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BENJAMONSTER AWARDS 2023: Outstanding Comedy Series

It's time for the final award - Outstanding Comedy Series!

Past Awards in This Category: 2022   2021   2020

This year's nominees are...

ABBOTT ELEMENTARY (ABC)













GHOSTS (CBS)











THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL (Prime Video)















THE OTHER TWO (HBO Max)











POKER FACE (Peacock)












SCHMIGADOON! (Apple TV+)













TED LASSO (Apple TV+)













WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS (FX)













And the Winner Is...
THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL
Prime Video
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel was one of the shows to suffer the most from COVID in my opinion. Its fourth season, while still solid, did not feel as grand or as big as it wanted to be. A show that was used to going all out with sets, costumes, extras and more felt more scaled down. It came roaring back with its fifth and final season. Amidst the Succession, Barry, and Ted Lasso talk, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel was quietly sticking the landing of a brilliant run with a final season that had all the elements that made the show great and then some. The show got rid of some of the unnecessary side stories and focused on the characters that mattered most and their relationships in the present and the future. The season definitely had the feel that it was going somewhere and preparing to make a landing and then it did with one of my all time favorite series finales. I will miss this marvelous show a whole lot and it's very deserving for a second win after winning in 2020 (and it probably would have won in 2018 & 2019 too if I had done the awards then).

Thoughts on the Rest of the Nominees:
I debated whether to nominate 2021 winner Ted Lasso. I thought the chatter about a dip in quality for Season Two was silly but there was a noticeable dip for Season Three. But the performances were still great and the show had enough good moments to keep it among the nominees. Last year's winner Abbott Elementary did not suffer any sort of sophomore slump. With a full episode order, it proved how nice it is to be able to live with the characters over a full broadcast season. Speaking of broadcast shows, this was the only nomination for Ghosts - a show that is greater as a whole than its individual parts. The second season of Schmigadoon! effectively proved the concept of the show works no matter what era of musicals they are parodying. The third and final season of The Other Two really had some more biting thoughts to say about fame. The new Poker Face was a breath of fresh throwback air with a fun weekly murder mystery. Finally, What We Do in the Shadows remains one of the most laugh out loud shows on TV today.

Tomorrow: A Recap of all the awards!
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