2024 Emmys: 5 reasons why Jean Smart will win third trophy for ‘Hacks’

As the Gold Derby odds currently stand, it looks like Jean Smart (“Hacks”) and Ayo Edebiri (“The Bear”) are in a competitive battle for Best Comedy Actress, and for good reason. Smart is a two-time champion in this category for the first two seasons of “Hacks,” coming back after missing last year’s Emmy cycle due to production delays. Edebiri is the reigning Best Comedy Supporting Actress champ, and upgraded to contend in Lead Actress this year.

However, if I were Smart, I’d be feeling pretty good about reclaiming my title in this category. Here are five reasons why Jean Smart will win her third Emmy for “Hacks.” 

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1. She’s proven to be a favorite amongst the actors branch for comedy.

In her decades-long television career, Smart has earned a total of 13 Emmy nominations and five wins. However, all of her wins happen to be in the Comedy field, where she remains undefeated. She brought home two Emmys for Comedy Guest Actress in “Frasier” (2000 and 2001), one for Comedy Supporting Actress in “Samantha Who?” (2008), and a pair of Lead Actress victories for her current role as legendary stand-up comedian, Deborah Vance, on “Hacks.” This is proof the actors branch loves Smart most for her comedic work, and with all the acclaim for her performance in Season 3, they’ll most certainly vote for her to win again.

2. “Hacks” had its most acclaimed season yet.

Since its premiere back in 2021, “Hacks” has been a big hit with the TV academy. Season 1 received 15 nominations including three big wins: Best Actress for Smart, Best Writing and Best Directing. It was almost certainly the runner-up in Best Comedy Series to “Ted Lasso.” For Season 2, the series’ nomination total increased to 17 and Smart won Best Actress again. After missing last year’s Emmy cycle, Season 3 came back with 16 nominations (likely due to less guest actors nominated this year), and earned its highest critics score on Metacritic. More importantly, “Hacks” returned with nominations in every key category proving Emmy voters still love the series! All this points to a very likely three-peat victory for Smart.

3. She has a killer episode submission.

Smart chose “Yes, And” as her episode submission. It’s true that episode submissions don’t matter as much these days since the tape voting system ended in 2014. Still, this episode is a pivotal moment for Deborah Vance as she returns to her alma mater to receive an honorary doctorate, where she ends up being forced to address old problematic comedic bits from her prime that have several of the campus students enraged. This moment in Vance’s life brings out both a theatrical and emotional side from her that leads to a major arc in her character, as well as a life-changing offer at the very end of the episode. It’s some of the best acting Smart has done in the series to date, and this episode will be key to her winning come Emmy night.

SEE Hannah Einbinder (‘Hacks’) still leads Emmy odds despite going up against Hollywood royalty

4. Most of her competition can’t challenge her.

Kristin Wiig earned her first Best Comedy Actress nomination this year for “Palm Royale,” but since Wiig and Carol Burnett (Best Comedy Supporting Actress) are the only acting noms for that series, it looks like the nomination will be the prize. Maya Rudolph is a six-time Emmy winner with multiple nominations this year (she already snagged a win for “Big Mouth” on Saturday), including Best Comedy Actress for “Loot.” However, given she’s the sole nominee for the Apple TV+ series, it’s highly unlikely she’ll prevail. Third time proved to be the charm for Selena Gomez to be nominated for “Only Murders in the Building,” but given she wasn’t nominated for the first two seasons where it received above the line bids in every other key category, it seems inconceivable she’ll emerge the winner here. Quinta Brunson is the reigning champion in this category for “Abbott Elementary,” but a big part of her victory last year was likely due to Smart’s absence, as well as her competition not being very strong. As for Ayo Edebiri, this leads me to my final point.

5. “The Bear” sweep last year likely hurts its chances this year.

If there’s one nominee in this race who can compete with Smart, it’s last year’s Comedy Supporting Actress champ Ayo Edebiri. However, while Edebiri was moved up to compete in lead actress, she’s not as much of a dominant presence in Season 2 as she was in Season 1, or as Smart is in “Hacks” as a whole. And Smart’s role is a lot juicier and what actors typically gravitate towards. Also, it’s unprecedented for a series to do a clean sweep two seasons in a row in the current voting system. As of right now, “The Bear” is favored to repeat its victories in Best Comedy Series, Best Comedy Actor (Jeremy Allen White) and Best Comedy Supporting Actor (Ebon Moss-Bachrach). Given how well “Hacks” also performed in the acting categories, the actors branch may want to spread the wealth. For Best Comedy Actress, they will most likely vote for another series they’ve already proven to be enthusiastic about. All of this paves the way for Smart to earn her third Emmy for playing Deborah Vance.

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