An Overview Of The 2023 Emmys Ballot
Can A Stand-Up Comedian Win In The Very Varied Variety Special Category?
This is the first half of the first page of 8 pages containing the 91 entries on the ballot for the 2023 Primetime Emmy Awards in Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded).
Only two stand-ups made the cut as nominees last year (Dave Chappelle; Norm Macdonald posthumously), only to lose to Adele. Only Chappelle and Bo Burnham received nominations in 2021, losing to Hamilton. Chappelle did win in 2020 for Sticks & Stones, when the category boasted an all-comedy sweep of nominations (Hannah Gadsby, Jerry Seinfeld, Tiffany Haddish, John Mulaney’s Sack Lunch Bunch special and Chappelle’s own Mark Twain Prize ceremony were the others). So what are the chances for a comedian to win Emmy for their stand-up in 2023?
Voting ends Monday, June 26, at 10 p.m. Pacific (with nominees announced July 12). Let’s look at the ballot and assess their chances!
OK, so of the 91 entries on the ballot, I counted 42 solo stand-up specials, two Mark Twain Prize ceremonies (the Kennedy Center managed to squeeze both Jon Stewart and Adam Sandler into the eligibility calendar year ending May 31), two tributes to living legends (Norman Lear’s 100th birthday, Carol Burnett’s 90th), one tribute to a dead comedian (Bob Saget) two showcases from the Netflix Is A Joke: The Festival, one sketch duo (Kate Berlant and John Early), plus another seven that could be classified as comedy-adjacent. They are:
Adam Sandler: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize For American Humor
Alex Borstein: Corsets & Clown Suits
Andrew Schulz: Infamous
Atsuko Okatsuka: The Intruder
2022 Back That Year Up With Kevin Hart & Kenan Thompson
Bert Kreischer: Razzle Dazzle
Bill Burr: Live At Red Rocks
Byron Allen Presents The Comedy And Music Superfest
Byron Bowers: Spiritual N***a
Carol Burnett: 90 Years Of Laughter + Love
Chelsea Handler: Revolution
Chris Redd: Why Am I Like This?
Cristela Alonso: Middle Classy
The Daily Show With Trevor Noah Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers The Midterms - America Unfollows Democracy
Dane Cook - Above It All
David A. Arnold: It Ain't For The Weak
Deon Cole: Charleen's Boy
Dirty Daddy: The Bob Saget Tribute
Fortune Feimster: Good Fortune
Gabriel Iglesias: Stadium Fluffy
Hannah Gadsby: Something Special
Hasan Minhaj: The King's Jester
Jane Fonda & Lily Tomlin: Ladies Night Live
Jena Friedman: Ladykiller
Jim Jefferies: High & Dry
Jimmy O. Yang: Guess How Much?
Jo Koy: Live From The Los Angeles Forum
John Mulaney: Baby J
Jon Stewart: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize For American Humor
Kate Berlant: Cinnamon In The Wind
Kathleen Madigan: Hunting Bigfoot
The Last Last Late Late Show With James Corden Carpool Karaoke Special
Leanne Morgan: I'm Every Woman
Lil Rel Howery: I Said It. Y’all Thinking It.
Mae Martin: SAP
Marc Maron: From Bleak To Dark
Marlon Wayans: God Loves Me
Matt Rogers: Have You Heard Of Christmas?
Mo'Nique: My Name Is Mo'Nique
Mr. Saturday Night
Nate Bargatze: Hello World
Nick Kroll: Little Big Boy
Nikki Glaser: Good Clean Filth
Norman Lear: 100 Years Of Music & Laughter
Patton Oswalt: We All Scream
The Problem With Jon Stewart: Election Wrap-Up Special
Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love
Sebastian Maniscalco: Is It Me?
Sheng Wang: Sweet And Juicy
South Park The 25th Anniversary Concert
Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration
Tom Papa: What A Day!
