Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Emmy Predictions 2018 - Who Will and Should Win for Guest Actress 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 Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.






The Nominees Ranked By Which Actress Should Win:
  1. Maya Rudolph for NBC's The Good Place - "The Burrito"
  2. Jane Lynch for Amazon's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel - "Put That On Your Plate!"
  3. Tiffany Haddish for NBC's Saturday Night Live - "Host: Tiffany Haddish"
  4. Tina Fey for NBC's Saturday Night Live - "Host: Tina Fey"
  5. Molly Shannon for NBC's Will & Grace - "There's Something About Larry"
  6. Wanda Sykes for ABC's Black-ish - "Juneteenth"

The Good Place is one of the most original and inventive series to air on the broadcast networks in a long time. Maya Rudolph came in at the end of the second season. And yet, she was so amusing from the moment she first appeared. It was a surprising debut too because no one knew that she was coming. But she plays such a pivotal and powerful role. She interacts well with the cast of regulars throughout her episode as well. Meanwhile, Jane Lynch played an upper class comedian who may be looking down on the world around her and their ways of doing things. It too was a surprising performance. And yet, she had some terrific scenes and was actually quite amusing in the role. Elsewhere, Wanda Sykes and Molly Shannon may have only gotten in this race because they are familiar performers. Sykes isn't really a big component of her episode and she has never really been well utilized on Black-ish. Meanwhile, Shannon is a vital aspect of one story on Will & Grace. But it too is a subplot that plays things very broadly and wasn't all that effective. As such, it's difficult for me to justify either of them deserving to win this year.

The Nominees Ranked by Which Actress Will Win:
  1. Jane Lynch for Amazon's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel - "Put That On Your Plate!"
  2. Tina Fey for NBC's Saturday Night Live - "Host: Tina Fey"
  3. Tiffany Haddish for NBC's Saturday Night Live - "Host: Tiffany Haddish"
  4. Maya Rudolph for NBC's The Good Place - "The Burrito"
  5. Wanda Sykes for ABC's Black-ish - "Juneteenth"
  6. Molly Shannon for NBC's Will & Grace - "There's Something About Larry"

I keep going back and forth on Lynch or Tina Fey being the winner in this category. They have both won multiple Emmys. Fey has won as an actress and writer. Lynch has won as an actress and reality competition host. The last time that Tina Fey hosted Saturday Night Live (alongside Amy Poehler) she won in this category. Meanwhile, Lynch is nominated for one of the buzziest new shows in the comedy fields. If the major comedy races are between Atlanta and Barry, then this could be another category where The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel could easily win. SNL is fully expected to pick up at least one win somewhere else. And yet, one cannot simply underestimate the performers nominated here for the veteran sketch series. Tiffany Haddish could surprise everyone with a win and cement the past year as an incredible career achievement for her. She's the dark horse contender for this prize. Rudolph, Sykes and Shannon are all terrific performers on buzzy-worthy shows that the Emmys have recognized. It just seems more unlikely that they will prevail due to the track record of the other nominees or the respective shows that they are on. It just doesn't seem like The Good Place, Black-ish or Will & Grace has the broad support to lead to a surprise victory in this specific category.


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