s Creek, “The Hike” (Daniel Levy).

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.