BENJAMONSTER AWARDS: Outstanding Guest Actor or Actress in a Comedy Series

Today's award is for Outstanding Guest Actor or Actress in a Comedy Series! As I mentioned yesterday, this award is for anyone who appeared in a maximum of four episodes or less than half, whichever is smaller.

The nominees are:

JASON ALEXANDER as Asher Friedman in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)

MARLA GIBBS as Belle in Bless This Mess (ABC)

JUDITH LIGHT as Dede Standish in The Politician (Netflix)

BETTE MIDLER as Hadassah Gold in The Politician (Netflix)

J.K. SIMMONS as Frank Dillman in Brooklyn Nine-Nine (NBC)

WANDA SYKES as Moms Mabley in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)

BRADLEY WHITFORD as Roger Peralta in Brooklyn Nine-Nine (NBC)

FRED WILLARD as Fred Naird in Space Force (Netflix)

And the Winner Is...
FRED WILLARD
Space Force (Netflix)
The late, great Fred Willard takes the prize for one of his final on-screen appearances. Willard, a veteran and master of comedy and improv, delivered some very funny scenes in a show that was unfortunately lacking for humor too often. Willard was great as the befuddled father of Steve Carell's main character. Though his scenes were mostly phone calls, he relished the role of a "confused grandpa." His legendary comedic timing was still completely in tact even as it was pretty clear that his health was starting to fail. My favorite Fred Willard roles of all time are in the Christopher Guest movies like Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show, but this was a nice end to a great career.

Thoughts on the Rest of the Nominees: 
There are a lot of legends among the nominees. I haven't seen season two of The Politician yet so I don't know how Judith Light and Bette Midler did as series regulars but they certainly provided a spark to the finale of season one. The great Marla Gibbs remains as sharp as ever in a memorable holiday guest turn on the underrated Bless This Mess. J.K. Simmons is great in everything he's in and he had a strong guest appearance on Brooklyn Nine-Nine but just as much humor was derived from other character's reaction to him. Bradley Whitford returned for his fourth appearance on Brooklyn this season and turned in another strong performance. Jason Alexander turned up for a couple episodes of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and had a good rapport with Tony Shalhoub. Finally, I'm not usually a fan of Wanda Sykes but she had a very strong appearance where she embodied Moms Mabley on stage at the Apollo. She was probably the closest to winning of the rest of the nominees.

Tomorrow: Outstanding Guest Actor or Actress in a Drama Series!