The Nominees Ranked By Which Program Should Win:
- TruTV's At Home with Amy Sedaris
- IFC's Portlandia
- Comedy Central's Drunk History
- HBO's Tracey Ullman's Show
- NBC's Saturday Night Live
- Hulu's I Love You, America with Sarah Silverman
Amy Sedaris did some absolutely crazy, ridiculous and inspired things with her new show on TruTV. It's this madcap adventure designed as a home maintenance and informational series. It was so absolutely delightful. I didn't watch it when it was on but quickly binged through the episodes. They were so mesmerizing and easily one of the best things I've seen lately. As such, it's the show I can make a passionate argument for in this category. Meanwhile, I can make the argument against Saturday Night Live because it's no longer as inspired or compelling as it was even a year ago. Last year Alec Baldwin's Trump impression was solid and amusing. And now, it's mostly just tired and one-note. The writers there still struggle with political humor. Moreover, Sarah Silverman's show never truly connected with me even though I'm such a fan of her work as a stand-up. That was very disappointing.
The Nominees Ranked by Which Program Will Win:
- NBC's Saturday Night Live
- IFC's Portlandia
- HBO's Tracey Ullman's Show
- Comedy Central's Drunk History
- TruTV's At Home with Amy Sedaris
- Hulu's I Love You, America with Sarah Silverman
The Variety Sketch Series category has only existed for three years with a new winner each year - Inside Amy Schumer in 2015, Key & Peele in 2016 and Saturday Night Live in 2017. As such, it should be fascinating to see if the voters continue to follow that pattern and avoid just awarding the same show. Of course, the only opportunity they have to do so is Saturday Night Live. That's very much a distinct possibility because that show is so dominant in popularity in this genre. Plus, it continues to get a number of performers nominated. A year ago when it won, it also won four acting awards. That was very impressive. It could easily do that again this year as well. As such, it needs to be looked at as the frontrunner. Or perhaps the voters will decide to reward one of the veteran nominees in this category. Portlandia and Drunk History have both been nominated four years in a row. They have yet to win. Portlandia may pull off an upset because it has the final season narrative it can sell to voters. And Tracey Ullman's Show can't be counted out either because the voters have shown such a passion for her work as a performer even though the show quietly came to its conclusion as well last fall.
What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with my predictions? Let me know in the comments below!
