Before Emmy Gold: Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

It’s that time again! When the team looks back at the Emmy nominees’ past projects and standout performances before they earned their 2025 Emmy nomination. This year, I’m looking at the multifaceted work of a talented crop of lead actresses vying for a statue for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

The nominees for this packed category are as follows:   

Uzo Aduba, “The Residence”, Kristen Bell, “Nobody Wants This”, Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”, Ayo Edebiri, “The Bear”, and Jean Smart, “Hacks”

Before we dig in, most of us know Jean Smart is taking home Emmy Gold for her starring role as Deborah Vance in the HBO comedy Hacks. She’s won in this category three times for her portrayal of a fictional comic. Once in 2021, another win in 2022, and last year in 2024. Smart is beloved in the industry, and she’s doing one hell of a job on the Emmy-nominated show. My second choice would be Ayo Edebiri for “The Bear,” but I’d argue that “The Bear” was really lacking in comedy this season, especially given the heavy material for Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), with her father’s significant cardiac episode this season. So, Jean Smart might be picking up her seventh Emmy award.

Uzo Aduba

Nominated For: The Residence

Previous Nominations: Orange is the New Black, In Treatment, Mrs. America

Hidden Gem: Orange is the New Black

By no means is Orange is the New Black “hidden.” It’s a critically acclaimed show that made Uzo Aduba a household name for a number of years and earned her many awards, notably two Emmy wins, but I couldn’t help but mention her performance as Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren. The character was authentically herself and lived loudly in every emotion, from her child-like sensibilities to her bombastic anger. It was a grounded performance that asked the actress to play the highs and lows of someone suffering in a penitentiary and someone who might get lost in the system. She also brought a sense of lightness to Suzanne, a necessity to a series that balances comedy with the harrowing lows.

Kristen Bell

Nominated For: Nobody Wants This

Previous Nominations: First Nomination (previously nominated at the Children’s and Family Emmy Awards)

Hidden Gem: Gossip Girl

For the longest time, when I thought of Kristen Bell, I thought of her role on the CW show Veronica Mars. She amassed a huge fanbase from playing one of the most notable characters that lives on in pop culture. But, when I think of an impressive performance of Bell’s, it’s not the student turned private investigator but her voice work on…Gossip Girl. Kristen Bell held the pacing of the show, the humor, and the all-around intrigue as the voice of Gossip Girl for six seasons, and we never even saw her face, yet she was in every episode, giving her signature XOXO sign-off until the bitter end, creating an air of mystery that the show needed to chug along for six seasons. Impressive work!

Quinta Brunson

Nominated For: Abbott Elementary

Previous Nominations: Abbott Elementary, Saturday Night Live

Hidden Gem:  Her Digital Footprint

To some, it seems as though Quinta Brunson just burst onto the scene with Abbott Elementary, but fellow millennials and early content watchers will know her unique voice and comedic chops from her viral sketches way before Abbott was a thing. Quinta is the Queen of the digital footprint, capitalizing on online platforms to get her voice out there. She started creating videos on Instagram in 2014, and she quickly developed her brand and went viral with her series Girl Who Has Never Been on a Nice Date. She landed a job at BuzzFeed, where she created videos and two web series before content creators were even a thing. If you want a laugh and see early Quinta at her best, I highly recommend: If Everybody Acted Like Reality TV Stars on YouTube.

Ayo Edebiri

Nominated For: The Bear

Previous Nominations: The Bear

Hidden Gem: Ayo and Rachel Are Single

Ayo Edebiri brings levity to every project she works on, whether it’s writing for What We Do in the Shadows or her hilarious letterboxd reviews and of course as sous chef Sydney on The Bear (although I’ll always argue that the show isn’t actually a comedy). My pick for her hidden gem is her 2020 Comedy Central series with bff actress Rachel Sennott, Ayo and Rachel Are Single. In three bite-sized episodes, they tackle the horrible dating culture in the digital age, covering topics like shitty guys on dating apps and wild dating trends. The shorts are funny, and Ayo and Rachel have undeniable chemistry that reminds me of Ilana and Abby’s friendship in Broad City. To find out what “time tabling” means, you should watch the first episode here. Also, as an honorable mention, fans of Ayo Edebiri should check out the 2023 movie Theater Camp, which is one of the best comedies of 2023.

Jean Smart

Nominated For: Hacks

Previous Nominations:  12 Nominations, 5 Wins-Frasier (2000, 2001), Samantha Who? (2008), Hacks (2021, 2022)

Hidden Gem:  Designing Women (1986-1993)

Designing Women was a rare gem for its time. It was a show about women that let them be honest, imperfect, and downright hilarious, and at the center of these women was Jean Smart’s Charlene Stillfield. The role of a naive Baptist who held religion close to her chest was unique for a sitcom. Jean, along with the women, often had powerful monologues, which were not only rare for a sitcom but some of the topics addressed still resonate today (Dixie Carter’s monologue shutting down a homophobic character made the rounds online a few years ago). While the show had its fair share of profound moments, Jean Smart had some great comebacks in that irresistible southern drawl. Not convinced? Check out Charlene’s best moments here.