BENJAMONSTER AWARDS 2023: Outstanding Guest Actor or Actress in a Comedy Series

Today's award is Outstanding Guest Actor or Actress in a Comedy Series!

Past Awards in This Category: 2022 2021 2020

This year's nominees are...

BECKY ANN BAKER as Dottie Lasso in Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)

ADRIEN BRODY as Sterling Frost Jr. in Poker Face (Peacock)

AYO EDEBIRI as Ayesha in Abbott Elementary (ABC)

CHERRY JONES as Laura in Poker Face (Peacock)

LUKE KIRBY as Lenny Bruce in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video)

JUDITH LIGHT as Irene Smothers in Poker Face (Peacock)

S. EPATHA MERKERSON as Joyce Harris in Poker Face (Peacock)

NICK OFFERMAN as Dove Porter in A League of Their Own (Prime Video)

And the Winner Is...

ADRIEN BRODY

Poker Face (Peacock)

Poker Face was full of great guest appearances (they have four entries in this category and could have had many more). But the best of the great guest stars came in the pilot episode. Adrien Brody was as much of a driver of the story in the first episode as Natasha Lyonne herself. As the sleazy Vegas casino mogul Sterling Frost Jr., Brody was charismatic and manipulative and was able to go toe to toe with the force that is Lyonne. I love that the show changes its locale and characters week to week but there was a small part of me that wished Brody was in more than one episode. He had a glorious end though and helped Poker Face get off to a great start.

Thoughts on the Rest of the Nominees:

As mentioned, there were three other Poker Face nominees in this category. If I could give the award to a pair, Judith Light and S. Epatha Merkerson would be worthy winners but it was impossible to give it to one without the other. They were a hoot as retirement home murderers. Cherry Jones brought her usual gravitas to a strong guest turn in a more serious episode. Among non-Poker Face nominees, Luke Kirby did not get a lot of screen time in the final season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel but he played a very pivotal role in the brilliant finale. Ayo Edebiri was perfectly cast as Quinta Brunson's sister in a very strong episode of Abbott Elementary. Becky Ann Baker was also perfectly cast as Ted Lasso's mother where she picked up a lot of the cadences of Jason Sudeikis' character. Finally, Nick Offerman was the winner in this category for Drama for The Last of Us and a nominee here for a strong turn in the Tom Hanks role on A League of Their Own.

Tomorrow: Outstanding Writing of a Limited/Anthology Series!

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