BENJAMONSTER AWARDS 2022: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

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

Check out past results from 2020 and 2021!

This year's nominees are...

ALEX BORSTEIN as Susie Myerson in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)

SARAH GOLDBERG as Sally Reed in Barry (HBO)

JANELLE JAMES as Ava Coleman in Abbott Elementary (ABC)

ZOSIA MAMET as Ani Mouradian in The Flight Attendant (HBO Max)

EDI PATTERSON as Judy Gemstone in The Righteous Gemstones (HBO)

SHERYL LEE RALPH as Barbara Howard in Abbott Elementary (ABC)

MOLLY SHANNON as Pat Dubek in The Other Two (HBO Max)

JUNO TEMPLE as Keeley Jones in Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)

HANNAH WADDINGHAM as Rebecca Welton in Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)

And the Winner Is...

JANELLE JAMES
Abbott Elementary (ABC)

Janelle James was one of the breakout performers of the 2021-22 season. As the self-absorbed principal Ava on Abbott Elementary, she was a hoot with so many great lines and also very impressive and funny delivery of lines that you might not even read as funny on the page. At first, Ava appeared to be little more than a caricature (albeit a very funny one) but as the season went on, the show gave her some more depth as we got to see that there is a heart and vulnerability underneath all that bluster. There have been other characters like that - Michael Scott springs to mind instantly but it feels fresh and different because Ava is a black woman and we unfortunately don't see enough different types of characters like her on TV. Abbott Elementary has a great ensemble but I'm especially excited to see where they take the Ava character next season and beyond. James is up to the challenge for anything.

Thoughts on the Rest of the Nominees:

Two previous winners are among this strong group of nominees and they both turned in great seasons. Alex Borstein continues to be a very unique voice on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel while Hannah Waddingham once again was given a wide range of material on Ted Lasso and made Rebecca a fascinating character. Waddingham's co-star Juno Temple was not nominated last year but was this year after a season that saw more character depth given to her. Janelle James' co-star, the veteran Sheryl Lee Ralph gave Abbott Elementary some gravitas as she spoke truths about being a veteran teacher. Sarah Goldberg had her best season yet on Barry with some very funny and very dramatic scenes. Molly Shannon won the Guest Award for Limited/Anthology series for The White Lotus but she was equally strong as the frazzled yet always smiling Pat Dubek on The Other Two, which is part of a really strong run for Shannon recently. Zosia Mamet returned as a nominee for The Flight Attendant and provides a really great counterbalance to Kaley Cuoco's lead character. Finally, Edi Patterson had really hilarious and ridiculous moments on The Righteous Gemstones. 

Tomorrow: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited/Anthology Series!