Team AD TV’s 2021 Comedy Emmy Predictions

Can it really be as straightforward as that?

Last year, Team AD TV felt the growing swell of support for Schitt’s Creek, a series we’d been championing since it first premiered. One question leading up to the Emmys, though, was how far would Schitt’s Creek go? I believe I’d even said on a podcast, “It won’t win everything, right?” Well, it did. It won everything, included an extremely deserved but extremely unexpected win for Annie Murphy.

So, with that in the back of our heads, it feels like Team AD TV is expecting a similar sweep for Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso. Even in the face of the multiple nominations in the Supporting Actor race, the majority of the team predicts Brett Goldstein to emerge victorious. Despite the obvious concern over vote splitting, there is a certain logic to predicting him. He’s a writer on the series, and he’s a standout performance amongst the supporting cast. If you’re going to vote for someone, then you’ll largely center on him. Plus, his Season Two character arc, which aired during the final voting window, is truly outstanding.

Yet, the majority of Team AD TV goes against common logic re: vote splitting. Common logic, of course, meaning that the Television Academy would be unable to single out a performance of the four nominated and another performer would win. Shadan smartly predicts Kenan Thompson based, I suspect, partly on the vote splitting scenario and also on the fact that Thompson is SNL‘s current longest-running cast member. That and he’s just great on the show, one of the only performers remaining to consistently bring laughs. I did not go with Kenan, however, because he’s nominated against Bowen Yang, a featured performer making history as the first SNL featured cast member to receive a nomination.

Now, you’re probably asking, “Why do you predict Brett Goldstein if you’re not predicting Kenan Thompson (or Bowen Yang) because of vote splitting?” Good question, and I’m not sure I have a really great answer. To me, Goldstein’s performance is so singularly great and key to the arc of the series that it clearly rises above the other three nominated actors. Kenan Thompson and Bowen Yang are on more of an even playing field. To me, anyway.

Watch Paul Reiser win for The Kominsky Method. He’s never won you know…

Otherwise, Team AD TV lines up on Series, Actor, Actress, and Supporting Actress (mostly). Writing and directing is a bit more split, as you can see in our chart below.

But there’s a very real scenario where only three comedies take home awards Sunday night: Ted Lasso, Hacks, and The Flight Attendant. Honestly, that feels right. Until Hacks came along, it was really a 2-show race.

See how Team AD TV fares on their predictions as the 2021 Primetime Emmy Awards are announced Sunday night on CBS.