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BENJAMONSTER AWARDS 2024: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

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

Past Awards in This Category: 2023   2022   2021   2020

This year's nominees are...

QUINTA BRUNSON as Janine Teagues in Abbott Elementary (ABC)











ROSE BYRNE as Sylvia in Platonic (Apple TV+)











HANNAH EINBINDER as Ava Daniels in Hacks (Max)













EDI PATTERSON as Judy Gemstone in The Righteous Gemstones (HBO)













NASIM PEDRAD as Chad in Chad (Roku)











MAITREYI RAMAKRISHNAN as Devi in Never Have I Ever (Netflix)











JEAN SMART as Deborah Vance in Hacks (Max)











And the Winner Is...
JEAN SMART
Hacks (Max)
Every once in awhile, there's just the most perfect pairing of character and portrayer. And Jean Smart as Deborah Vance is one of those times. In an illustrious career, this is the role of a lifetime for Jean Smart and she is crushing it. Even in a season that had filming disrupted by the strikes and Smart's own medical emergency, she was as sharp as ever as Deborah Vance. It's hard to know where Smart ends and Vance begins, she has so embodied the role. The third season gave her many hilarious moments that allowed her to use her expert comic timing, but it also gave her some real poignant scenes with her on-screen daughter and sister and, of course, Hannah Einbinder's Ava. We should all just enjoy this ride while it lasts because we are witnessing and all-time iconic performance.

Thoughts on the Rest of the Nominees:
Although this award was easily going to Smart, it was still a really strong category. That includes Smart's co-star Hannah Einbinder. The Emmys may place her in a Supporting category but she is very clearly a co-lead. She also very clearly had her best season yet on the show. I sang the praises of Seth Rogen for the Lead Actor award and Rose Byrne was equally strong and funny in the charming Platonic. Edi Patterson continues to get funnier and funnier in The Righteous Gemstones while Quinta Brunson had some really great moments in Abbott Elementary this year even if I didn't love the direction they took her character in the second half of the season. Finally, there were two actresses back in this category after several years off. Nasim Pedrad's Chad finally found a new home for its second (and now final) season and the show was uneven but Pedrad was so committed. Finally, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan was a nominee back in 2020 for the first season of Never Have I Ever. She delivered a really strong performance in the fourth and final season to get back in the mix.

Tomorrow: Outstanding Limited/Anthology Series!

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