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BENJAMONSTER AWARDS 2022: Outstanding Writing of a Comedy Series

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

Check out past results from 2020 and 2021!

This year's nominees are...

LUCIA ANIELLO, PAUL W. DOWNS & JEN STATSKY, Hacks "The One, The Only" (HBO Max)













ALEC BERG & BILL HADER, Barry "Limonada" (HBO)













KIRA KALUSH, Ghosts "Pete's Wife" (CBS)













CHRIS KELLY & SARAH SCHNEIDER, The Other Two "Pat Connects With Her Fans" (HBO Max)











JOE KELLY, Ted Lasso "Carol of the Bells" (Apple TV+)











JULIE KLAUSNER & BOWEN YANG, Schmigadoon! "Cross That Bridge" (Apple TV+)













MORGAN MURPHY, Abbott Elementary "Desking" (ABC)













AMY SHERMAN-PALLADINO, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel "How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?" (Amazon)













IAN WEINRICH & KRISTIN LAYNE TUCKER, The Flight Attendant "Brothers & Sisters" (HBO Max)











And the Winner Is...
CHRIS KELLY & SARAH SCHNEIDER
The Other Two "Pat Connects With Her Fans" (HBO Max)
The Other Two might seem like a surprise winner here but it is just such a ridiculously funny show with jokes that come a mile a minute and writing that is incredibly clever but never too clever. It gets compared to 30 Rock a lot in that regard but I think 30 Rock and its successors from that creative team like Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt can sometimes get too clever for their own good. The Other Two finds the right balance. The second episode of the second season had really funny story about a gay couple posing as a father and son and it also offered some commentary on the price of fame for Pat (Molly Shannon). It was the first sign that this really silly show had aims for something a little bit bigger while still being hilarious and that was fun to see.

Thoughts on the Rest of the Nominees:
There are lots of strong writing entries in this category. Alec Berg and Bill Hader wrote an exceptionally dark third season of Barry but I liked when it had a nice mix of darkness and comedy and that was certainly the case in "Limonada." Returning nominee Amy Sherman-Palladino presided over a sometimes uneven fourth season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel but stuck the landing with a strong season finale. Morgan Murphy penned the funniest episode of the season of Abbott Elementary with a new "desking" challenge. Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky ended the second season of Hacks with a really strong episode. Joe Kelly turned in a one-off Christmas episode of Ted Lasso that was full of heart and did what the show does best. Kira Kalush wrote the most emotional episode of the first season of Ghosts that still had a lot of comedy. Julie Klausner and Bowen Yang wrote the most clever episode in a clever season of Schmigadoon. Finally, Ian Weinrich and Kristin Layne Tucker delivered a dramatically strong episode of The Flight Attendant.

Tomorrow: Outstanding Directing of a Limited/Anthology Series!

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