Emmy Experts Typing: Will ‘The Bear’ pull off a full sweep for Season 2?

Welcome to Emmy Experts Typing, a weekly column in which Gold Derby editors and Experts Joyce Eng and Christopher Rosen discuss the Emmy race — via Slack, of course. This week, in our Season 4 premiere, we survey the comedy field.

Christopher Rosen: Hello, Joyce! It’s time for the premiere edition of Emmy Experts Typing. For Season 4 of our weekly conversation series, the stakes have never been higher and the guest stars are bigger than ever? OK, not really — at least in the drama categories, hey-o! But we’ll spend the next several months cycling through the top races in comedy, drama and limited series, starting today with the shows that prove music laughter is the best medicine. Or, well, maybe not since “The Bear” is the runaway favorite already here and very well could repeat its 2023 (2024) Emmy wins in 2024 (2024). For what it’s worth, I’ve said yes, chef to “The Bear” in Best Comedy, Best Comedy Actor for Jeremy Allen White and Best Comedy Supporting Actor for Ebon Moss-Bachrach — but not Best Comedy Actress. Ayo Edebiri is there for this cycle after winning Best Comedy Supporting Actress for Season 1, and while I’d argue she was even better in Season 2, I don’t think she’s got enough material to take down Jean Smart, who is back again for “Hacks” after winning back-to-back Best Comedy Actress trophies in 2021 and 2022. “Hacks” comes back in May and already debuted its third season to a strong response at SXSW in Austin, Texas. I’ve got Smart and Hannah Einbinder winning their respective categories, thus preventing a “The Bear” sweep perhaps, despite appearances to the contrary. But regardless of the final results, it feels like the comedy categories will again be dominated by the usual suspects: “The Bear,” “Hacks,” “Only Murders in the Building” and “Abbott Elementary” are all well represented on my early predictions ballot. For comedy series, I filled out the rest of the category with some old favorites like “What We Do in the Shadows” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” as well as Apple TV+ newcomer “Palm Royale,” which has the Emmy-approved ensemble to die for: Kristin Wiig, a nine-time nominee, plus Allison Janney (seven wins), Laura Dern (one win), and Carol Burnett (seven wins). Then for the final spot, I went with my heart: “Girls5eva,” which made the jump from Peacock to Netflix for its third season (out right now!) and while I didn’t think it worked as well as the earlier years, the show still *Laurie Metcalf voice* makes me laugh. So let’s start there, Joyce. How do you envision the comedy categories shaking out and can the “Hacks” stars keep “The Bear” from another 2024 domination?

joyceeng: The comedy series race is like last year’s: six consensus picks (“The Bear,” “Hacks,” “Abbott Elementary,” “Only Murders in the Building,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “What We Do in the Shadows”) and two freebie spots. Last year, those went to newbies “Wednesday,” a monster smash, and “Jury Duty,” a word-of-mouth experimental hit. There’s been no breakout freshman comedy this cycle yet, but there’s still 11 weeks left (“Jury Duty” premiered on April 7). Could it be “Palm Royale”? Maybe, but I could also see that being the next “Shrinking”: acting noms but misses series. So I’ve gone with two 3-year-old shows, one of which is over: “Girls5eva” and “Reservation Dogs.” I think Season 3 of “Girls5eva” is its weakest (certainly not helped by the shorter six-episode order), but it is still hilarious and roasts what I call egobituaries. The dream is for it to get the classic Netflix bump and thrive at the Emmys a la “Schitt’s Creek.” Netflix also acquired the first two seasons and savvily held the release until the Season 3 drop, creating a 22-episode binge for new viewers (hey, that’s one full season of TV!). I did have “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” here before it departed for the open waters of the drama field, so I replaced that with “Res Dogs.” I have very little confidence in this — never mind the fact that this means I have three FX shows in here — but at the Television Critics Association winter press tour last month, FX Chairman John Landgraf said they were going to give “Res Dogs” a big push for its final season, and I believe anything John Landgraf tells me. I think they’re also extra incentivized because, he said, they had wanted the show to run for five seasons, but he got a surprise call from series creator Sterlin Harjo telling him that he had written the perfect ending. Plus, after getting overlooked for its first season, “Res Dogs” scored its first nomination last year, for sound editing, so at least it is on the Emmys’ radar (similarly, “Girls5eva” got a writing bid for Season 1). I have the same No. 1s in the acting races, but I can easily see Edebiri beating Smart. She’s so hot right now and — as much as I love “Hacks” — you know the buzz for Season 3 of “The Bear” (arriving in June) will outstrip that of “Hacks,” and voters will likely vote for Season 2 of “The Bear” with Season 3 in mind, just like they did for Season 1 with Season 2 in mind. My fear is that “Hacks” will suffer the same fate my beloved “Barry” did after it returned with its third season in 2022 following a lengthy hiatus. The season was fab and Bill Hader had never been better in all his capacities on the show, but voters had moved on in the interim to their then-fave “Ted Lasso,” which beat “Barry” in most of its main categories. Their fave show right now is “The Bear.” But I do agree that supporting actress might be the one category “The Bear” might not win, similar to how “Succession” couldn’t carry J. Smith-Cameron to a victory over Jennifer Coolidge. But is Hannah Einbinder Jennifer Coolidge? Or are Abby Elliott or Liza Colón-Zayas (who was not submitted last year) Tobias Menzies? Or could voters go back to former champ Sheryl Lee Ralph? Or give Meryl Streep her fourth Emmy?

