Emmy Predictions: Comedy Series categories (June)

Now that all eligible shows for the 2019/2020 Emmy season have been seen, and even with the slightly extended eligibility window, we now have a clearer idea of what’s good, what’s not and what might get in anyway.

Emmys: Television Academy pushes submission and voting dates back

Very little (if any) change at the top of most lists, with Schitt’s Creek (PopTV) and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon) going head to head in virtually every category. Netflix’s Space Force may have bested the president in the trademark department but was met with brutal reviews (it’s at 39% on Rotten Tomatoes). With the streamer’s Dead to Me right there and playing strong, the former may see very little come Emmy nomination morning.

Moving up the charts or popping up for the first time is Hulu’s The Great, with stars Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult joining the show in the fray of contention. FX’s massive hit Dave and its creator and star Dave Burd also debut. Also from FX, Emmy winner Martin Freeman shows up with Breeders.

Emmys: Television Academy cancels Governors Balls, Creative Arts awards to go virtual

Guest acting, writing and directing category predictions will be featured in the next predictions, once the official submission ballots appear.

Here are my ranked predictions in the Comedy Series categories in order of likelihood with an added ‘Watch out for’ section.

COMEDY SERIES

01. Schitt’s Creek (PopTV)
02. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)
03. Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
04. The Good Place (NBC)
05. Dead to Me (Netflix)
06. Ramy (Hulu)
07. Silicon Valley (HBO)
08. The Kominsky Method (Netflix)
09. Dave (FX)
10. The Great (Hulu)

Watch out for: Modern Family (HBO), Better Things (FX), Space Force (Netflix)

LEAD ACTOR – COMEDY SERIES

01. Eugene Levy – Schitt’s Creek (PopTV)
02. Ted Danson – The Good Place (NBC)
03. Larry David – Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
04. Michael Douglas – The Kominsky Method (Netflix)
05. Ramy Youssef – Ramy (Hulu)
06. Don Cheadle – Black Mondays (Showtime)
07. Ricky Gervais – After Life (Netflix)
08. Steve Carell – Space Force (Netflix)
09. Dave Burd  – Dave (FX)
10. Domhnall Gleeson – Run (HBO)

Watch out for: Anthony Anderson – black-ish (ABC), Hugh Laurie – Avenue 5 (HBO), Martin Freeman – Breeders (FX)

LEAD ACTRESS – COMEDY SERIES

01. Catherine O’Hara – Schitt’s Creek (PopTV)
02. Rachel Brosnahan – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)
03. Christina Applegate – Dead to Me (Netflix)
04. Linda Cardellini – Dead to Me (Netflix)
05. Pamela Adlon – Better Things (FX)
06. Merritt Wever – Run (HBO)
07. Issa Rae – Insecure (HBO)
08. Kristen Bell – The Good Place (NBC)
09. Elle Fanning – The Great (Hulu)
10. Jane Levy – Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (NBC)

Watch out for: Awkwafina – Awkwafina is Nora from Queen (Comedy Central), Lily Tomlin – Grace and Frankie (Netflix), Aidy Bryant – Shrill (Hulu)

SUPPORTING ACTOR – COMEDY SERIES

01. Tony Shalhoub – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)
02. Dan Levy – Schitt’s Creek (PopTV)
03. Mahershala Ali – Ramy (Hulu)
04. Nicholas Hoult – The Great (Hulu)
05. Alan Arkin – The Kominsky Method (Netflix)
06. Sterling K. Brown – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)
07. John Malkovich – Space Force (Netflix)
08. Michael Zegen – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)
09. Kenan Thompson – Saturday Night Live (NBC)
10. Kumail Nanjiani – Silicon Valley (HBO)

Watch out for: Louie Anderson – Baskets (FX), James Marsden – Dead to Me (Netflix), Chris Elliott – Schitt’s Creek (PopTV)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS – COMEDY SERIES

01. Alex Borstein – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)
02. Jane Lynch – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)
03. Marin Hinkle – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)
04. Kate McKinnon – Saturday Night Live (NBC)
05. Annie Murphy – Schitt’s Creek (PopTV)
06. Betty Gilpin – GLOW (Netflix)
07. D’Arcy Carden – The Good Place (NBC)
08. Emily Hampshire – Schitt’s Creek (PopTV)
09. Aidy Bryant – Saturday Night Live (NBC)
10. Rita Moreno – One Day at a Time (PopTV)

Watch out for: Gillian Anderson – Sex Education (Netflix), Yvonne Orji – Insecure (HBO), Hiam Abbass – Ramy (Hulu)

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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), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) 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.

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