BENJAMONSTER AWARDS: Outstanding Technical Design of a Comedy Series

Today's award is Outstanding Technical Design of a Comedy Series!

The nominees are:

DEAD TO ME (Netflix)

THE GOOD PLACE (NBC)

HIGH FIDELITY (Hulu)

THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL (Amazon)

NEVER HAVE I EVER (Netflix)

THE POLITICIAN (Netflix)

SPACE FORCE (Netflix)

ZOEY'S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST (NBC)

And the Winner Is...
THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL
Amazon
Many shows in this category are top notch when it comes to technical design, but none of them top the elaborate and gorgeous design of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. In its third season, Maisel expanded its world as Midge went on tour. As usual, we got a beautiful depiction of a by-gone era of New York City opulence but we also got USO shows, Las Vegas and Miami Beach circa early 1960s. From stunning designs of stages and hotels that Midge and Shy Baldwin performed in to the always pitch perfect costumes, Mrs. Maisel is such a gorgeous splash of color for every minute of every episode. Its technical design seems to spare no expense. Sure, it's a rose-colored view of an era that was actually quite turbulent at times but there's no problem with that in a show like this. This is a show that really makes me wonder how they can shoot in the COVID era. It's hard to imagine them being able to scale back in an appropriate way so I wonder if they'll just wait it out.

Thoughts on the Rest of the Nominees:
There are several Netflix shows on the list because, well, Netflix spares no expense when it comes to technical design. The technical design of Space Force is certainly the best part of an otherwise disappointing show. The Politician treats its fantastical plot with a lavish setting. Dead to Me has a beautiful contrast of its dark comedy with a pretty sunny setting while Never Have I Ever very effectively tells a traditional story through non-traditional eyes with great cinematography and costumes. Broadcast shows can sometimes struggle to compare to streaming shows when it comes to technical design because of their budgets, but NBC had two shows that were very effective at that element. The Good Place has always done a pretty incredible job at creating its own world while Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist put on full production numbers that popped in a variety of settings. Finally, High Fidelity managed to have a high quality looking show while decidedly placing itself in a grungy world.

Tomorrow: Outstanding Technical Design of a Drama Series!