BENJAMONSTER AWARDS 2021: Outstanding Writing of a Comedy Series

Today's award is Outstanding Writing of a Comedy Series!

Check out the nominees and winner from 2020!

This year's nominees are:

KARA LEE CORTHRON & RYAN JENNIFER JONES, The Flight Attendant "Funeralia" (HBO Max)

MAYA ERSKINE, PEN15 "Play" (Hulu)

ARIEL KARLIN & JEN STATSKY, Hacks "I Think She Will" (HBO Max)

JOE KELLY, JASON SUDEIKIS & BRENDAN HUNT, Ted Lasso "The Hope That Kills You" (Apple TV+)

DAVE KING, Chad "Ikrimah Breakup" (TBS)

BRIDGET KYLE & VICKY LUU, Superstore "Essential" (NBC)

JOSH LEVINE, PEN15 "Sleepover" (Hulu)

ALENA SMITH & AYO EDEBIRI, Dickinson "I'm Nobody! Who Are You?" (Apple TV+)

And the Winner Is...
MAYA ERSKINE

PEN15 "Play" (Hulu)

I can't think of an episode in the 2020-21 season that made me laugh more than PEN15's "Play." As someone who was a part of junior high and high school theater as a student and now has experience as a director, there were so many things that rung true. The school play setting was absolutely perfect as a vehicle for division between Maya and Anna and the episode felt very tightly put together. I like that they didn't drag it out to a season-long arc. Star Maya Erskine wrote the script and had one episode to capture everything great and terrible about a junior high play and did so very effectively. Like most PEN15 episodes, Erskine's script for this episode was a great mix of humor, heart and cringe. PEN15 is a great show overall but the writing is really its crown jewel.

Thoughts on the Rest of the Nominees:

As I mentioned, writing is a major strength for PEN15 and another episode, "Sleepover" also made it in my nominations for another script that was full of cringe and sweetness. The Flight Attendant was definitely a mix of drama and comedy but its most comedic episode was the very funny "Funeralia." Ted Lasso's season finale was the perfect end to an uplifting season while Dickinson's finale capped a really strong second season and gave a lot of meaty material for the characters we care most about. Another finale - Hacks - effectively brought the tension between the two main characters to a head. No series handled COVID as well as Superstore and its season premiere, smartly titled "Essential" should have been a guide to other series on how to not make COVID a super annoying part of the TV show's world. Finally, Chad had some really funny writing but the "Ikrimah Breakup" episode was also the most cringey entry this side of PEN15 and perhaps even moreso.

Tomorrow: Outstanding Writing of a Drama Series!

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