BENJAMONSTER AWARDS: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Today's award is Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series!

The nominees are:

CHRISTINA APPLEGATE as Jen Harding in Dead to Me (Netflix)

KRISTEN BELL as Eleanor Shellstrop in The Good Place (NBC)

RACHEL BROSNAHAN as Midge Maisel in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)












AIDY BRYANT as Annie Easton in Shrill (Hulu)

LINDA CARDELLINI as Judy Hale in Dead to Me (Netflix)

ZOE KRAVITZ as Robyn Brooks in High Fidelity (Hulu)

JANE LEVY as Zoey in Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (NBC)

MAITREYI RAMAKRISHNAN as Devi in Never Have I Ever (Netflix)

And the Winner Is...
RACHEL BROSNAHAN
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)
The actress categories are tough this year but my award goes to the titular character in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Mrs. Maisel is smartly written and beautifully directed, and it has a tremendous supporting cast (as evidenced by my nominations). But none of it wouldn't work if Mrs. Maisel herself wasn't so marvelous. Rachel Brosnahan. Brosnahan is the perfect person for the role with her witty and quick timing and 60s-era glamour. Her season three performance took her on a comedy tour around the country which allowed for her to do even more stand-up performances (no easy feat either considering Brosnahan did not come from a stand-up background). She also had tremendous rapport with her newest cast-mates Leroy McClain and Sterling K. Brown and a highlight of the season was her anger and steadfast refusal to read an ad she disagreed with for the radio. Brosnahan makes every scene she's in better even when the focus is on one of her many quirky fellow cast members. It's such a winning performance, three seasons running.

Thoughts on the Rest of the Nominees:
Another strong category. Two slots belonged to the stars of Dead to Me. Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini are really elevating that show with their performances. They are like a modern day Lucy and Ethel except in a really dark comedy. They both deserve to be nominated because it's hard to imagine the show with only one. Kristen Bell gave another strong performance in the final season of The Good Place as her character took control of her destiny (literally). Aidy Bryant took a step forward in the second season of Shrill with a more clearly defined character. There were also three actresses from new shows. Jane Levy was hands down the best part of Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist and her charm really carried an otherwise bizarre premise. Zoe Kravitz found a great role for herself in High Fidelity and was a complicated yet very realistic character. Finally, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is a rising star and had a breakout performance in Never Have I Ever as the very headstrong Devi.

Tomorrow: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series!