Emmys: It's "Hacks" vs "Widow's Bay" for Best Comedy

by Cláudio Alves

With 24 individual citations, the last season of HACKS is the year's most nominated comedy.

Just as this post hits the timeline, the TV Academy will be in the middle of its two-day celebration of the so-called Creative Arts Emmys. In other words, the show where they give out every “below the line” category, with the Guest Acting prizes thrown in for good measure. The main ceremony, when the big awards will be announced to a new class of television luminaries – or more of the same, since they sure love to reward the same folks, over and over again – happens on September 14th. It’s a bit of a chaotic time, here at The Film Experience, with the fall festivals on a roll and the film awards season starting to peek over the horizon, while the small screen demands attention of its own. And indeed, we must pay respects to TV and the industry’s highest honors. 

With that in mind, Eric Blume, Nathaniel R, and I decided to have a quick look at the principal races and share our predictions, starting with the Comedies…

WIDOW'S BAY is the second most nominated comedy, with 19 nods.

Best Comedy Series

ABBOTT ELEMENTARY (ABC)
THE BEAR (FX)
HACKS (HBO Max)
MARGO’S GOT MONEY TROUBLES (Apple TV)
NOBODY WANTS THIS (Netflix)
ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING (Hulu)
SHRINKING (Apple TV)
WIDOW’S BAY (Apple TV) 

ERIC:  This is a pretty strong line-up overall.  The big missing element here, IMO, is the third-season iteration of The Comeback, which is more topical, urgent, and funny than pretty much every show here.  I maintain that The Bear is one of the best shows ever put on television, and it’s quite frankly an entire leap in quality over all of these shows as well…but I get the argument that it’s not really a comedy.  Consensus seems to think the winner comes down to Hacks vs. Widow’s Bay.  I think both shows are overrated despite having strong elements (Hacks is repetitive, and the tonal blends and shifts in Widow’s Bay are sometimes so subtle as to not register).  Widow’s Bay seems to be the “it” show at the moment, so I’m thinking voters go with the new energy.

NATHANIEL: I am so eager for new energy and ideas in this lineup. I’ve struggled, for example, to stay interested in Abbott Elementary, Only Murders, and Hacks – I once loved them, but all long-running series eventually run out of steam or have to recycle ideas. So all my love is tied up in the brilliant and completely fresh Margo’s Got Money Troubles, which is funny, thoughtful, strange, provocative, and superbly acted. I know it won’t win, but I can dream. I also adore Nobody Wants This and wish there were more shows like it (i.e. just about regular people and their lives), but my guess is it just barely slipped in here given the lack of nominations elsewhere. 

CLÁUDIO: I haven’t seen all the episodes of the nominated seasons, so there’s only so much I can comment on as far as personal preferences go. That said, Nobody Wants This’ presence is a tad preposterous when no singular element was honored elsewhere - I would have loved a Bell mention in Best Actress. The Comeback would make more sense. Alternatively, many of that Netflix comedy’s cast members probably deserved a mention over some of the more popular names competing for acting Emmys. Unlike many, I wasn't a fan of Hacks’ last season, especially the writing and structure, so I'll be rooting for Widow’s Bay. By the way, Eric, I'm not sure what you mean by too subtle to register because this thing is not subtle, and it’s one of my favorite things about that hyper-referential horror comedy – it’s spoofing all it can reach, from Lovecraft to King, Carpenter to Eggers, and everything in between. Alas, as the eternal pessimist, I’ll predict Hacks to take it in the end.

This is Martin Short's fifth consecutive Best Actor nomination for ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING.
Best Actor, Comedy

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, WONDER MAN
Steve Carell, ROOSTER
Matthew Rhys, WIDOW’S BAY
Jason Segel, SHRINKING
Martin Short, ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING 

ERIC:  Outside of the big surprise nomination for Abdul-Mateen (such a worthy winner for Watchmen a few years back), this award really could go any which way.  But the hot money seems to be on Rhys, who is the best thing about a very popular and hip show.  He’s a beloved actor and prior winner, and his ability to go both “big” and “small” based on the show’s moment-to-moment needs is indeed impressive.  Carell, Segel, or Short could pop a surprise win due to the love they have within the industry, but their shows seem to have hit their high point by now?

NATHANIEL: I think this is Martin Short’s to lose. He’s always been the best thing about Only Murders in the Building and even if that show is on the wane, I think sentiment will favor him. But my vote would go to Jason Segel, who grounds Shrinking in real grief despite heaps, nay, mountains of twee. I have a higher tolerance for twee than most, so I love Shrinking, but I think Segel has been doing rich, thankless work in this series for a while.

CLÁUDIO: I feel that, while Widow’s Bay is likely to lose the top category, it’s got Best Actor in the bag. Rhys deserves it for the finale alone, which feels like a tragicomic spin on what Keri Russell got to do in one of The Americans’ best episodes back in the day - “Do Mail Robots Dream of Electric Sheep?” Still, part of me wants Abdul-Mateen to win as a big middle finger to Disney, who prematurely canceled his show.

Is third time the charm for Kudrow's Valerie Cherish? Well...