Trevor Noah: I Wish You Would
Wanda Sykes: I’m An Entertainer
Would It Kill You To Laugh? Starring Kate Berlant & John Early
Yvonne Orji: A Whole Me
Zarna Garg: One In A Billion
Keeping in mind that awards voters gravitate toward lifting up celebrities based on name recognition and previous work over perhaps better work from comedians who should be famous, and that there are 34 other broadcast specials in the category just as likely, if not more so, to land nominations based on the same factors, I’ll just tell you whom I would lift up, if I had a Television Academy ballot to cast my votes.
I’d urge you to nominate the following for both Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) as well as for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special:
Atsuko Okatsuka: The Intruder
Jena Friedman: Ladykiller
Lil Rel Howery: I Said It. Y’all Thinking It.
Marc Maron: From Bleak To Dark
Nate Bargatze: Hello World
Sheng Wang: Sweet And Juicy
*No Chappelle this year! And of course, Chris Rock’s 2023 Netflix special will compete in the other Outstanding Variety Special category, because it was LIVE.
In Outstanding Scripted Variety Series, Emmy rules say 12 submissions only gets you three nominees, and the list already includes long-running Variety Talk winner (Last Week Tonight with John Oliver) which moved into the group with last year’s nominees, A Black Lady Sketch Show and Saturday Night Live. Going to be tough for the other nine submissions to break through! But it opens up the Outstanding Talk Series category to any of the 19 submissions…
Whether or not Billy Crystal’s Mr. Saturday Night earns him an Emmy, he’s going to be feted in grand style in December as one of the 2023 Kennedy Center Honors. Mahvelous! He previously received the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2007.
From Crystal: “I am overwhelmed to be part of this fantastic group of artists. I started performing when I was five years old, making my parents and family laugh. Those laughs have carried me my entire life and career. I so wish they could be at the Kennedy Center for this glorious occasion. It has been a thrilling lifetime of performing in so many different arenas and my heart is full of gratitude to the Kennedy Center, my wife Janice, my children and grandchildren, our family and friends, and all the amazing people I’ve had the pleasure to work with. And finally, of course, my wonderful fans.”
And in other awards news hot off the email presses today, Just For Laughs announced they’re giving awards this July in Montreal to Quinta Brunson for COMEDY PERSON OF THE YEAR, Bert Kreischer for STAND UP COMEDIAN OF THE YEAR, Ronny Chieng for BREAKOUT COMEDY STAR OF THE YEAR, and Mae Martin for RISING COMEDY STAR OF THE YEAR.
Carolines Goes To The National Comedy Center
Earlier this week, Caroline Hirsch showed up in Jamestown, NY, to see what her iconic comedy club looks like now that it’s an exhibit in the National Comedy Center. Carolines ended a 40-year run, which spanned from lower Manhattan to Times Square, ended Dec. 31, 2022. Portions of Carolines on Broadway — including the stage backdrop, showroom curtains, signs, and stools — are now on display at the center.
Industry News and Notes
Saturday Night Live’s 40th anniversary threw a three-hour primetime party on a Sunday inside 30 Rock in February 2015. For SNL’s 50th, they’re kicking things off next summer on a Friday at neighboring Radio City Music Hall — on Peacock — to help attract viewers to NBC’s streaming platform for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Lorne Michaels told folks at Cannes Lions: “Right now, there’s a Friday event at Radio City — a kind of homecoming night. It will have musical acts and stand-ups. Throughout the show, musical things that the cast have done over 50 years will be live. It will probably be streamed because the language won’t be in control, and it will take as long as it takes…You’ll see bands that have left a mark on the show, and stand-ups that were part of it from the beginning or relatively recent. There are some documentaries being made. We’re going to be part of the French Olympics, so that will be the official start of our celebration.”
What else is new?
Congrats to Anthony King and Scott Brown, who started performing a musical satire in the basement of UCB almost two decades ago, and now will get to stage Gutenberg! The Muscial! on Broadway this fall! Previews begin Sept. 15 at the James Earl Jones Theater, and it’ll star Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad (who debuted together in The Book of Mormon) as the writers hoping to launch a show about the inventor of the printing press. Alex Timbers will direct.
