The comedy race at this year’s Emmys is ironically shaping up to be the awards’ most dramatic showdown, as a new upstart takes on a veteran favorite.
In one corner is HBO’s returning heavyweight, “Hacks,” an awards darling since its premiere in 2021 that’s racked up 86 nominations (24 this year) and 12 wins during its run.
In the other, a new challenger, Apple TV’s “Widow’s Bay,” enters the awards fray with an impressive 19 nominations for its inaugural awards season.
“Hacks,” which wrapped its five-season run in May, follows Jean Smart as stand-up comedian Deborah Vance, who plots a career comeback alongside feisty young writer Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder).
If Smart takes home the best comedy actress award for the fifth time, she’ll become the first woman to sweep the trophy every single year of a show’s run.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus came close with her six consecutive wins for “Veep” (which made her the performer with the most wins for a single role). But Phoebe Waller-Bridge snatched the Emmy for “Fleabag” in 2019, ending her streak.
Smart’s got some formidable competition this year from Lisa Kudrow and “The Comeback,” although the general feeling around town is that Smart’s got this final win in the bag.
But Smart’s success has often felt like the only surefire victory for the “Hacks,” which has several one-time wins in categories like supporting comedy actress (for Einbinder) and directing. It’s only taken home the coveted best comedy trophy once, in 2024, which means the race remains wide open.
That’s where “Widow’s Bay” comes in. The horror comedy follows the citizens of the titular New England town as they’re beset by centuries-old evil curses. Matthew Rhys stars as the town’s mayor, who insists on making Widow’s Bay the next big tourist attraction… curses be damned!
Rhys, plus supporting cast members Stephen Root and Kate O’Flynn, have emerged as early favorites in their acting races.
The series began as somewhat of an underdog in both viewership and awards prospects. But strong word of mouth propelled it to grow by an average of 20% week over week from its initial 2.5 million viewers. That’s made it impossible to ignore. (The surging Apple hit finished eighth among original series for its season finale, with a reported 415 million minutes of viewing.)
“Hacks” and “Widow’s Bay” are locked a classic conflict: Will voters pay tribute to a departing favorite or make way for an exciting newcomer?
The smart money’s on a Smart win for “Hacks,” with “Widow’s Bay” otherwise sweeping the lead and supporting acting categories, and taking the outstanding comedy trophy.
We’ll have to wait until Sept. 14 to see who gets the last laugh.
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