BENJAMONSTER AWARDS 2023: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

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

Past Awards in This Category: 2022 2021 2020

This year's nominees are...

KEEGAN-MICHAEL KEY as Josh Skinner in Schmigadoon! (Apple TV+)

DELROY LINDO as Edwin Alexander in UnPrisoned (Hulu)

STEVE MARTIN as Charles-Haden Savage in Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)

KAYVAN NOVAK as Nandor the Relentless in What We Do in the Shadows (FX)

BOB ODENKIRK as William Henry Devereaux Jr. in Lucky Hank (AMC)

MARTIN SHORT as Oliver Putnam in Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)

JASON SUDEIKIS as Ted Lasso in Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)

DREW TARVER as Cary Dubek in The Other Two (HBO Max)

And the Winner Is...

DREW TARVER

The Other Two (HBO Max)

The third season of The Other Two was increasingly absurd with the titular pair becoming more and more self-absorbed. For Drew Tarver's fame-obsessed Cary, it actually seemed to devolve into a mental illness. Tarver was able to depict a character really losing his grip on reality while also being uproariously funny at times. Tarver was able to play manic, sleazy, insecure and all the other things he was asked to do during a third season that definitely got much more into the psyche of the two main characters. In many ways, Cary was the villain of the season but Tarver made him interesting enough that we still wanted to see him figure it out (unlike a character with no redeeming value like Ted Lasso's Nate).

Thoughts on the Rest of the Nominees:

I wouldn't say this was one of the stronger categories, but there were still good performances. Two time defending champion Jason Sudeikis was still interesting as Ted Lasso, but the season was too much of a mess for me to consider giving him the win. Steve Martin and Martin Short remain a reliably funny pair though Only Murders in the Building always feels slightly undercooked to me. Keegan-Michael Key was funnier in the second season of Schmigadoon! especially when he was with the Hair crew. Delroy Lindo was the best part of the uneven first season of UnPrisoned while Kayvan Novak continues to make me laugh a lot on What We Do in the Shadows. Finally, the biggest threat to Tarver was Bob Odenkirk, who really elevated the material of Lucky Hank.

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

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