BENJAMONSTER AWARDS 2021: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

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

Check out the nominees and winner from 2020!

This year's nominees are:

ANTHONY ANDERSON as Andre Johnson in Black-ish (ABC)

IAIN ARMITAGE as Sheldon Cooper in Young Sheldon (CBS)

TED DANSON as Neil Bremer in Mr. Mayor (NBC)

MICHAEL DOUGLAS as Sandy Kominsky in The Kominsky Method (Netflix)

ED HELMS as Nathan Rutherford in Rutherford Falls (Peacock)

LAMORNE MORRIS as Keef Knight in Woke (Hulu)

JASON SUDEIKIS as Ted Lasso in Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)

JOSH THOMAS as Nicholas in Everything's Gonna Be Okay (Freeform)

And the Winner Is...

JASON SUDEIKIS

Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)

All hail Ted Lasso, TV's most refreshingly optimistic character since Leslie Knope. Jason Sudeikis played the title character of the feel good comedy expertly. With a less solid performance, he could have been an irritating version of the white guy who fails upward and creates some resentment. But there was absolutely none of that in this character and that's because Sudeikis made him so genuinely likable in every way. He was unflappable most of the time with relentless optimism and an absolute commitment to seeing the best in everyone. But Sudeikis also gave him some layers as the season went on. Ted Lasso worked as a show for many reasons but the person most responsible for its success is most certainly Jason Sudeikis.

Thoughts on the Rest of the Nominees:

This category had a couple returnees which can't be said for every category. Anthony Anderson continued to be the best part of Black-ish, which is not nearly as strong a show as it once was. Michael Douglas soldiered on without Alan Arkin in the final season of The Kominsky Method and turned in another solid performance. Last year's winner, Ted Danson (for The Good Place) returned with Mr. Mayor. The show wasn't great but Danson was his usual charming and goofy self. Iain Armitage was a near-miss last year for Young Sheldon and he continues to become a more fully fledged character and not just a boy genius as the years go on. Lamorne Morris had some really interesting moments in Woke while Ed Helms was appropriately understated and not as obnoxious as he sometimes can be in Rutherford Falls. Finally, I found Josh Thomas incredibly irritating in the first season of Everything's Gonna Be Okay but he was a much more sympathetic character in the second season and I was shocked that I grew to like him in the role.