Skip to main content

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!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

EPISODE GUIDES: That 70s Show Season Seven

On Thursdays, I go through classic series with a critical look at each season. Today I am looking at Season Seven of  That 70s Show ! THAT 70s SHOW: SEASON SEVEN 2004-2005 25 episodes The seventh season of  That 70s Show  is the final season with Topher Grace as a series regular and also the final full season for Ashton Kutcher. Despite still having both of those cast member, the show finds itself flailing especially with Topher Grace's Eric, who is stuck in a terrible arc for most of the season. The show also brings many characters back at one point or another but everything just feels tired. This season actually graded out the worst for me. Even worse than the often maligned final season (more on that next week). Every title this season is named for a Rolling Stones song. Starring Topher Grace as Eric Forman  (25 episodes) Mila Kunis as Jackie Burkhart  (25 episodes) Ashton Kutcher as Michael Kelso  (25 episodes) Danny Masterson as Steven Hyde  (25 e...

EPISODE GUIDES: Rhoda Season Five

On Thursdays, I go through classic series with a critical look at each season. Today I am looking at Season Five (the final season) of  Rhoda ! RHODA: SEASON FIVE 1978 13 episodes Rhoda' s final season was a truncated one as the show was cancelled in December 1978 after only 13 episodes had been produced (and only nine had aired). This feels like a continuation from season four in many ways except with the ill-advised split between Ida and Martin (more on that below). While  Rhoda  has an occasional good moment and even a couple decent episodes, it is a show that seems so wildly different from season one and not in a good way.  Rhoda  could never figure out what it fully wanted to be and only made it four and a half seasons as a result. Starring Valerie Harper as Rhoda Morgenstern  (13 episodes) Julie Kavner as Brenda Morgenstern  (13 episodes) Ray Buktenica as Benny Goodwin  (11 episodes) Kenneth McMillan as Jack Doyle  (9 episodes) Nancy Wa...

SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1995-1996 Thursdays

On Tuesdays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Thursdays in the 1995-96 season! ABC 8:00 8:30 9:00 10:00 Sep Charlie Grace The Monroes Various Programs Oct Murder One Nov Various Programs Dec Various Programs Thursday Night Movie Jan Feb World’s Funniest Videos Before They Were Stars! Mar Apr May NBC was the powerhouse on Thursday nights but ABC still gave it the old college try in the Fall of 1995 with a trio of new dramas that they hoped would help them cut into the Peacock's dominance. Headlining their night was Murder One , a high profile new show from Steven Bochco that received much of the network's attention before the season started. The series focused on one murder case for an entire season, whi...