The announcement of The Emmy Awards nominations underscore that awards season is once again quickly approaching. TV shows leading the nominations pack include Succession, Ted Lasso, The Last of Us, and The White Lotus. Interestingly, all eight spots in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama category are exclusively taken up by cast members from Succession and The White Lotus. The controversial dark horse Dahmer also received a surprising amount of attention, with three acting nominations and two directing nominations, as well as a nod for Outstanding Limited Series.
As it stands, the ceremony has recently been postponed with the ongoing strikes. Variety has reported that a shift to November is a firm possibility, with the precedent set in 2001 after 9/11. However, with no one knowing how long these strikes might last, there's no way to know with any certainty what the upcoming awards season will look like. With that being said, take a look at the lead acting nominees in a comedy series. Here they all are, ranked.
10 Jason Sudeikis — Ted Lasso
With its third season, AppleTV+'s Ted Lasso brings its total of Emmy nominations up to 61, of which it has won 11 so far. In the lead role, Jason Sudeikis plays the titular Ted Lasso, an American in London who is coaching the football team AFC Richmond. The series has been consistently praised for its lack of cynicism and gentle approach to mental health, especially in the world of men’s sports.
While Sudeikis still stands a good chance at winning given the show’s previous awards performance, this third season simply wasn’t the show’s greatest. It seems to have run its course, which is made even more apparent by the episodes being overly long for no clear reason.
9 Jenna Ortega — Wednesday
Earning 12 nominations for its first season, Netflix's Wednesday has taken not just the Emmys but the world by storm. For weeks after its release, the Addams Family-based teen detective series was everywhere you turned and catapulted Jenna Ortega into stardom, and for good reason. Even reviews of the series that were negative or lukewarm praised Ortega's central role.
It seems that she turned what could have been a mundane reboot into something far more unique. Her work here is certainly impressive — it's not easy to carry an entire series before you've even turned 20 — but if she'd had more to work with in the beginning she could have excelled further.
8 Christina Applegate — Dead to Me
Another Netflix series that earned its lead actor an Emmy nomination this year is Dead to Me with Christina Applegate. The show finds Applegate as Jen, a widow who becomes unlikely friends with Linda Cardinelli's Judy, who has also experienced a loss, but has a dark secret. It covers themes of grief with a signature style of black humor, which works to greater and lesser extents across the seasons.
This final season may not be the show's best, but Applegate's performance remains top-notch. Her comedic timing is part of what makes the series work so well, along with her and Cardinelli's magnetic chemistry. She has been nominated for every season so far, so it will be interesting to see if this is the year she finally takes home a win.
7 Martin Short — Only Murders in the Building
With its second season, Only Murders in the Building has brought its total Emmy nominations up to an impressive 28. For their first season, both Martin Short and Steve Martin earned acting nominations, but this year, it's just Short, raising his chances of a win now that the vote won't be split. Each season of the murder mystery show unsurprisingly finds the three central characters investigating a murder that has taken place in their building and podcasting about it.
Short, Martin, and Selena Gomez have great chemistry and this trio makes up most of the appeal for the more-ish whodunit. With the most over-the-top character, Short often stands out from the group, and it's not surprising he is the one who earned the nomination this year.
6 Jason Segel — Shrinking
Apple TV+
Shrinking stars Jason Segel as a grieving therapist taking a new approach to his practice: saying exactly what he thinks. The show's AppleTV+ home, creators Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein, and subject matter have all led to comparisons with the aforementioned Ted Lasso. For example, in a review for The Ringer, Alison Herman argues that it aims for Ted Lasso but is "without the same success."
However, it could be argued that Shrinking takes a far more interesting approach because it allows for the more realistic combination of melancholy and hope existing at the same time. Segel's performance is impressive, giving the humorous and deeply sad components of his character room onscreen.
5 Rachel Brosnahan — The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Across its five seasons, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel has earned a total of 80 Emmy nominations, with 20 wins so far. One of those prior wins went to Rachel Brosnahan for her leading performance as Midge Maisel, but can she do it again? This final fifth season has concluded the story, which has been running since 2017.
Set in the 1950s and 60s, Midge began as a woman whose husband had recently left her and discovers a passion for stand-up comedy. Over the years, she has slowly made her way toward a rather triumphant ending, fitting for a character that so many have rooted for in the past few years.
4 Natasha Lyonne — Poker Face
From the reining king of the murder mystery, Rian Johnson, comes Poker Face. In this series, Natasha Lyonne plays Charlie, who has the ability to tell when someone is lying. When she's forced to head out on the road, she encounters a new mystery each episode that she helps to solve. Almost everything about the show is straight-forward in the best way.
It does everything simply but with the best quality possible, and Lyonne's performance is no exception. She has a level of charm that not many can match, and this is the perfect vehicle to allow her to shine. There aren't many performers who are more fun to watch, especially not ones whose performances remain true to life.
3 Bill Hader — Barry
With a final season that aired alongside Succession's on the same channel, even ending on the same night, Barry didn't get too much attention in its most recent season. Bill Hader is the star and one of the creators of the show in which he plays Barry, a Midwestern hit man who moves to Los Angeles and gets involved with the theater scene.
Hader also directed every episode of this last season, which is a huge feat, and adds interesting dimension to the series. Barry is a fascinating character, and it's wonderful to watch Hader lean into darker roles outside of pure comedy that we are used to seeing him do.
2 Quinta Brunson — Abbott Elementary
When Abbott Elementary aired in 2021, it was immediately clear that creator and star Quinta Brunson had a hit on her hands. The formula is familiar — we've seen the workplace mockumentary style a lot over the years in shows like The Office or Parks and Recreation — but this one never feels derivative. Brunson plays Janine, a young and idealistic teacher at a Philadelphia public school.
What she does so well in the role is leaning into Janine's optimism without making her character become grating, which can easily become the case — see Ted Lasso. With excellent comic timing and a perfect sense of self-deprecation, Brunson's portrayal of Janine is perfectly pitched. She is the heart of the show and without her, it would certainly not have the same emotional impact.
1 Jeremy Allen White — The Bear
Coming in at number one is Jeremy Allen White as Carmy in The Bear. The dramatic comedy series finds him returning home to Chicago after working in a Michelin starred New York City restaurant to take over his deceased brother's restaurant. The role that this grief about his brother plays is significant, but also quiet.
Carmy's lack of processing of this grief is evident from the outset. He's someone who is very clearly struggling with his mental health, dealing with severe anxiety that can lead to explosive arguments, but also very quiet and introspective moments. It's the way White can portray this conflict between Carmy experiencing extreme outbursts of emotion and yet be incredibly repressed at the same time that makes his performance so impressive.