Emmy Predictions: Lead Actor (Comedy) — Jeremy Allen White Goes for His Second Win, but Could Season 3 Mixed Reviews Factor In?
Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.
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2024 Emmy Predictions:
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Weekly Commentary (Updated: Aug. 8, 2024): Jeremy Allen White walked away with his first Emmy for the debut season of the hit FX series “The Bear.” His awards run for the series has been flawless, never losing an award for his role as Carmy. However, the third season received mixed reviews from critics. Depending on how the Television Academy members vote (are they fully aware they’re voting for season two and not season three?), there could be an opportunity for another actor to claim the top spot. But who could that be?
Conventional wisdom might point to Larry David for the final season of HBO/Max’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” However, campaigning is a crucial part of the Emmy circuit, and we’ve seen little of the star and creator during the phase one and two runs. Perhaps Martin Short, who has never won an acting Emmy, could finally win for “Only Murders in the Building.”
The surprising (and refreshing) nomination for D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai from “Reservation Dogs” suggests that it means more than just filling a slot on the list. Sometimes a winner may seem preordained (like Steve Carell for “The Office” in 2007), only for the Emmys to surprise everyone with an unexpected winner (like Ricky Gervais for “Extras”).
The Creative Arts and Governors Gala ceremonies will occur over two nights on Sept. 7-8. The 76th Primetime Emmy Awards will air on ABC on Sunday, Sept. 15.
Read: All Primetime Emmy predictions in every category on Variety’s Awards Circuit.
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Image Credit: FX And the Nominees Are
Rank Series 1 Jeremy Allen White — “The Bear” (FX) 2 Martin Short — “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu) 3 D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai — “Reservation Dogs” (FX) 4 Steve Martin — “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu) 5 Larry David — “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (Max) 6 Matt Berry — “What We Do in the Shadows” (FX) Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series -
Eligible Performances (Lead Comedy Actor)
Image Credit: HBO **Officially submitted and on the Emmy nominations ballot.
- Utkarsh Ambudkar — “Ghosts” (CBS)
- Robbie Amell — “Upload” (Prime Video)
- Iain Armitage — “Young Sheldon” (CBS)
- Enrique Arrizon — “Acapulco” (Apple TV+)
- Matt Berry — “What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)
- Patrick Brammall — “Colin From Accounts” (Paramount+)
- Max Burkholder — “Ted” (Peacock)
- J. Bernard Calloway — “The Ms. Pat Show” (BET+)
- Justin Chien — “The Brothers Sun” (Netflix)
- Jon Cryer — “Extended Family” (NBC)
- Rhys Darby — “Our Flag Means Death” (Max)
- Larry David — “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (Max)
- Charlie Day — “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” (FX)
- Danny DeVito — “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” (FX)
- Mike Epps — “The Upshaws” (Netflix)
- Chris Estrada — “This Fool” (Hulu)
- Will Forte — “Bodkin” (Netflix)
- Josh Gad — “Wolf Like Me”
- Billy Gardell — “Bob Hearts Abishola” (CBS)
- Steve Gerben — “Tires” (Netflix)
- Shane Gillis — “Tires” (Netflix)
- John Goodman — “The Righteous Gemstones” (Max)
- John Goodman — “The Conners” (ABC)
- Kelsey Grammer — “Frasier” (Paramount+)
- Dulé Hill — “The Wonder Years” (ABC)
- Glenn Howerton — “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” (FX)
- Mark Indelicato — “With Love” (Prime Video)
- Theo James — “The Gentlemen” (Netflix)
- Jharrel Jerome — “I’m a Virgo” (Prime Video)
- George Lopez — “Lopez vs. Lopez” (NBC)
- Anthony Mackie — “Twisted Metal” (Peacock)
- Sebastian Maniscalco — “Bookie” (Max)
- Steve Martin — “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
- Danny McBride — “The Righteous Gemstones” (Max)
- Rob McElhenney — “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” (FX)
- Joel McHale — “Animal Control” (Fox)
- Stephen Merchant — “The Outlaws” (Prime Video)
- Chris Messina — “Based on a True Story” (Peacock)
- Louis Mustillo — “Cooper’s Bar” (AMC)
- Kayvan Novak — “What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)
- Chris O’Dowd — “The Big Door Prize” (Apple TV+)
- Adam Pally — “Knuckles” (Paramount+)
- Sam Richardson — “The Afterparty” (Apple TV+)
- Craig Robinson — “Killing It” (Peacock)
- Seth Rogen — “Platonic” (Apple TV+)
- Adjani Salmon — “Dreaming Whilst Black” (Paramount+)
- Marcus Scribner — “Grown-ish” (Freeform)
- Michael Sheen — “Good Omens” (Prime Video)
- Martin Short — “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
- Sam Song Li — “The Brothers Sun” (Netflix)
- David Tennant — “Good Omens” (Prime Video)
- Alan Tudyk — “Resident Alien” (Syfy)
- Taika Waititi — “Our Flag Means Death” (Max)
- Jeremy Allen White — “The Bear” (FX)
- D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai — “Reservation Dogs” (FX)
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More Information (Lead Comedy Actor)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Prime Video 2023 category winner: Jeremy Allen White as Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto — “The Bear” (FX) — Season 1
2024 Emmy Awards Calendar and Timeline (all dates are subject to change)
- Eligibility period: June 1, 2023 – May 31, 2024
- Feb. 29: Submissions open
- May 9: Deadline for programs identifying as Primetime programming to upload all entry materials.
- June 13: Nominations-round voting begins
- June 24: Nominations-round voting ends at 10:00 p.m. PT
- June 28 – July 8: Voting for peer group-specific top ten rounds panels (if applicable)
- July 17: Primetime Emmy nominations are announced.
- July 24: Deadline for errors and omissions to the nominations.
- August 5: Find-round videos available for viewing.
- August 15: Final-round voting begins.
- August 26: Final-round voting ends at 10:00 p.m. PST.
- Sept. 7-8: Creative Arts Emmy Awards and Governors Gala
- Sunday, Sept. 15: 76th Primetime Emmy Awards to air on ABC.
Emmy Prediction Categories
2024 Primetime Emmy Prediction Categories About the Primetime Emmy Awards
The Primetime Emmy Awards, commonly known as the Emmys, are awarded by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). Established in 1949, these celebrate outstanding achievements in American primetime television. The Emmys are categorized into three divisions: the Primetime Emmy Awards for performance and production excellence; the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, recognizing achievements in artistry and craftsmanship; and the Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards, which honor significant engineering and technological advancements. The eligibility period typically extends from June 1 to May 31 each year. The Television Academy hosts the Emmys and has over 20,000 members across 30 professional peer groups, including performers, directors, producers, art directors, artisans and executives.
