BENJAMONSTER AWARDS: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

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

The nominees are:

JENNIFER ANISTON as Alex Levy in The Morning Show (Apple TV+)

OLIVIA COLMAN as Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown (Netflix)

LAURA LINNEY as Wendy Byrde in Ozark (Netflix)

MANDY MOORE as Rebecca Pearson in This is Us (NBC)

MJ RODRIGUEZ as Blanca Rodriguez in Pose (FX)

REESE WITHERSPOON as Bradley Jackson in The Morning Show (Apple TV+)

ZENDAYA as Rue Bennett in Euphoria (HBO)

And the Winner Is...
JENNIFER ANISTON
The Morning Show (Apple TV+)
In another very competitive category for actresses, Jennifer Aniston takes the award for her acclaimed turn on the first season of The Morning Show. Regardless of what you think about The Morning Show, I think it should be pretty clear that this one of Aniston's best projects in a long time, perhaps since Friends. She was captivating as Alex Levy. She could be a villain, a sympathetic character, and a crusader all within an episode. It looked at first like she was playing a type, a nasty and powerful celebrity who felt like she was owed everything while fighting with the up and coming new anchor and protecting the old one. But Aniston made the character so much more than that. It's hard for a character like that to be someone to root for especially because Alex Levy certainly has her flaws, but Aniston expertly walked that line and created a very winning performance. She's hands down the best part of The Morning Show.

Thoughts on the Rest of the Nominees:
Aniston's The Morning Show co-star Reese Witherspoon is among the nominees here. Considering her strong but similar characters in Big Little Lies and Little Fires Everywhere (which I watched before The Morning Show), it was refreshing to see her in a very different role. If I had been doing these awards every year, I guarantee you Mandy Moore would already have some wins. She continues to do excellent work playing a character in so many different stages of life. Mj Rodriguez turned in another good performance in the second season of Pose with an arc that built as the season went along. Olivia Colman had the challenging task of stepping into the shoes of the acclaimed Claire Foy on The Crown but did it beautifully with a stoic and strong performance. Zendaya is the absolute star of Euphoria and took what could have been a mess of a TV show and gave it a very distinct voice and perspective. The biggest threat to Aniston though was Laura Linney, who really took over the third season of Ozark with a powerful performance in a season that really centered on her character more than any other.

Tomorrow: Outstanding Limited/Anthology Series!