Two podcasts in one week, what a treat. On episode 140 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor in Chief Erik Anderson, TV Editor Tyler Doster, as well as AwardsWatch contributor, host of the And The Runner Up Is podcast, and the new Content Update Editor for Entertainment Weekly Kevin Jacobsen, as they break down the Comedy categories at this year’s Emmys.

On episode 137, it was alluded to how the Limited or Anthology Series or Movie portion of the Emmy race seemed to be a little lacking in competition. Well, have no fear because the Comedy Series races are chock full of recent winners, old favorites that are looking to come back strong, and new series looking to capitalize on their freshmen season success. Last year saw the Apple TV+ darling Ted Lasso and the HBO Max smash hit Hacks take home the majority of the awards, and with very strong second seasons, they look to continue their winning streaks.

But not so fast, as Barry season three has just wrapped up with one of the best season of television of the year, leading many to think it could be the one to beat when it comes to Emmy night. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Atlanta also returned with stellar efforts and have been previous winners in multiple categories. And there are newcomers in Only Murders in the Building, that led by a spectacular comedic trio, and Abbott Elementary, which could be stealing Lasso’s title as the most charming show on television, and showing one of the best ensembles of the year.

With also shows like What We Do in the Shadows, Russian Doll, The Flight Attendant, Reservation Dogs, Insecure, Julia, Curb Your Enthusiasm, black-ish, Our Flag Means Death, Peacemaker, and many more trying to compete for limited nomination spots, this is the most stacked Comedy Series categories we’ve had in years. Thus, Ryan, Erik, Tyler, and Kevin have tons to break down, with plenty of fantastic insight into how they see each category and show shaping out, and a lot of painful omissions from their new wave of predictions.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify and more.

This podcast runs 1h40m. The Drama Series Categories episode will be released sometime soon, but in the meantime, please check out all of our Emmy nomination predictions and interviews on the website. Now, let’s get into it.

"Modern Fashion" courtesy of AShamaluevMusic and used by permission