Louis-Dreyfus, Tambor likely to repeat as comedy winners
There’s only one big and utterly absorbing bit of speculation facing the Sunday telecast of the 69th annual Emmy Awards.
Just one: Or, put another way: Will
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, the most-honored comedy actress in TV history, has five straight wins for “Veep.” All of those were deserved, and a sixth would be, too.
Here is a look at the nominees for best actress and best actor in a comedy series — and our predictions of the winners.
Actress in a comedy series
■ Pamela Adlon (“Better Things,” FX): As wonderful as Adlon is in this underrated, underwatched series, she represents the longest of long shots.
■ Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“Veep,” HBO): There’s nothing about Louis-Dreyfus’ performance in the past season that suggested “tired,” or “been-theredone-that.” She was great, as usual — as was the show.
■ Jane Fonda (“Grace and Frankie,” Netflix): The ridiculous thing about Fonda’s presence here is also the ridiculous thing about costar Lily Tomlin’s — they’re both equally good on the show, and, as a result, voters might have simply canceled out their votes for each.
■ Allison Janney (“Mom,” CBS): Could Janney make history? She won for supporting actress in a comedy in 2014 and ‘15, and the Emmy gods allowed her to enter in the lead category this year.
■ Ellie Kemper (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” Netflix): Kemper, insanely talented and funny, is now an Emmy staple, awaiting official validation from the TV Academy. Given the crowd she’s up against, though, the wait is likely to continue.
■ Tracee Ellis Ross (“Black-ish,” ABC): Ross’ Golden Globe win earlier this year might have worked against her. The contrarian Emmys rarely like to reinforce a Globe victory with a follow-up Emmy, no matter how deserving.
■ Lily Tomlin (“Grace and Frankie,” Netflix): A Tony, Grammy, Golden Globe, Oscar nod, and a couple of major Emmy wins a few dozen years ago. What’s missing in this spectacular career? An outstanding actress win, darnit. That’s what.
■ Who should win: Tomlin. One great comedy actress upsetting another great comedy actress? No one would complain about that, including Louis-Dreyfus.
■ Who likely will win: LouisDreyfus. As remarkable as her competition is here, none of these performances rose to the level of “upset.” The streak continues.
Actor in a comedy series
■ Anthony Anderson (“Black-ish,” ABC): This marks Anderson’s third consecutive nomination, and the simple — or impossible — question before voters is, did his performance this past season surpass the other two enough to unseat Jeffrey Tambor? My sense: He had his best shot in 2016.
■ Aziz Ansari (“Master of None,” Netflix): An Ansari victory would be historic — the first major Emmy comedy actor won by an Indian American. Problem is, Emmy voters don’t always view awards in terms of history.
■ Zach Galifianakis (“Baskets,” FX): Galifianakis certainly belongs in this group, but a win seems about as likely as the moon falling into the Atlantic Ocean.
■ Donald Glover (“Atlanta,” FX): The autobiographical comedydrama has been around for a while, but Glover gave the genre new life and relevance.
■ William H. Macy (“Shameless,” Showtime): Maybe you, certainly me, and likely the entire audience at the Microsoft Theater would stand and cheer if the name “William H. Macy” is called out. He has been nominated six times.
■ Jeffrey Tambor (“Transparent,” Amazon Prime): Tambor is in a particularly strong position. He has two wins behind him and a possible third ahead. He’s the one to beat, but is he unbeatable?
■ Who should win: Macy. If the world and the Emmys were fair, that would happen. But they’re not.
■ Who likely will win: Tambor. Streaks are a funny thing in the comedy category. They tend to keep on going when the “streaker” is deserving. Tambor is.