BENJAMONSTER AWARDS 2021: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

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

Check out the nominees and winner from 2020!

This year's nominees are:

KALEY CUOCO as Cassie Bowden in The Flight Attendant (HBO Max)

HANNAH EINBINDER as Ava in Hacks (HBO Max)

RENEE ELISE GOLDSBERRY as Wickie Roy in Girls5Eva (Peacock)

ANNA KONKLE as Anna Kone in PEN15 (Hulu)

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

NASIM PEDRAD as Chad in Chad (TBS)

JEAN SMART as Deborah Vance in Hacks (HBO Max)

HAILEE STEINFELD as Emily Dickinson in Dickinson (Apple TV+)

And the Winner Is...

KALEY CUOCO

The Flight Attendant (HBO Max)

This was a real tough choice but I went with Kaley Cuoco because of how much the success of The Flight Attendant hinged on her performance. The Flight Attendant is an ambitious show that got a lot of things right but was a little bit up and down with execution at time. It tonally jumped between being a comedy and drama, sometimes very quickly. The reason it worked as well as it did was because of Cuoco. She completely nailed the dark comedy (she is a riot in the "Funeralia" episode among others) but she also nailed the dramatic elements. And most impressively, she was able to navigate the two genres. It didn't feel as jarring as it could have because Cuoco was so believable as a mess of a character. If you're talking about giving credit to one performer for making the difference in a show's success or failure, this is it.

Thoughts on the Rest of the Nominees:

I was pretty sure for a long time that Cuoco would be my winner but there was a late and very strong push from Jean Smart for Hacks. Smart was absolutely brilliant in her role as Deborah Vance and if she beats Cuoco for the Emmy, I can get behind that. I ultimately went with Cuoco because I thought she was a little more responsible for the overall success of the show. One reason is Smart had another of my nominees, Hannah Einbinder as a very solid co-lead (she's category frauded in Supporting at the Emmys). Einbinder got stronger as Hacks went along. Among the other nominees, Renee Elise Goldsberry was the MVP for the first season of Girls5Eva with some very funny line deliveries and of course powerhouse performances. I know not everyone is a fan of Chad but I found Nasim Pedrad's portrayal of a 14 year old boy to be delightfully cringey. Anna Konkle and Maya Erskine are both great in PEN15 but I think Konkle was slightly stronger and she made my cut while Erskine just missed it. Hailee Steinfeld has carried Dickinson very well and kicked it up a notch in the second season. Finally, the charm of Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist hinged a large part on returning nominee Jane Levy.

Tomorrow: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series!