“Sometimes actors just need to build up a bit more goodwill and I feel like that could happen this year,” says Gold Derby contributing writer Luca Giliberti in a new slugfest with me and editor Riley Chow. This is a big topic of discussion with the comedy lead acting races at the 2020 Emmys as we could see multiple instances of contenders finally breaking through after previous snubs. Some of these contenders include Ramy Youssef for Hulu’s “Ramy,” Linda Cardellini for Netflix’s “Dead to Me” and Kristen Bell for NBC’s “The Good Place.” Watch the new slugfest video above.
The three of us are split on whether Youssef can land a nomination in Best Comedy Actor after being ignored for Season 1. He just won a Golden Globe earlier this year and while I admit that that doesn’t always correlate with Emmy success, I explain to Chow and Giliberti that he is “one of those kinds of people like an Aziz Ansari” who is a comedian writing and acting in his own series that they tend to like in this category. Chow isn’t convinced, stating, “We were all looking for ‘Ramy’ to be the next ‘Fleabag,'” but despite good reviews, it hasn’t quite had the same level of buzz. Otherwise, we all agree that five of the six slots in Comedy Actor will comprise of Eugene Levy (“Schitt’s Creek”), Ted Danson (“The Good Place”), Larry David (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”), Michael Douglas (“The Kominsky Method”) and Don Cheadle (“Black Monday”). While I am going with Youssef for the other slot, Giliberti is backing five-time nominee Anthony Anderson (“Black-ish”). “He was the first one to get nominated for the show and I feel like he’ll be the last one to always be nominated,” he tells us. As for Chow, he’s going out on a limb and predicting Dave Burd for “Dave.”
Looking at Best Comedy Actress, all agree that Catherine O’Hara (“Schitt’s Creek”), Rachel Brosnahan (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”) and Christina Applegate (“Dead to Me”) will carry over from last year. “There’s a lot of fluidity here that could result in the cream rising to the top,” I observe, declaring O’Hara the clear front runner. Meanwhile, Giliberti thinks Applegate will be able to carry along Cardellini, her co-star. “She brought it in the second season and I would even say she was better in the second season than she was in the first,” he states. Beyond those four, it’s rather messy. There is general consensus that Pamela Adlon will probably be back for “Better Things” considering she’s been nominated twice before. The other nominee could be a returning favorite like Issa Rae (“Insecure”), Tracee Ellis Ross (“Black-ish”) or Jane Fonda/Lily Tomlin (“Grace and Frankie”). It could also be a new contender such as Merritt Wever (“Run”), who Chow points out is “another person that they just love.” There’s also Awkwafina (“Nora from Queens”) or Jane Levy (“Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist”). Either way, Giliberti accurately notes, “It’s a very confusing field.”
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