Best Comedy Series at the 2017 Emmys will likely include a two-time defending champion going for no. 3, but could another show sneak in and steal the trophy?
The Television Academy is currently voting on their favorite series, actors, directors and writers of the year for the 2017 Primetime Emmys, and one race that could be up for grabs is Best Comedy Series. HBO’s political romp Veep has won the past two years and could very well win again, but there are many newer shows that are very much in the mix.
Let’s take a look at the top 10 shows that could get Emmy nominations for Best Comedy Series.
Predicted nominees
1. Veep
Having won Best Comedy Series for the past two years, Veep is a virtual lock to get its sixth consecutive nomination. Season 6 featured a major departure from the first five seasons with Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and her gaggle of associates out of the White House. Such a change could make Emmy voters less inclined to vote for it to win Comedy Series, but it still consistently provides laugh out loud moments and satirizes our crazy political times like no other show on the air, so it’s in the frontrunner position for now.
Watch Season 6 of Veep, as well as the first five seasons, on HBO through Amazon.
2. black-ish
Ever since black-ish premiered in 2014 I believed it was being groomed as the heir apparent to Modern Family. The sitcom, about a black family living in an affluent, predominately white neighborhood, has the relatable, family-oriented appeal of Modern Family while also speaking to the social politics of modern-day America. black-ish was not a huge Emmy favorite in its first two seasons, only scoring four nominations in total, but it did get into Best Comedy Series last year. If the same Emmy voters who fell in love with Modern Family and awarded it five times in a row get behind black-ish, it could really be the show to beat Veep.
Watch Season 3 of black-ish, plus the first two seasons, on Amazon.
3. Master of None
Master of None had a strong showing at the Emmys last year for its first season, nabbing four nominations including Best Comedy Series. It also upset in Best Writing for a Comedy Series, with Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang winning over some huge Emmy favorites like Veep and Silicon Valley. Season 2 just premiered in May, about a month before Emmy voting, and earned rave reviews from critics and audiences alike. The small-scale comedy seems to be in the Louie vein of auteur-centered shows with a very unique, specific voice, and with impressive visuals and strong episodes like “Thanksgiving,” it could do very well on Emmy nomination morning.
Watch Master of None Season 2 on Netflix.
4. Atlanta
I have Atlanta towards the middle of the pack for the time being, if only because I’m not sure how Emmy voters will respond to it. The FX series from Donald Glover is a very idiosyncratic look at Atlanta culture and while critics fell in love with it from the start, I don’t know how the average older white male Academy voter will respond. Either way, it does have the cool factor in addition to being the buzziest new comedy of any other Emmy contenders, so it should be safe in Comedy Series. It does have many precursors on its side, winning at the Golden Globes, the PGA and the WGA, so there’s enough love to suggest it’s a major contender, but its avant garde style could have voters looking for safer shows.
Watch the first season of Atlanta on Amazon.
5. Silicon Valley
Like Better Call Saul on the Drama side, Silicon Valley seems to have fallen into the role of being the bridesmaid every year. From 23 nominations it has scored a measly two Emmys, both of which were for minor technical categories. It has gotten in every year since it began in 2014, but it has never been able to overcome the hurdle of winning anything major. It is still popular within the industry and it has the power of HBO on its side so it’s still very much a nominee, but a win is probably out of the question at this point in its run.
Watch Season 4 of Silicon Valley, plus the first three seasons, on HBO through Amazon.
6. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is another show that caught on with Emmy voters early, scoring major nominations right away in Comedy Series and the acting categories. The Netflix comedy from Tina Fey and Robert Carlock did not gain any new buzz or acclaim for Season 3, but if Emmy voters are still watching and loving it, it’s hard not to see it getting in here again. Its nomination total did drop by half from Season 1 to Season 2, so it’s possible they could be falling out of love, but there is so much goodwill for the series creators plus Ellie Kemper, Tituss Burgess and Jane Krakowski that it’ll probably get at least one more nomination here.
Watch the third season of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt on Netflix.
7. Transparent
Dramedies like Transparent tend to struggle when it comes to long-term Emmy success. Glee was nominated for Best Comedy Series for two years then it was dropped. Desperate Housewives, Nurse Jackie and Ugly Betty were nominated once and then ignored for the rest of their runs. Transparent may have more Emmy love up to this point than those shows, with star Jeffrey Tambor winning Comedy Actor two years in a row, but I can’t help thinking it’s in a similar spot. Like Kimmy Schmidt, Season 3 of Transparent got the “it’s still good” buzz from critics, but few claimed it was the best season ever. I think it gets in one more year but only by the skin of its teeth as Amazon’s major player.
Watch Season 3 of Transparent, plus the first two seasons, on Amazon Prime.
Close but no cigar
8. Modern Family
That’s right, it’s looking like Modern Family’s seemingly-eternal reign at the Emmys is coming to an end. Voters were bafflingly obsessed with the ABC sitcom for years, awarding it Best Comedy Series five years in a row and giving multiple trophies to stars Ty Burrell, Julie Bowen and Eric Stonestreet. But its nomination total last year plummeted to just four, and it’s so rare for shows in their eighth (8th!) season to keep getting Emmy love and I think I speak on behalf of many Emmy watchers in saying that it’s about time for Modern Family to slip out of the race.
Watch Seasons 1-8 of Modern Family on Amazon.
9. Insecure
HBO does a great job of getting their shows nominated for Series categories at the Emmys, and Insecure has the best shot among the many new shows the channel premiered this year. Star Issa Rae received huge critical acclaim and earned a Golden Globe nomination and a TCA Award nomination. While I do think Rae is getting into Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, I’m not sure that the show itself will be able to broach this category, but HBO is always capable of working its magic.
Watch the entire first season of Insecure on HBO through Amazon.
10. Fleabag
If any outside the box contender could sneak into Best Comedy Series this year, it’s Fleabag. The series, starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge as a woman living life in London, has actually gained momentum through scoring some key precursors, including Critics’ Choice Award nominations, TCA Award nominations and a BAFTA win. At six episodes it’s also very easy to watch, and those who have seen it tend to love it, so don’t be surprised if a little show by the name of Fleabag is among the shows on Emmy nomination morning.
Watch all six episodes of Fleabag on Amazon Prime.
Longshot contenders include past nominees Girls and The Big Bang Theory and newer shows Dear White People, Better Things, and Catastrophe.
Find out if my Emmy predictions are correct when the TV Academy announces its nominations on Thursday, July 13.