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Christopher Rosen: Well, you mentioned “Palm Royale” having a shot in the acting categories and no better place is it positioned to potentially win than supporting actress. And yet I don’t have any of its lauded stars represented right now, instead going with double “The Bear,” double “Abbott,” and double “Hacks” (newly minted series regular Meg Stalter supremacy incoming) — with a dollop of Meryl. But having watched all episodes of “Palm Royale” (which is out next week), I could easily make a case for Janney or Burnett going all the way. Janney does what you expect when you cast Allison Janney, so that’s good, but Burnett steals the entire thing without even actually speaking for multiple episodes. She’s hilarious and a key factor in the series — this isn’t a stunt-casting situation. She could go the way of Harrison Ford for “Shrinking,” but I think the academy’s enthusiasm toward Burnett is obviously much larger. I too could see Edebiri go all the way again, but I’ll stick with Smart for now just because how can you bet against Smart? Switching to comedy supporting actor, we both have Moss-Bachrach again (Richie supremacy activated), but is there a case to be made for another “The Bear” actor? Oliver Platt seems like an obvious alternative, but I keep thinking Lionel Boyce could be the pick. Marcus is a beloved character and based on how Season 2 came to an end, Season 3 should bring a lot of emotion to his arc.

joyceeng: Best Comedy Supporting Actor was the easiest category for me to fill out because I just slotted in four dudes from “The Bear,” “Succession”-style. Marcus is beloved and Boyce will probably have some great material, given how Season 2 ended, in Season 3 that could give him a boost. But since I started the “‘Forks’ is the new ‘Rainbow'” analogy last year, it is my duty to continue it and say that EMB will win again for “Forks” (officially), just like how Brett Goldstein won again for “Rainbow” (officially) in 2022. We can’t predict the guest categories yet, but I expect “The Bear” and “Hacks” to dominate them the same way “Succession” and “The Last of Us” ruled over the drama ones last year. ” Best Comedy Guest Actress could see a lineup of “The Bear’s” Jamie Lee Curtis, Olivia Colman and Sarah Paulson with “Hacks'” Helen Hunt, Christina Hendricks and Kaitlin Olson, the last of whom could max out of guest, like she did in Season 1, in which case the former Mrs. Jermovich, Gillian Jacobs, is right there. Of course, Edebiri is also in play for her hosting stint on “Saturday Night Live.” “The Bear” could slay even when it’s not “The Bear.”

SEE ‘The Bear’ Season 3 will premiere in June — and yes, as a binge drop again

Christopher Rosen: I’ll hold a spot for Edebiri in the guest actress category again and I might leave room for Film Twitter’s bete noire Bradley Cooper in the guest actor race for his self-aware 60-second turn on “Abbott” this week. Bonus points for the fact that Cooper referenced his best 2023 performance: Rocket Raccoon. Joyce, I’ll leave you with the last word (of praise for our favorite MCU raccoon).

joyceeng: An immaculate appearance. But my favorite part of BCoop’s cameo was obviously the “Alias” shout-out. I like to believe it was a mandate by ABC, but Will Tippin and his frosted tips are iconic. Now excuse me while I rewatch the first two seasons.

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