Two names in the Best Comedy Actress race are sure to be called for Emmy nominations when they’re announced on July 17: Ayo Edebiri and Jean Smart. While both “The Bear” and “Hacks” have both done extremely well at the Emmys and both women have taken home trophies for their performances, they’re getting in shape for their first battle against each other in this category.
Due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes last year, Edebiri won her first Emmy at the top of this year instead of last September for the critically acclaimed first season of “The Bear,” in Best Comedy Supporting Actress. For the second season, she has been elevated to the lead actress race, where she is poised to win again. The HBO/Max series “Hacks,” meanwhile, became an immediate favorite of critics and awards bodies and garnered Smart back-to-back Emmy victories in 2021 and 2022.
Like Smart, Edebiri has also been awarded by the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Critics Choice Awards for her performance. And both women are coming off highly acclaimed seasons of their shows. Between the two, “The Bear” is the newer series, now competing for its second season while “Hacks” is eligible for its recently concluded third season. That can certainly work to Edebiri’s advantage as enthusiasm for her show is still so fresh.
However, it should be noted that Smart has not lost an Emmy since her show’s inception. In fact, she has never lost an Emmy in a comedy category in her entire career. She has already won twice for “Hacks,” so voters have proved to be more than impressed by her work as Deborah Vance. But Edebiri’s category promotion puts them on a collision course for the very first time.
Winning Best Comedy Actress for her role as a talented young chef would place Edebiri in elite Emmy company. If she wins, she will become only the third Black winner in the category. The first to accomplish this feat was Isabel Sanford for her role as Louise in “The Jeffersons” in 1981, and the most recent winner came earlier this year: Quinta Brunson, for her role as Janine in “Abbott Elementary.”
Edebiri would also become one of the few Black women to win an Emmy for portraying the same character twice. Previously, Uzo Aduba won two Emmys for her role in “Orange is the New Black”: she first prevailed in Best Comedy Guest Actress, and then won in Best Drama Supporting Actress after Emmy rules changed and forced “OITNB” to switch categories. Zendaya also won multiple Emmys for the same role: Best Drama Actress for “Euphoria” in 2020 and 2022.
Even prior to the Emmy nominations being announced, this is already shaping up to be one of the most exciting races of the night. Reigning champ Brunson will likely be right alongside Edebiri and Smart, so all three will go into the ceremony as previously crowned Emmy winners for their roles. However, the two to watch are Smart and Edebiri, neither of whom Brunson had to face when she prevailed.
“The Bear” is likely to receive more nominations as a whole, and it comes in as the reigning champ for Best Comedy Series, but this should not discount the popularity of “Hacks” and its star. With an impressive five total Emmys to her name already, Smart’s track record is not to be discounted. This race will be a nail-biter all the way up to September 15, when the envelope is opened and the presenter says, “And the Emmy goes to …”
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