BENJAMONSTER AWARDS 2023: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

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

Past Awards in This Category: 2022 2021 2020

This year's nominees are...

RACHEL BROSNAHAN as Midge Maisel in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video)

QUINTA BRUNSON as Jeanine Teagues in Abbott Elementary (ABC)

MIREILLE ENOS as Lily Devereaux in Lucky Hank (AMC)

BRIDGET EVERETT as Sam in Somebody Somewhere (HBO)

ANA GASTEYER as Katherine Hastings in American Auto (NBC)

NATASHA LYONNE as Charlie Cale in Poker Face (Peacock)

CECILY STRONG as Melissa Gimble in Schmigadoon! (Apple TV+)

HELENE YORKE as Brooke Dubek in The Other Two (HBO Max)

And the Winner Is...

RACHEL BROSNAHAN

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video)

Rachel Brosnahan was the winner for this award in 2020 and she returns as the winner this year after a sparkling final season. Brosnahan has been incredible for the entire run of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel with expert comedic timing and a fully realized character despite the very theatrical dialogue. In the final season, she had all of her usual strengths but she also had to play her character years and decades in the future. Brosnahan was fully believable as a much older version of her character and added some dramatic heft to seeing what unfolded over much of the rest of Midge's life. And then there was that final episode with her final stand-up routine. That entire episode doesn't work if Brosnahan doesn't nail the routine. She created an iconic character who will be missed.

Thoughts on the Rest of the Nominees:

There were a lot of strong candidates here even with Jean Smart not in the mix this time. Several actresses took a leap forward in their second seasons. Bridget Everett grew even more confident in her role in Somebody Somewhere. Cecily Strong was very, well, strong in the second season of Schmigadoon! Ana Gasteyer created a memorable role in the cancelled-too-soon American Auto. Returning nominee Quinta Brunson had more depth while still having a lot of humor in her second season on Abbott Elementary. Fellow returning nominee Helene Yorke was equally as good as her on-screen brother (and winner) Drew Tarver for The Other Two. This was just a stronger category. Mireille Enos was the heart and soul of Lucky Hank with an understated performance. Finally, the biggest competition came from Natasha Lyonne who was the thread that carried each unique episode of Poker Face.

Tomorrow: Outstanding Limited/Anthology Series!

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