Friday, September 27, 2019
Fri-Yay: Primetime Emmy Results for Comedy; AFV Gets 30th Anniversary Special

by Vincent
Well, a week ago I tried to predict the Emmys winners, thinking, as usual, the Emmys voters would play it fairly safe. Needless to say, I was quite wrong! This was, apparently, one of those years the Emmys voters have every 3 years or so where they decide to go a little left field, which, well, sort of messed up my predictions. Let's go back through each of my picks just to see how wrong I really was...
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
My Prediction: Ted Danson
Winner: Bill Hader
I thought Ted Danson would take this one, but in reality, it went to Bill Hader, for HBO's Barry. Truthfully, I thought it was kind of a dead heat between the two actors, but because I prefer The Good Place, I went with my own tastes for this one. Clearly, it steered me wrong. However, Bill Hader is totally deserving as well and Barry is a great, unique series, so this was certainly not an unpleasant way for me to get a category wrong.
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
My Prediction: Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Winner: Phoebe Waller-Bridge
I was not expecting the Emmys to show as much love for Fleabag as they did, but they sure did. Phoebe Waller-Bridge gets the nod here, and it's incredibly deserving, although I'm still frankly shocked JLD didn't get the nod as Selena one last time. Voters didn't seem to love Veep's final season - I guess the year off really did hurt it with Emmys audiences, and it was also arguably the show's weakest season yet. So, again, not displeased with this choice.
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
My Prediction: Tony Shaloub
Winner: Tony Shaloub
Hey, I got one right! It wasn't as big of a night for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as many predicted it would be, but Shaloub still easily wins this category, not surprising given he's probably the biggest name of the bunch. Again, a deserving win even if Maisel's second season was a little inconsistent.
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
My Prediction: Olivia Colman
Winner: Alex Borstein
Well, the one category that I actually picked Fleabag to win, it didn't. Go figure. Mrs. Maisel ruled the Supporting categories, but I still think Borstein is kind of a surprising choice here. She's great, but it feels like her performance on Mrs. Maisel is one of the more undersung ones, so I'm (pleasantly) surprised that Emmy voters rewarded her, especially since overall the night wasn't a rousing success for the show.
Outstanding Comedy Series
My Prediction: Veep
Winner: Fleabag
Again, I wasn't predicting the Emmys to sour on Veep as much as they did, given how Game of Thrones manages to come back and sweep every year despite taking off years. I also wasn't expecting Fleabag to be as big of a winner as it was, although I did see it as a potential dark horse candidate if the Emmy voters tired of Veep and Mrs. Maisel (which it seems like they did). It's a fun, good win, though - one that hopefully will bring more attention to a show that was critically beloved but didn't get the same amount of audience love. All in all, it was a pretty interesting night, at least as far as the Emmys go.
In celebration of AFV's milestone 30-year anniversary, ABC will air AFV: America, This is You!, on Sunday, Dec. 8 from 8:00-9:00 p.m. EST on ABC, following an all-new episode of AFV. It can also be viewed the next day on ABC.com, the ABC app and Hulu. The special retrospective will take a closer look at the history of the iconic series, including how it originated, the evolution over 30 seasons and its significant influence on pop culture, as well as how changes in technology impacted the show. Additionally, the episode will unlock some of the most memorable video clips in AFV's coveted vault, revealing interviews with past contestants all grown up and how their appearances affected their lives. Audiences can also expect to see some familiar faces, including current host Alfonso Ribeiro and former hosts Bob Saget and Tom Bergeron, reminiscing about AFV's legacy and their individual styles of hosting.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Saturday, May 31
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 26)
Friday, May 30
- Nathan Fielder (The Rehearsal/The Curse) - Watch Nathan on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Paula Poundstone (Home Movies) - Paula performs stand-up comedy on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Nathan Lane (Mid-Century Modern/Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Ralph Macchio (Eight Is Enough) - Ralph swings by for a chat about Karate Kid: Legends on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Justina Machado (One Day at a Time) - Justina chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. She also talks about Broadway's Real Women Have Curves: The Musical on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
- Yara Shahidi (grown-ish/black-ish) - Yara is telling Drew about the new venture she's taking on, where she's currently at with dating and more on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Don Darryl Rivera (Only Murders in the Building) - Don talks about Broadway's Aladdin on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive
Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts