Seth Rogen is the only comedy lead actor to appear on all of the BuzzMeter panel’s ballots. Yet he’s in a fairly distant second place to reigning Screen Actors Guild Award winner Martin Short, whose partner in crime, Steve Martin, barely makes the bottom rung of the first-round ladder. The wait has been long for Short, who has 18 nominations but last won in 2014, as the host of an AFI Mel Brooks tribute special.
Of Rogen, Glenn Whipp says his “needy, insecure, driven and desperate” character’s “love for movies makes him sympathetic — or at least not completely insufferable.” While Matt Roush bills the race as “between the guy who made you laugh (Martin Short) and the one who made you cringe (Jeremy Allen White).”
Lorraine Ali, meanwhile, trumpets Mo Amer: He “may not be the most recognizable name in this category, but the second season of his Netflix comedy ‘Mo’ found humor in the Palestinian diaspora, and for that daring feat he should be honored.”
Kristen Baldwin roots for “underdogs” David Alan Grier (“dry perfection” on “St. Denis Medical”) and Vince Vaughn (“Bad Monkey”); Tracy Brown hopes “there is room to recognize Nathan Lane” for “Mid-Century Modern.” Meanwhile, Trey Mangum says, “If Delroy Lindo doesn’t get nominated on the film front for ‘Sinners,’ we need to make sure that he leaves this year with something” — a nom for the final season of “Unprisoned” being a sufficient substitute.
More predictions: Comedy actress | Comedy series
1. Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”
2. Seth Rogen, “The Studio”
3. Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear”
4. (tie) Adam Brody, “Nobody Wants This”
4. (tie) Ted Danson, “A Man on the Inside”
6. Mo Amer, “Mo”
7. Matt Berry, “What We Do in the Shadows”
8. Alan Tudyk, “Resident Alien”
9. (tie) Nathan Lane, “Mid-Century Modern”
9. (tie) Delroy Lindo, “Unprisoned “
9. (tie) Jason Segel, “Shrinking”
Los Angeles Times
Lorraine Ali
1. (tie) Mo Amer, “Mo”
1. (tie) Alan Tudyk, “Resident Alien”
3. Delroy Lindo, “Unprisoned “
4. (tie) Seth Rogen, “The Studio”
4. (tie) Ted Danson, “A Man on the Inside”
4. (tie) David Oyelowo, “Government Cheese”
“Mo Amer may not be the most recognizable name in this category, but the second season of his Netflix comedy ‘Mo’ found humor in the Palestinian diaspora, and for that daring feat he should be honored. Names that you do know: Seth Rogen and Ted Danson.”
Entertainment Weekly
Kristen Baldwin
1. Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”
2. Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear”
3. Adam Brody, “Nobody Wants This”
4. Matt Berry, “What We Do in the Shadows”
5. Seth Rogen, “The Studio”
6. Jason Segel, “Shrinking”
“I’m pulling for two long shots: David Alan Grier, dry perfection as grumpy Dr. Ron on NBC’s ‘St. Denis Medical,’ and Vince Vaughn, who puts a gentler spin on his rapid-fire wise–guy persona in the Apple TV+ comedy ‘Bad Monkey.’”
Los Angeles Times
Tracy Brown
1. Seth Rogen, “The Studio”
2. Nathan Lane, “Mid-Century Modern”
3. Matt Berry, “What We Do in the Shadows”
4. Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”
5. Jason Segel, “Shrinking”
6. Mo Amer, “Mo”
“I have been (predictably) charmed by ‘Mid-Century Modern’ and I credit its delightful cast. I suspect many of the familiar heavyweights of recent Emmys will once again make up most of the nomination slate, but I hope there is room to recognize Nathan Lane.”
Shadow and Act
Trey Mangum
1. Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”
2. Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear”
3. Seth Rogen, “The Studio”
4. Benito Skinner, “Overcompensating”
5. Mo Amer, “Mo”
6. Delroy Lindo, “Unprisoned“
“If Delroy Lindo doesn’t get nominated on the film front for ‘Sinners,’ we need to make sure that he leaves this year with something. What better way to honor him for the second and final season of Hulu’s ‘Unprisoned,’ where he always brought his A-game?”
TV Guide
Matt Roush
1. Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”
2. Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear”
3. Adam Brody, “Nobody Wants This”
4. Ted Danson, “A Man on the Inside”
5. Jason Segel, “Shrinking”
6. Seth Rogen, “The Studio”
“The choice is between the guy who made you laugh (Martin Short) and the one who made you cringe (‘The Bear’s’ Jeremy Allen White). I’d be just as happy with the guy who made you swoon (Adam Brody’s ‘hot rabbi’ in ‘Nobody Wants This’).”
Los Angeles Times
Glenn Whipp
1. Seth Rogen, “The Studio”
2. Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”
3. Ted Danson, “A Man on the Inside”
4. Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear”
5. Steve Martin, “Only Murders in the Building”
6. Adam Brody, “Nobody Wants This”
“Watching Seth Rogen’s turn as the driven and desperate movie executive on ‘The Studio’ has been a delight. The character’s neediness and insecurities are cringe-inducing and hilarious, but his love for movies makes him sympathetic — or at least not completely insufferable.”
