Gold Standard: Can ‘Veep’ regain its comedy crown after missing a year?
You might have missed it, coming as it did on the night earlier this month that the Mother of Dragons took just a bit of a character turn on HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” But on that very same network, “Veep,” one of the decade’s most celebrated series, bid farewell with a finale that was brutal, bitter and immensely satisfying. No one was talking about it, thanks to “Thrones.” But that doesn’t mean it didn’t stick the landing.
“Veep” won two straight comedy series Emmys before going on hiatus last year so star Julia Louis-Dreyfus could undergo cancer treatment. It’s back now and the show, along with its Emmy champion lead actress, find themselves in a good position to close out their run with trophies in hand.
Here’s an early look at this year’s Emmy comedy races. Read on — unless Tom Hanks dies. Then we’d understand if you’re distracted.
COMEDY SERIES
“Veep”
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
“Barry”
“The Kominsky Method”
“GLOW”
“The Good Place”
“Russian Doll”
Next up: “black-ish,” “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” “Better Things,” “Ramy”
In the mix: “Schitt’s Creek,” “Black Monday,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “Dead to Me,” “Will & Grace”
Analysis: “Maisel” won just about everything last year in “Veep’s” absence, much to the annoyance of “Atlanta” fans and people who find the show’s theme song grating. It will assuredly return, even for a scattered second season that wasn’t nearly as satisfying. “Barry” will be back for its second season too, and you could make a case for it to win. It might be the best show on television.
For the remaining slots, it’s a choice between new-ish shows that haven’t yet been nominated (“The Good Place,” “Better Things”), an older program that found a new and devoted audience through Netflix (“Schitt’s Creek”) and a couple of solid first-year series (“The Kominsky Method” and “Russian Doll”) that should be slam-dunk selections. That might be bad news for stalwarts like “black-ish” and “Kimmy Schmidt,” though in the case of the departing “Kimmy,” nominated for all four of its seasons, this will be the last chance to throw a little love its way — at least until the movie arrives.
LEAD ACTRESS COMEDY
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Veep”
Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Allison Janney, “Mom”
Natasha Lyonne, “Russian Doll”
Pamela Adlon, “Better Things”
Lily Tomlin, “Grace and Frankie”
Next up: Tracee Ellis Ross, “black-ish”; Issa Rae, “Insecure”; Alison Brie, “GLOW”
In the mix: Catherine O’Hara, “Schitt’s Creek”; Phoebe Waller-Bridge, “Fleabag”; Aidy Bryant, “Shrill”; Kristen Bell, “The Good Place”; Ellie Kemper, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”; Christina Applegate, “Dead to Me”
Analysis: Emmy rules allow for expanding the field of nominees when the voting is close, and I expect that to happen here with this ridiculously deep field. Just look at the women listed in the “in the mix” tier. Even disregarding the favorites, that’s a pretty great lineup.
One could argue that Janney and Tomlin have received more than their due over the years and should make room for, say, Bryant, who was outstanding in the too-short first season of “Shrill,” note-perfect in the way she conveyed her character’s journey toward self-confidence.
But this is the Emmys. And it wouldn’t be shocking if voters return to all of last year’s nominees — Tomlin, Adlon, Janney, Ross, Rae and winner Brosnahan — while adding Louis-Dreyfus, who, of course, will likely win the Emmy for her last go-around as the monstrous Selina Meyer on “Veep.”
LEAD ACTOR COMEDY
Michael Douglas, “The Kominsky Method”
Bill Hader, “Barry”
Ted Danson, “The Good Place”
Don Cheadle, “Black Monday”
Anthony Anderson, “black-ish”
Jim Carrey, “Kidding”
Next up: Eugene Levy, “Schitt’s Creek”; William H. Macy, “Shameless”; Jim Parsons, “The Big Bang Theory”
In the mix: Ricky Gervais, “After Life”; Sacha Baron Cohen, “Who Is America?”; Ramy Youssef, “Ramy”; John Goodman, “The Conners”
Analysis: The lead actor race isn’t nearly as competitive as lead actress, partially explaining why the well-liked Cheadle might earn a nomination for a mediocre show like “Black Monday.”
The dearth of obvious choices will also provide voters with the opportunity to show how much they love Macy in light of his involvement with wife Felicity Huffman in the recent college admissions scandal. Macy has been nominated for the past five seasons of “Shameless,” and I’d imagine there are more than a few people who won’t need much prodding to find someone else to nominate. That could be Parsons for the final season of “The Big Bang Theory,” though that might be a sentimental stretch given that he hasn’t been nominated since winning this Emmy in 2014.
A better choice would be Youssef for his funny and thoughtful work in his groundbreaking coming-of-age comedy about a Muslim American searching for belonging. “Ramy” premiered just a few weeks ago. Hopefully, voters have been paying attention to all the great reviews.
SUPPORTING ACTRESS COMEDY
Alex Borstein, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Kate McKinnon, “Saturday Night Live”
Betty Gilpin, “GLOW”
Anna Chlumsky, “Veep”
Marin Hinkle, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Aidy Bryant, “Saturday Night Live”
D’Arcy Carden, “The Good Place”
Next up: Olivia Colman, “Fleabag”; Laurie Metcalf, “The Connors”; Leslie Jones, “Saturday Night Live”
In the mix: Sarah Goldberg, “Barry”; Megan Mullally, “Will & Grace”; Molly Shannon, “The Other Two”; Rita Moreno, “One Day at a Time”
Analysis: This category has expanded to eight nominees twice in the past four years, so I’ve taken the liberty of preemptively listing seven. And who knows? If enough people watch the excellent second season of “Fleabag,” we could see Oscar winner Olivia Colman at the Emmys, a year ahead of her likely coronation for the lead role in “The Crown.”
SUPPORTING ACTOR COMEDY
Henry Winkler, “Barry”
Alan Arkin, “The Kominsky Method”
Tony Hale, “Veep”
Tony Shalhoub, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Tituss Burgess, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”
Stephen Root, “Barry”
Next up: Matt Walsh, “Veep”; Kenan Thompson, “Saturday Night Live”; Timothy Simons, “Veep”
In the mix: Anthony Carrigan, “Barry”; William Jackson Harper, “The Good Place”; Alec Baldwin, “Saturday Night Live”; Marc Maron, “GLOW”
Analysis: Winkler won last year and might be even better this season. (His work in “Barry’s” last two episodes is just devastating.) He could easily be joined by two cast mates — Root, playing the infuriating Fuches, and the scene-stealing Carrigan, who brings joy to the world as needy mobster NoHo Hank. It’d also be nice to see Simons finally recognized for inspiring so many gloriously profane insults on “Veep.” Pointless Giant, Jimpanzee, the 60-Foot Virgin, Jono Ono, Cloud Botherer … not even Daenerys could compete with the titles that television’s most offensive character has sparked over the years.
Twitter: @glennwhipp
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