The creative minds behind some of this year’s Emmy-nominated comedy series give insight into the process and share secrets behind their highly lauded seasons.
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Abbott Elementary
In Abbott Elementary ’s third season, series creator Quinta Brunson and her writers room were handed a challenge: Tell a thorough, engrossing story in eight fewer episodes than usual. The ABC comedy, which typically runs 22 half-hour blocks, was truncated as a result of the writers and actors strikes (the February premiere timing also conflicted with the series’ history of following the school year in real time). “I knew right away I didn’t want to hold anything for season four, and that I wanted to protect the finale ending we had planned,” says Brunson. She used the opportunity to try out a time jump for the first time — among other creative pivots — and the result garnered Abbott nine Emmy nominations, including outstanding comedy series. “The season had a different feeling than it might have otherwise, but I’m really happy we gave Janine [Brunson’s character] and Gregory [Tyler James Williams] that satisfying moment,” Brunson adds, referring to their kiss at the end of the finale. “One thing I don’t like is people being unsatisfied.” Read more. — Seija Rankin
The Bear
While a lot of the online discourse surrounding this year’s Emmy contenders seems heavily focused on — perhaps even obsessed with — litigating The Bear ’s status as a comedy series, it hasn’t stopped the FX series from dominating the nominations in the category. Season two, which dropped more a year ago, follows chefs Carmy and Sydney as they push to flip the long-standing beef sandwich shop into a high-end, Michelin-star-hopeful restaurant. Stars (and last year’s winners) Ayo Edebiri, Jeremy Allen White and Ebon Moss-Bachrach received repeat nods, as did Jon Bernthal, with Lionel Boyce and Liza Colón-Zayas picking up first-time noms. The voting body seems particularly enamored with the flashback episode “Fishes,” which gave viewers an illuminating peek into one overwhelming, climactic, oftentimes depressingly tragic Berzatto family Christmas — it accounts for nine of this year’s honors, six of which are in comedy-specific categories. Perhaps at the Emmys, laughter really is the best medicine. — Seija Rankin
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm ended with a trial and a kicker that put what its creative team called a “stubborn exclamation point” on the Larry David -created and -starring series by revisiting and flipping the ending of Seinfeld for Curb ’s final episode. The April 7 series-ender for the long-running HBO comedy closed with a classic callback to the Jerry Seinfeld -starring series that David co-created and ran years earlier. His Curb partner, showrunner Jeff Schaffer , points out that the plot was more than two decades in the making. “It’s just cool that you can hang around long enough to be able to do a 26-year-old joke,” Schaffer tells The Hollywood Reporter in the below conversation. While Curb , which has received four Emmy nominations for its final season, is over as a series, Schaffer says David hasn’t stopped being perturbed by the human race — which should give fans of the improvisational comedy hope. “The show is done in its current form, but Larry’s not done,” he says of possibilities to come. “We’re talking about talking about stuff.” Read more. — Jackie Strause
Hacks
When season three of Hacks premiered May 2, it had been two years since a new episode dropped on Max. The hiatus wasn’t an unprecedented length — Severance , anyone? — but it presented a potential challenge to the showrunners: how to elevate the season enough to recapture viewers’ attention while staying true to the heart of the show. But according to the trio behind Hacks (longtime comedy partners Jen Statsky, Paul W. Downs and Lucia Aniello ), they knew during production that they were clearing the hurdle. “One of the people who is a great barometer for us is Jean Smart, since she’s been working so prolifically for so long,” says Downs. “So when she says to us, ‘This is the best episode we’ve ever done,’ it’s just, wow.” Adds Aniello: “We really listen to her; it’s always, ‘What does Jean think?’ ” Read more. — Seija Rankin
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Only Murders in the Building
Only Murders in the Building , which John Hoffman created with Steve Martin, received 21 Emmy noms this year, including one for best comedy series — a feat Hoffman, a six-time Emmy nominee, tells The Hollywood Reporter is “affirming.” Read more. — Scott Feinberg
Palm Royale
Abe Sylvia, the creator of Apple TV+’s Palm Royale , had for years been trying to make a show that takes place in Palm Beach, and he finally cracked it with the Kristen Wiig-led comedy series about a woman who strives, and will do anything, to be a part of high society in the exclusive community. The writing, the star-studded cast (including Carol Burnett, Allison Janney, Laura Dern and Ricky Martin) and the vibrant production and costume design all helped the show resonate with Academy voters, who awarded the series 10 Emmy nominations, including best comedy. Sylvia talks filming in Los Angeles, how the script was tailored when Burnett came on board and why multiple seasons were always the endgame. Read more. — Beatrice Verhoeven
Reservation Dogs
Over its first two seasons as one of the most critically hailed shows on TV, Reservation Dogs collected just one Emmy nomination. Yet it broke through in a bigger way in its third and final season with four nominations, including one for best comedy series. Co-creator and showrunner Sterlin Harjo talks with THR about the show’s closing season and choosing the right time to end. Read more. — Rick Porter
What We Do in the Shadows
After five seasons of FX’s What We Do in the Shadows , showrunner Paul Simms can finally admit he doesn’t care much about vampires, really — and that’s what makes the comedy on his show timeless and universal. “It all goes back to the basic things: different people having different goals that bring them into conflict with each other,” says Simms of the series in which a group of bloodsuckers descend upon modern-day Staten Island to take over the New World — only to find themselves unable to accomplish their mission, thanks to their collective idiocy. Read more. — Tyler Coates
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