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No fewer than 20 shows received votes in this category in Round 1. And in something of a surprise, “The Studio” landed ahead of reigning champ “Hacks” in a battle of inside-baseball Hollywood comedies.
“Two brilliant showbiz satires, ‘Hacks’ and ‘The Studio,’ will likely be battling it out,” predicts Matt Roush. Trey Mangum says “Abbott Elementary” is at its best now, but its “main competition will be ‘Hacks,’ another show that, seasons in, is delivering some of its best work.”
Meanwhile, FX’s once-dominant “The Bear” is on the bubble in our poll — whether as a result of its category placement or its third season’s mixed reception.
“We all know ‘The Bear’ is going to show up here, but let’s pretend that voters gave that slot to an actual comedy,” says Kristen Baldwin, trumpeting “Somebody Somewhere” instead. Glenn Whipp argues instead that the series’ most recent run “dazzled at its best, from the revelatory, impressionistic opener to the beautiful Tina origin story, ‘Napkins.’ And yes, (chef), it’s a comedy.”
Praising the comedy field as a much-needed respite from outside events, Lorraine Ali writes, “Here are the comedies that deserve to be honored because they stopped us from drowning in our own tears: ‘Somebody Somewhere,’ ‘We Are Lady Parts,’ ‘Mo,’ ‘Poker Face,’ ‘Resident Alien’ and ‘Deli Boys.’ ” While Tracy Brown adds, “‘Agatha All Along’ had me at campy, witchy and queer.”
More predictions: Comedy actor | Comedy actress
1. “The Studio”
2. “Hacks”
3. “Abbott Elementary”
4. (tie) “Poker Face”
4. (tie) “Somebody Somewhere”
6. “Deli Boys”
7. “Only Murders in the Building”
8. “Shrinking”
9. “The Bear”
10. “Agatha All Along”
Los Angeles Times
Lorraine Ali
1. “Somebody Somewhere”
2. (tie) “Poker Face”
2. (tie) “Deli Boys”
2. (tie) “We Are Lady Parts”
5. “Mo”
6. “Resident Alien”
7. “Running Point”
8. “Abbott Elementary”
“If you think 2025 has been a great year, stop reading now. For the rest of us, here are the comedies that deserve to be honored because they stopped us from drowning in our own tears: ‘Somebody Somewhere,’ ‘We Are Lady Parts,’ ‘Mo,’ ‘Poker Face,’ ‘Resident Alien’ and ‘Deli Boys.’”
Entertainment Weekly
Kristen Baldwin
1. “Hacks”
2. “Abbott Elementary”
3. “What We Do in the Shadows”
4. “Somebody Somewhere”
5. “Shrinking”
6. “The Studio”
7. “Nobody Wants This”
8. “Only Murders in the Building”
“We all know ‘The Bear’ is going to show up here, but let’s pretend that voters gave that slot to an actual comedy — in this case, Bridget Everett’s Peabody Award-winning HBO series, ‘Somebody Somewhere.’”
Los Angeles Times
Tracy Brown
1. “Agatha All Along”
2. “The Studio”
3. “Poker Face”
4. “Abbott Elementary”
5. “Deli Boys”
6. “Hacks”
7. “Mid-Century Modern”
8. “Somebody Somewhere”
“‘Agatha All Along’ had me at campy, witchy and queer. Then it threw in a group of misfits who barely tolerate one another (at least initially) on a magical journey of deadly escape rooms tied to their individual traumas. And that’s not to mention its amazing cast.”
Shadow and Act
Trey Mangum
1. “The Studio”
2. “Overcompensating”
3. “Deli Boys”
4. “Abbott Elementary”
5. “Poker Face”
6. “The Bear”
7. “Hacks”
8. “The Ms. Pat Show”
“Several seasons in now, ‘Abbott Elementary’ feels at the top of its game. It appears it may be able to fend off ‘The Bear’ a bit more easily this year, but its main competition will be ‘Hacks,’ another show that, seasons in, is delivering some of its best work.”
TV Guide
Matt Roush
1. “Hacks”
2. “Shrinking”
3. “The Studio”
4. “Only Murders in the Building”
5. “Nobody Wants This”
6. “The Bear”
7. “Abbott Elementary”
8. “A Man on the Inside”
“Two brilliant showbiz satires, ‘Hacks’ and ‘The Studio,’ will likely be battling it out, while Netflix has strong contenders in the delightful rom-com ‘Nobody Wants This’ and the unexpectedly affecting ‘A Man on the Inside.’ Could a retro hoot like ‘Mid-Century Modern’ make the cut? (Sadly, I doubt it.)”
Los Angeles Times
Glenn Whipp
1. “The Studio”
2. “Only Murders in the Building”
3. “Hacks”
4. “A Man on the Inside”
5. “The Bear”
6. “Somebody Somewhere”
7. “Abbott Elementary”
8. “Poker Face”
“Sure, it was sometimes self-indulgent. And, yes, its third season spun its wheels in spots when it came to moving the story forward. Still, the third season of ‘The Bear’ dazzled at its best, from the revelatory, impressionistic opener to the beautiful Tina origin story, ‘Napkins.’ And yes, (chef), it’s a comedy.”
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