Trevor Noah has inked a deal with Spotify to host a weekly podcast, debuting later this year that will “blend his signature humor and razor-sharp wit with his global perspective to deliver a unique take on the hottest and most captivating topics of the moment.”
Chelsea Peretti’s feature directorial debut, First Time Female Director, debuted at Tribeca and will get distribution next year via Roku.
Dave Burd, aka Lil Dicky and the star of FX/Hulu’s Dave, will put out his first album in about eight years, based on tracks from the first three seasons of his TV series.
Related? Wolfie's Just Fine, aka Jon Lajoie, just released his new album Everyone Is Dead Except Us. It’s his first big release in more than five years.
Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox have bought back their Smosh channel from the current owners, Rhett and Link’s Mythical Entertainment. They plan on relaunching with a new video next week.
Hulu’s animated series Solar Opposites has hired Dan Stevens to voice Korvo, replacing series creator Justin Roiland.
ICYMI: HBO ordered a third season of Somebody Somewhere, starring Bridget Everett and Jeff Hiller, while Showtime cancelled I Love That For You after only one season, and NBC cancelled American Auto after two model years, while passing on Amber Ruffin’s Non-Evil Twin multi-cam.
Adult Swim has ordered Common Side Effects, from Joe Bennett and Steve Hely, and executive produced by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels.
Rebel Wilson has a record deal with Warner Music. Will it sound pitch perfect?
Dick Clark Productions acquired the Golden Globes, which means there’s no reason for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to junket now, n’est ce pas?
Netflix announced the voice cast for Captain Fall, a new animated series bowing July 28 — Jason Ritter, Christopher Meloni, Lesley-Ann Brandt, Anthony Carrigan, Alejandro Edda, Adam Devine and Trond Fausa.
NBC cancelled The Wheel, a game show hosted by Michael McIntyre. Yeah, I wrote about it in this newsletter and forgot it existed, too.
Eddie Izzard announced Eddie Izzard - The Remix: The First 35 Years, visiting theaters in 28 North American cities this Fall. “In the first 35 years of my stand-up career I came up with many weird and crazy comedy stories,” Izzard said. “The ones I like the best will be in my 2023 live Remix Tour.“ Promoted by WestBeth Entertainment, tickets go on sale Friday, available at Eddie’s website.
Andrew Santino and Bobby Lee announced they’ve added 7 new dates on their 2023 Bad Friends tour. Tickets via Live Nation.
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler announced a second leg for their Restless Leg Tour this fall.
Related: After all these years, Poehler has started posting to social media. She’s on TikTok and already hip to the trends.
Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
RIP Pat Cooper
Pat Cooper would roast the hell out of me for waiting so long to mention his passing. Hell, Cooper roasted me the first time I met him, which was in 2006, when I got talked into coming down from Boston to compete in Jamie Masada’s “Funniest Reporter on the Planet” competition in 2006 at the short-lived NYC edition of the Laugh Factory, which was located in a former strip club a block north of the Port Authority terminal. Cooper was one of the judges. The late Catie Lazarus won the contest.
Cooper died earlier this month at his home in Las Vegas. He was 93.
As Ryan Stiles mentioned in introducing him on the clip above, Cooper became famous performing and arguing on TV for Ed Sullivan, and three decades later kept it up on Howard Stern’s radio show. His humor and feistiness made him a popular talk-show guest for many hosts over the years.
Born Pasquale Caputo in Brooklyn, Cooper was a high-profile Italian American comedian generations before Sebastian Maniscalco. Cooper appeared onscreen with Robert De Niro in both Analyze This and Analyze That, and Seinfeld fans would know him best for playing himself in the Friars Club episode.
Because of course, Cooper was known in comedy circles for being the closer on many a Friars Club roast.
