Thursday, August 16, 2018

Emmy Predictions 2018 - Who Will and Should Win for Writing in a Comedy Series?

The nominations are in for The 70th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. So now, it's time to speculate on who will and should win in each major category. Next up for analysis is Writing for a Comedy Series.






The Nominees Ranked By Which Writer Should Win:
  1. Liz Sarnoff for HBO's Barry - "Chapter Seven: Loud, Fast and Keep Going"
  2. Stefani Robinson for FX's Atlanta - "Barbershop"
  3. Amy Sherman-Palladino for Amazon's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel - "Pilot"
  4. Donald Glover for FX's Atlanta - "Alligator Man"
  5. Alec Berg and Bill Hader for HBO's Barry - "Chapter One: Make Your Mark"
  6. Alec Berg for HBO's Silicon Valley - "Fifty-One Percent"

Right off the bat, we have to take notice of the inclusion in the comedy writing category this year. The field is split evenly between men and women nominees. That's so rare for awards nominations because women are still struggling to get noticed and recognized in the behind-the-scenes crafts. Amy Sherman-Palladino, Liz Sarnoff and Stefani Robinson did some tremendous work this year. As such, it's so gratifying to know that they all got nominated. In fact, they are probably the three most deserving winners in this category. The seventh episode of Barry was easily the best of the season even though the premiere also had such a daunting challenge in presenting the unique tone for the series. Sarnoff's script proved just how dark and traumatic the show was capable of being. Meanwhile, Sherman-Palladino once again showed us that her specific kind of dialogue could translate well to a period piece. And Robinson delivered one very distinct episode for Atlanta in a season full of unexpected twists and turns.

The Nominees Ranked by Which Writer Will Win:
  1. Amy Sherman-Palladino for Amazon's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel - "Pilot"
  2. Donald Glover for FX's Atlanta - "Alligator Man"
  3. Alec Berg and Bill Hader for HBO's Barry - "Chapter One: Make Your Mark"
  4. Alec Berg for HBO's Silicon Valley - "Fifty-One Percent"
  5. Stefani Robinson for FX's Atlanta - "Barbershop"
  6. Liz Sarnoff for HBO's Barry - "Chapter Seven: Loud, Fast and Keep Going"

The voters have some significant decisions to make in the comedy categories this year. Atlanta, Barry and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel are the heavyweights in these fields with Veep out of the races. All three of them deserve to win at least one trophy. As such, the voters have to figure out how to divvy up the awards this year. Bill Hader and Donald Glover have multiple opportunities for winning because they are nominated for acting, writing, directing and producing their respective shows in addition to their stints hosting Saturday Night Live. And so, Amy Sherman-Palladino may be able to prevail in either comedy writing or directing. If there is uniformity in those two races though, then that show will also be winning Best Comedy Series. All three of these shows have legitimate chances at winning. It's just going to be very interesting to see if one towers over the other two. It's certainly possible. Rachel Brosnahan seems like a lock for Lead Comedy Actress. That could free up room in the other major comedy races. But right now, it's such a toss up that I just don't know how to predict at all which makes it very exciting. 


What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with my predictions? Let me know in the comments below!