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Predicting the 76th Primetime Emmy Award Winners: Best Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress in a Comedy


September 9, 2024

And now we’re into my favorite division, Comedy. Or, know, whatever passes for it these days, when a drama with a few laughs qualifies and hoovers up all the awards because it’s only a half-hour long.

I swear, I am not going to get up on a soapbox about how The Bear is not, in fact, a comedic enterprise. At least, I’m not going to harp on it. I will bring it up again tomorrow when we get into the Best Actor and Actress categories, but only in passing.

Now, I will take just a moment to say that The Bear is a terrific show that my wife and I very much enjoy, but for the most part, it ain’t funny, and there is no defendable reason why it should be in this division. None. Comedies are supposed to be funny. Period.

That being said, let’s start getting back to rewarding those comedic shows and performances.

Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Nominees

The nominees for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series are:

  • Lionel Boyce, The Bear
  • Paul W. Downs, Hacks
  • Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Bear
  • Paul Rudd, Only Murders in the Building
  • Tyler James Williams, Abbott Elementary
  • Bowen Yang, Saturday Night Live

Category Analysis

If you want to talk funny, you don’t have to go much further than Bowen Yang. The man is hilarious, and he deserves each of the four nominations he has earned for his time on SNL. There are plenty of “not ready for Prime Time” players who have won these awards in the past, and there will come a time (I imagine soon) when he will win this award. However, it won’t be this year, because there are too many guys in front of him.

I love Paul W. Downs’ work on Hacks, but he’s one of those guys who also writes and directs the show he’s in. He’s also already won Emmys for that, so I don’t think he’s going to win for this category. Also, like Yang, there are too many actors ahead of him. Four, to be exact.

Let’s start with Paul Rudd, who is beloved by every single person on the planet, but isn’t doing the kinds of movies that garner awards conversation. By doing a single season of one of the most beloved shows on the planet, besides two of the most beloved stars on the planet (whom we will discuss tomorrow), he nabs himself a seat at the awards table. He was hilarious in Only Murders in the Building, and I was glad to see him recognized for it. I think there is an outside chance that he wins this, if only because he’s only eligible for this one season. Plus, people love him.

That being said, I think that’s an outside chance, because Lionel Boyce, Tyler James Williams and Ebon Moss-Bachrach are also here. Boyce is great, and in another year, he might get closer to the stage. Or at least in a year when his costar isn’t his competition.

Emmy-Winning Predictions

This competition is actually between Williams and Moss-Bachrach, who won this award for the show’s first season. I thought he was far better in Season Two, especially in his showcase episode, “Forks,” and so I believe he will win this. And he deserves it.

And yet, my heart is with Williams, and it’s not just because he’s on a funny show. Williams is one of those child actors who grew up to be a strong adult performer, and he was especially strong this season, in which his character and Quinta Brunson’s have finally consummated their long-simmering flirtation. 

Again, I think Moss-Bachrach is going to win this, and I believe his performance warrants it, but part of me wants It to be Williams, who would also deserve it. His work is, after all, on a very funny show.

Who Should Win: Ebon Moss-Bachrach
Who Will Win: Ebon Moss-Bachrach

Best Supporting Actress in a in a Comedy Series

One of the interesting things about the Emmy Awards is how actors can be nominated over and over again for the same role. I mean, there is something different in each season, different stories and arcs, different nuances in performance, all that stuff. It allows people to earn repeat wins, while others, sadly, keep coming up short. 

There’s a point to this, but let’s first mention the nominees.

The nominees for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series are:

  • Carol Burnett, Palm Royale
  • Lisa Colon-Zayas, The Bear
  • Hannah Einbinder, Hacks
  • Janelle James, Abbott Elementary
  • Sheryl Lee Ralph, Abbott Elementary
  • Meryl Streep, Only Murders in the Building

Category Analysis

Let’s start with the legends. Carol Burnett has won seven Emmy Awards. Seven. This is also her 26th nomination (Yes, 26).

Burnett is an absolute legend. That is inarguable and incontestable.

She’s also wonderful on Palm Royale, a show I eventually liked after some time. Burnett is the best thing about the show, which is saying something because the star is Kristen Wiig.

However, just like the other legend in this category, Meryl Streep, I don’t think she’s going to win the award because as good as they both were, both performances are somewhat forgettable. I had to be reminded about Palm Royale, and when I think of Only Murders in the Building, it’s not Meryl Streep who first comes to mind. Those kinds of things matter.

Lisa Colon-Zayas is wonderful on The Bear, which I have covered quite deeply in the above companion piece, and because of the love the show engenders, I think there’s an outside shot she could pull an upset here. The last Emmys saw something of a sweep by the show, and that could conceivably happen again, in which case Colon-Zayas would reap the benefits, but I don’t think it will. Also, I think Abby Elliott deserves this spot. An upset is possible, but not likely.

Emmy-Winning Predictions

The point I made above about repeat nominees comes into play here, regarding the final three nominees. Sheryl Lee Ralph won this award the first time she was nominated for Abbott Elementary and has been nominated in each season since. I don’t think she’s any better or worse than she was that first season, because she is always stellar.

Ralph will almost certainly keep showing up here as long as the show is on the air. The same goes for Janelle James, who has also earned three nods. I thought she was going to win each of the last two years (last year, she lost to Ayo Edebiri, who is now in the Leading Actress category), and for a while, I was ready to call her victory again this year, figuring that I have to be right sometime. 

The thing is, James deserves this award. Some day. Not this year, though, because this is finally Hannah Einbinder’s year. Einbinder has also been nominated for each of the three seasons of her show, and while she lost both previous times, I think this is the year she finally breaks through.

There was so much going on this season, and Einbinder was at the center of it. It’s Jean Smart’s show (and more about her tomorrow, too), but Einbinder has finally stepped out from Smart’s shadow and has planted her flag. Especially in that final scene of the third season. I think this is finally the year she gets the gold. And she will have earned it. As much as I love James, I am rooting for Einbinder.

Who Should Win: Hannah Einbinder
Who Will Win: Hannah Einbinder 

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