Who’s gonna follow him now? Rest in peace, Pat.
Worth Reading Elsewhere
The New York Times talked to alumni of Boom Chicago, which celebrates its 30th anniversary in Amsterdam next month, including alums Seth Meyers, Brendan Hunt and Amber Ruffin (it’s a free link for you!)
The NYT also caught up with the South Park guys at their newly-reopened Casa Bonita in Colorado (also a free link!)
- looked back at what Bo Burnham had to say on a 2019 panel about YouTube and the Internet and what it means for us all.
- weighs in on how Joe Rogan’s invitation to “debate” RFK Jr. is a sucker’s bet.
Max Tani at Semafor wrote about the Cannes Lion event which gave awards to Kevin Hart and “Call Her Daddy” host Alex Cooper revealed a lot about UTA and the ever-tangling webs of agencies within the industry.
Deadline has an interview with Seth Meyers talking the future of late-night talk shows, SNL and more.
Vulture profiles Ukrainian comedian Serhii Lipko, who has spent the past year and a half as a soldier defending his nation at war with Russia.
Last Week’s Specials
New on HBO and Max
John Early: Now More Than Ever (my review)
New on Netflix
85 South: Ghetto Legends (my review)
New on Fox Nation
Rob Schneider: Woke Up In America (my review)
New on Patreon
New on Dry Bar
New on YouTube
Leland Klassen: Free Shoes For A Year (via CrownTV)
Ali Woods: Best Friend Ever ENGLAND
Kevin Bozeman: God’s Work (via Helium Comedy Studios)
Larry Dean: Fandan (via 800 Pound Gorilla Media)
Also Mark Normand re-released Matt Ruby’s Substances on his channel.
THIS WEEK: 16
LAST WEEK: 17
THIS MONTH (JUNE): 25+16=41
RUNNING TOTAL for 2023: 336+16=352
New Specials Filming
The Crossroads club in Garwood, NJ, is in the middle of filming 12 more new specials for 2023 as part of its Crossroads Comedy Fest. They filmed a half-dozen this week (Corey Rodrigues, Dan Naturman, Cory Kahaney, Tommy Tiernan, Wendy Liebman, Brian Scolaro), and will do a half-dozen more (Raanan Hershberg, Rocky LaPorte, Tom Cotter, Tony V, Christine Hurley, Gregg Rogell) this coming Monday-Wednesday. Tickets available via Eventbrite.
And in July, the folks at GaS Digital will film six half-hours this coming July 10-12 at The Cutting Room in Manhattan. Lineup includes main GaS guys and Legion of Skanks Luis J. Gomez and Dave Smith, plus Kurt Metzger, Jordan Jensen, Rich Vos, and Colum Tyrrell. Tickets through Merch Engine.
Fun Things To Do In NYC
This weekend’s show I plugged in The New York Times: Gina Yashere headlines this Saturday at The Bell House in what stands to be a Pride-full weekend at the Brooklyn venue.
Also around the city this weekend…
Alex Edelman’s Broadway run of “Just For Us” kicks off tonight!
Tonight at Ars Nova for ANT Fest: Soojeong Son does a clown show about…cum? What else could follow that but Showgasm, hosted by George Civeris.
Also tonight at QED in Astoria, it’s Catbaret (kitty-themed comedy, music and burlesque); Emily Walsh previews her Edinburgh Fringe show, “Dad Girl,” on Sunday.
Marcello Arguella is visiting from Los Angeles, Saturday at Union Hall.
Carmen Lynch is taping her new special Monday at the Comedy Cellar.
Puddles Pity Party, plus Dave Hill, Monday at City Winery.
Cat Cohen’s new show is running at Joe’s Pub with opener Ikechukwu Ufomadu through July 20 but many shows have sold out already. Get limited tickets before they’re all gone.
Would you like to promote your comedy show or album or special or whatnot on this newsletter???
Please let me know and we can work out the details.
Thanks for reading!