2015 Bennys: Comedy Awards

Second, the Comedy Awards!


Welcome back to the 2015 Benny Awards! Today, we'll be presenting the comedy awards! Come back tomorrow for the final drama awards!

And now, here's your host: Max Benowitz, Sultan of Television himself!




Best Comedy:

  1. Veep
  2. BoJack Horseman
  3. Rick and Morty
  4. Archer
  5. Silicon Valley
  6. Ash vs. Evil Dead

This has been a great year for comedy, and with another great year comes another great season of HBO's Veep. Once again, though very close, the political satire headed by Armando Iannucci takes the award home. All five of the other nominated shows deserve immense credit, but Veep edges them out for its second consecutive award.

Best Lead Male Actor (Comedy):

  1. H. Jon Benjamin - “Sterling Archer” - Archer
  2. Justin Roiland - “Rick Sanchez/Morty Smith” - Rick and Morty
  3. Will Arnett - “BoJack Horseman” - BoJack Horseman
  4. Billy Crystal - “Billy Crystal” - The Comedians
  5. Bruce Campbell - “Ash Williams” - Ash vs. Evil Dead
  6. Patrick Stewart - “Walter Blunt” - Blunt Talk

Reprising his famous role from Evil Dead franchise, Bruce Campbell is absolutely fantastic. His delivery, be it the Evil Ash or regular Ash character, his swagger, his way of talking - all play into what makes this performance so great. As funny as the others have been this year, Bruce is just more groovy.

Best Lead Female Actor (Comedy):

  1. Amy Poehler - “Leslie Knope” - Parks and Recreation
  2. Ellie Kemper - “Kimmy Schmidt” - Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
  3. Kaitlyn Olson - “Dee Reynolds” - It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
  4. Mindy Kaling - “Mindy Lahiri” - The Mindy Project
  5. Julia Louis Dreyfus - “Selina Meyer” - Veep

Once again, Julia Louis Dreyfus sweeps this category. After Elaine, Christine, and now Selina, there is a legitimate argument to make for Julia being the funniest female actress of all time, and certainly in the current television spectrum. Much the same way that House of Cards would not be worth watching without Kevin Spacey, Veep is made whole with Julia at the helm.

Best Supporting Male Actor (Comedy):

  1. Paul Scheer - “Andre Nowzick” - The League
  2. Charlie Day - “Charlie Kelly” - It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
  3. Tony Hale - “Gary Walsh” - Veep
  4. Chris Parnell - “Cyril Figgus” - Archer
  5. Kevin Dunn - “Ben Cafferty” - Veep
  6. Zach Woods - “Donald ‘Jared’ Dunn” - Silicon Valley

Behind every man there is a great woman, and behind every great woman, there is a not so great, very sleepy and lazy man. That is the theory that Ben Cafferty gives to the universe of Veep. His subtle, snide remarks, his world weary attitude, and the command he ostensibly has over the younger White House employees is fantastic, and Cafferty's comedic timing is unparalleled. He takes home his first Benny much the same way.

Best Supporting Female Actor (Comedy):

  1. Jane Krakowski - “Jacqueline Voorhees” - Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
  2. Jessica Walter - “Malory Archer” - Archer
  3. Anna Chlumsky - “Amy Brookheimer” - Veep
  4. Suzanne Cryer - “Laurie Bream” - Silicon Valley
  5. Amy Sedaris - “Princess Carolyn” - BoJack Horseman
  6. Judy Greer - “Cheryl Tunt” - Archer

Much like Julia-Louise Dreyfus has had so many memorable roles that she is in the discussion for funniest female, Walter is in the same thought process. After Lucille Bluth and now Malory Archer, two very similar yet equally hysterical roles, Walter continues to play the meanest old woman on television, all while under the guise of a loving mother. Whenever Archer goes off the air, it will be the end of an era for the Lucille Bluth archetype, and all of television will suffer as a result.

Best Writing for a Comedy:

  1. Adam Reed - Archer - “Vision Quest”
  2. Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi, and Tom Spezialy - Ash vs. Evil Dead - “El Jefe”
  3. Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, and Glenn Howerton - It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia - “Charlie Work”
  4. Joe Lawson - BoJack Horseman - “Escape From L.A.”
  5. Armando Ianucci, Simon Blackwell, and Tony Roche - Veep - “Election Night”
  6. Alec Berg - Silicon Valley - “Bad Money"

All six of these episodes were among my favorite minutes of television watched this year, but in the end, the best blend of comedy and drama, writing finesse, and character development was the penultimate episode of BoJack Horseman's second season. "Escape From L.A." is not only named after one of the best Kurt Russell action movies (albeit far worse than "Escape from New York",) but featured a dramatic story arc encompassing hilarious lines all the while. It will take a lot for BoJack to top itself in the third season, or for any show to get the "dramedy" aspects of television just right as well as BoJack.

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