Best Actress, Comedy

Quinta Brunson, ABBOTT ELEMENTARY
Ayo Edebiri, THE BEAR
Elle Fanning, MARGO’S GOT MONEY TROUBLES
Lisa Kudrow, THE COMEBACK
Jean Smart, HACKS

ERIC:  I know this is in the bag for Jean Smart, who, of course, is wonderful on Hacks as she has been all five seasons.  But it’s a shame she’s sailing to her fifth Emmy for the show, because Lisa Kudrow really should be winning this year.  Kudrow’s Valerie Cherish is a brilliant comic creation, an incredibly rich and complex human who is simultaneously pitiable and heroic, ignorant and sensitive, guileless and savvy.  It’s a genuine bummer that Kudrow will lose for her remarkably intricate work here.  And I’m not even mentioning Fanning’s beautiful work, which in any other year should be a runaway victory! 

CLÁUDIO: While the idea of Smart breaking an Emmy record has its appeal, and her work remains exceptional, I am beyond exhausted by these repeat wins. Give it to someone new. Better yet, give it to someone who has deserved this same honor for this same character multiple times already. In other words, rooting for Kudrow but predicting Smart.

NATHANIEL: Everyone knows by now that I don't think people should be entitled to more than like three Emmys for playing the same character. “Kudrow or Fanning will win!” (I’m manifesting, shut up.)

For the second year in a row, Colman Domingo scores the only nod for THE FOUR SEASONS.

Best Supporting Actor, Comedy

Colman Domingo, THE FOUR SEASONS
Paul W. Downs, HACKS
Harrison Ford, SHRINKING
Nick Offerman, MARGO’S GOT MONEY TROUBLES
Stephen Root, WIDOW’S BAY
Michael Urie, SHRINKING
Tyler James Williams, ABBOTT ELEMENTARY

ERIC:  There’s some wonderful work being done here by these gentlemen (although Domingo’s nomination is, let’s say, generous).  While Downs, Offerman, and Root all have fighting chances to win, it would be a downer if Ford doesn’t win for his lovely work.  Ford is an icon in the business but has never won any major televised award.  You can see the renewed sense of joy in his acting on this show, and this is probably the last role/chance he’s got for a major win.  I’m hoping it goes his way.

CLÁUDIO: I must assume Ford will win based on the reverence within the industry and, indeed, the praise for this particular turn. I might prefer a Urie win if it has to be one of the Shrinking guys, but I haven’t been following that show as studiously as I should. Am I crazy for thinking Root might pull off a surprise victory? They love him and his show a lot, and, perhaps most importantly, his performance is showy as all hell. Sadly, that’s partially why I find him to be the weakest link in a pretty strong cast. It’s a good turn, yet all his choices seem obvious to the point of feeling perfunctory.

NATHANIEL: I don’t know what to think here. The Supporting categories are where voters get frisky and make unexpected choices on occasion. My only hesitation in predicting Ford (what Eric said) is that it took voters so long to catch on to this show, so I wonder about the depth of its support. If it can’t be Ford, it’s unfortunate that Williams has never won.

Pfeiffer must win, or else, who knows what'll happen to Nathaniel!?!

Best Supporting Actress, Comedy

Dale Dickey, WIDOW’S BAY
Hannah Einbinder, HACKS
Janelle James, ABBOTT ELEMENTARY
Kate O’Flynn, WIDOW’S BAY
Michelle Pfeiffer, MARGO’S GOT MONEY TROUBLES
Megan Stalter, HACKS
Jessica Williams, SHRINKING

ERIC:  An interesting line-up.  Fun to see longtime character actor Dickey finally get a major award nomination for her tiny role that she makes vivid and fun.  I find Stalter’s horrifying mugging to be abominable and think she should be sent to acting prison for what she does on that show, so I cannot support that nomination.  Williams and James do some sweet magic on their respective shows, but the race seems to be between Einbeinder (last year’s winner) and O’Flynn, who is gloriously kooky and inspired.  I think it goes to O’Flynn, but I can’t help rooting for Pfeiffer.  I’m second only to Nathaniel in my Pfandom, and it was a huge joy watching Michelle sink her teeth into a role she clearly loves.

CLÁUDIO: As a fellow Pfan, I’m also loving the idea of seeing her accept a golden trophy on live TV. However, I feel James has done tremendous work on Abbott Elementary for years, deepening what could’ve been a one-joke, one-note character into one of the show’s most interesting presences. She’s slippery in her characterization, and not just when she’s slipping off chairs mid-laugh as she did in that meme-able early-season bit. Still, I agree with Eric that it’s between Einbinder and O’Flynn. The latter feels like the most secure and sure way to get Widow’s Bay an acting win, so I suppose she’s the safe bet. Moreover, if episode submissions still mattered, I’m sure she’d take this easily considering how much of a showcase her episode turns out to be. Then again, Daley also has a juicy submission that puts her front and center for one of the season’s best gags.

NATHANIEL: I am not emotionally prepared for this envelope to open. If it’s not La Pfeiffer for her best performance in ages, I fear I may expire on the spot.

What do you make of our predictions, dear readers? Please, share your own in the comments. No guts, no glory!