Emmy Predictions 2020 - Who Will Likely Be Nominated for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series?

From July 2 to July 13, 2020, voting is taking place for The 72nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. As such, it's fun to look at which actors and shows have the best chances of actually being nominated this year. So, these are my predictions for who will be nominated for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

2019 Nominees:

        Christina Applegate for Netflix's Dead to Me
        Rachel Brosnahan for Amazon's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
        Julia Louis-Dreyfus for HBO's Veep
        Natasha Lyonne for Netflix's Russian Doll
        Catherine O'Hara for Pop's Schitt's Creek
        Phoebe Waller-Bridge for Amazon's Fleabag (WINNER)

In any category where high turnover is expected, several outcomes could occur. It could open the door for former nominees to make their way back into the category. Or it could allow a number of buzzy newcomers to make their splashy debuts. Both could actually be at play in this category. Rachel Brosnahan, Catherine O'Hara and Christina Applegate are going to return to the field. They will remain competitive for the ultimate prize too. That leaves half the field completely up in the air. Pamela Adlon, Issa Rae, Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Tracee Ellis Ross and Allison Janney have all been previously nominated for their current shows. All of them can make strong arguments for once again earning the support from voters. Applegate's Dead to Me co-star Linda Cardellini missed out a year ago when the race for nominations was insanely competitive. In a more open year, she could easily join the list. But this could also be the place for shows like The Great and Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist to make their stand. Elle Fanning and Jane Levy are strong contenders too. As such, this race is incredibly open as the debate wages on whether to reward past nominees again or embrace new contenders on rising shows.

For the 2020 awards ceremony, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences decided to tie the number of nominations to the number of submissions in each category. For Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, 86 actresses were eligible on the ballot. That will translate to six nominees in this category.

Actors most likely to be nominated:

1. Rachel Brosnahan for Amazon's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
2. Catherine O'Hara for Pop's Schitt's Creek
3. Christina Applegate for Netflix's Dead to Me
4. Issa Rae for HBO's Insecure
5. Pamela Adlon for FX's Better Things
6. Linda Cardellini for Netflix's Dead to Me

Serious threats that could break through:

1. Elle Fanning for Hulu's The Great
2. Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda for Netflix's Grace and Frankie
3. Tracee Ellis Ross for ABC's Black-ish
4. Jane Levy for NBC's Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist
5. Kristen Bell for NBC's The Good Place
6. Alison Brie for Netflix's GLOW
7. Allison Janney for CBS' Mom
8. Awkwafina for Comedy Central's Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens
9. Robin Thede for HBO's A Black Lady Sketch Show
10. Merritt Wever for HBO's Run
11. Zoë Kravitz for Hulu's High Fidelity
12. Rashida Jones for Netflix's #BlackAF
13. Gwyneth Paltrow for Netflix's The Politician
14. Hailee Steinfeld for AppleTV+'s Dickinson

Some considerable long-shots:

1. Anna Kendrick for HBO Max's Love Life
2. Debra Messing for NBC's Will & Grace
3. Sara Gilbert for ABC's The Conners
4. Aidy Bryant for Hulu's Shrill
5. Natasia Demetriou for FX's What We Do In the Shadows
6. Kat Dennings for Hulu's Dollface
7. Maitreyi Ramakrishnan for Netflix's Never Have I Ever
8. Justina Machado for Pop's One Day at a Time
9. Helen Hunt for Spectrum's Mad About You
10. Daisy Haggard for FX's Breeders
11. Jessica Barden for Netflix's The End of the F***ing World
12. America Ferrera for NBC's Superstore
13. Constance Wu for ABC's Fresh Off the Boat
14. Lucy Liu, Ginnifer Goodwin and Kirby Howell-Baptiste for CBS All Access' Why Women Kill

Colorful oddities who still have an outside chance:

1. Andy Allo for Amazon's Upload
2. Kayla Cromer and Maeve Press for Freeform's Everything's Gonna Be Okay
3. Sonya Cassidy for AMC's Lodge 49
4. Folake Olowofoyeku for CBS' Bob Hearts Abishola
5. Abby McEnany for Showtime's Work in Progress
6. Mae Martin for Netflix's Feel Good
7. Jennifer Jason Leigh and Brigette Lundy-Paine for Netflix's Atypical
8. Ana Fabrega and Cassandra Ciangherotti for HBO's Los Espookys
9. Logan Browning for Netflix's Dear White People
10. Aisling Bea for Netflix's Living With Yourself

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with my choices? Let me know in the comments below!