Skip to main content

BENJAMONSTER AWARDS 2024: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

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

Past Awards in This Category: 2023   2022   2021   2020

This year's nominees are...

IDRIS ELBA as Sam Nelson in Hijack (Apple TV+)











COLIN FARRELL as John Sugar in Sugar (Apple TV+)











NATHAN FIELDER as Asher Siegel in The Curse (Showtime)













DONALD GLOVER as John Smith in Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Prime Video)













TIMOTHY OLYPHANT as Raylan Givens in Justified: City Primeval (FX)











DOMINIC WEST as Prince Charles in The Crown (Netflix)












JEREMY ALLEN WHITE as Carmen Berzatto in The Bear (FX/Hulu)













And the Winner Is...
DONALD GLOVER
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Prime Video)
I was excited for Mr. & Mrs. Smith before it premiered (it was my #1 most anticipated 2024 show on this blog) but even I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. There were a lot of reasons why I loved it so much but the performances by Donald Glover and Maya Erskine are near the top of the list. I've never gotten into Glover's other major TV projects - Community and Atlanta - but I thought he really was exceptional here. His matter of fact delivery and sarcastic lines were coupled with a real and honest portrayal of the marriage equivalent of building a plane that's flying in the air. There are rumors that Glover and Erskine won't return for the officially ordered second season. I really hope that is not the case because I would love to see more.

Thoughts on the Rest of the Nominees:
This was a strong group of nominees. I never watched the original Justified but it seemed like Timothy Olyphant settled right back into his role as Raylan Givens on Justified: City Primeval (let's not talk about his real daughter playing his daughter though). Returning nominee Jeremy Allen White continued to be the emotional core of The Bear even as other supporting characters got more of a chance to shine in the second season. Idris Elba was perfectly cast to give the sort-of ludicrous Hijack a solid foundation. Sugar was even more ridiculous than Hijack but Colin Farrell gave a very interesting portrayal even amidst the mess. Nathan Fielder took his awkward shtick to a different place on The Curse to usually good results. Finally, another returning nominee Dominic West was a very prominent presence in the final season of The Crown and gave more human dimension to Prince Charles than the real Prince Charles does.

Tomorrow: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series!

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SEASON IN REVIEW: 2017-18 Miscellaneous Awards

As usual, I am ending the season with a few miscellaneous awards. The blog will be quiet this summer but I will continue to do the week ahead posts with broadcast TV news as it happens this summer. Then I'll be back for previews, pilot reviews, and more in the fall! BEST RETURNING COMEDY Superstore (NBC) - Superstore was awarded my "Best Returning Comedy" last year, but it only got better in season three. The funniest ensemble on TV took another step forward with some truly hilarious moments (the season premiere, the Golden Globes party, and the Christmas episode to name a few) and some major plot points moving forward. It also has the potential to be surprisingly sentimental at times. I think back to the first year of the show and how I felt like it had so many funny elements but didn't always bring it completely together. Well now it does on a weekly basis and it is one of those shows that just seems to be in the sweet spot of what will hopefully be a long run. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

EPISODE GUIDES: Happy Days Season Five (Part 1)

On Thursdays, I take a detailed and critical look at a TV show by season. Today I am looking at Season 5 (Part 1) of  Happy Days ! HAPPY DAYS: SEASON FIVE 1977-1978 27 episodes Season Five is the year where Fonzie infamously jumps the shark. It happens at the beginning of the season and while  Happy Days  does eventually decline in quality, it is not this season. In fact, this season graded out slightly higher than the previous season even though it doesn't feel as strong. I think that's because there's not a lot of outright stinkers in this season. It's a very solid season with the show continuing to hum along. There are some signs of the troubles to come but it doesn't happen on a regular basis in the fifth season. Starring Ron Howard as Richie Cunningham  (27 episodes) Henry Winkler as Arthur Fonzarelli  (27 episodes) Tom Bosley as Howard Cunningham  (27 episodes) Marion Ross as Marion Cunningham  (27 episodes) Anson Williams as Potsie Webber  ...
Post a Comment
Read more

EPISODE GUIDES: That 70s Show Season Seven

On Thursdays, I go through classic series with a critical look at each season. Today I am looking at Season Seven of  That 70s Show ! THAT 70s SHOW: SEASON SEVEN 2004-2005 25 episodes The seventh season of  That 70s Show  is the final season with Topher Grace as a series regular and also the final full season for Ashton Kutcher. Despite still having both of those cast member, the show finds itself flailing especially with Topher Grace's Eric, who is stuck in a terrible arc for most of the season. The show also brings many characters back at one point or another but everything just feels tired. This season actually graded out the worst for me. Even worse than the often maligned final season (more on that next week). Every title this season is named for a Rolling Stones song. Starring Topher Grace as Eric Forman  (25 episodes) Mila Kunis as Jackie Burkhart  (25 episodes) Ashton Kutcher as Michael Kelso  (25 episodes) Danny Masterson as Steven Hyde  (25 e...
Post a Comment
Read more