Emmys 2018: Who Should Win Every Award (And Who Actually Will)
17. Writing For A Variety Special
Nominees: Full Frontal with Samantha Bee - The Great American* Puerto Rico (*It's Complicated) (Samantha Bee, Pat Cassels, Mike Drucker, Eric Drysdale, Mathan Erhardt, Miles Kahn and Nicole Silverberg); John Mulaney - Kid Gorgeous at Radio City (John Mulaney); Michelle Wolf - Nice Lady (Michelle Wolf); Patton Oswalt - Annihilation (Patton Oswalt); Steve Martin & Martin Short - An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life (Steve Martin and Martin Short)
Should Win: Patton Oswalt
Oswalt made a triumphant return last year with Annihilation, putting his range of talents as a stand-up on full display. Not only is the show hilarious, but it's also startlingly raw and intimate. He starts off on sure footing, making jokes about Donald Trump, but it's when he talks about the loss of his wife and what comes next that it becomes something truly great, with Oswalt somehow finding moments of humour and lightness among the darkness.
Will Win: Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Unlike the others, which are more typical stand-up specials, The Great American* Puerto Rico is a bolder, more expansive, politically-charged, and seemingly worth affair, which means that voters are more likely to want to reward it here.