Tiffany Haddish is out in front in our Best Comedy Guest Actress odds for her hosting stint on “Saturday Night Live,” but she needs to watch her back — not for fellow “SNL” host Tina Fey, but Jane Lynch.
An 11-time nominee and a four-time winner, Lynch is an Emmy favorite. She received two nominations this year: Comedy Guest Actress for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and Reality Host for “Hollywood Game Night.” She won her first Emmy in 2010 for Best Comedy Supporting Actress for “Glee” and twice won as “Game Night” host, in 2014 and 2015, becoming one of three people to win the category more than once.
Then she lost the Host award to RuPaul Charles (“RuPaul’s Drag Race“) in 2016 and sat out 2017 due to “Hollywood Game Night’s” ineligibility, but the Emmys still found a way to give Lynch a statuette last year, awarding her Best Short Form Comedy or Drama Actress for “Dropping the Soap.” And now she’s returned to the Host race with ease as if she were never gone at all.
SEE How to watch comedy guest actress submissions for Jane Lynch, Tiffany Haddish, Tina Fey and more
This is Lynch’s second comedy guest actress nomination, following her 2010 bid — her first-ever Emmy nomination — for “Two and a Half Men.” She plays Sophie Lennon, a frumpy, self-deprecating housewife from Queens who’s the most famous female comic of the ’50s. But Midge (Rachel Brosnahan) soon learns it’s literally all an act: Sophie’s actually a rich, posh Manhattan socialite who created her onstage persona because, as she tells Midge, “Men don’t want to laugh at you, they want to f— you. You can’t go up there and be a woman. You’ve got to be a thing.” It’s a loaded line, underscoring the misogynistic notion that women can’t be attractive and funny.
One of our Experts, Robert Rorke (New York Post), is picking Lynch for the upset. She is currently third in our odds, trailing Haddish and Fey, but ahead of Molly Shannon (“Will & Grace”), Maya Rudolph (“The Good Place”) and Wanda Sykes (“Black-ish”). But if Haddish and Fey, two popular names, split the vote, don’t be surprised if it’s Lynch who benefits.
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Be sure to make your Emmy predictions today so that Hollywood insiders can see how their TV shows and performers are faring in our odds. You can keep changing your predictions as often as you like until just before winners are announced on September 17. Be sure to also predict winners for the Creative Arts ceremonies slated for September 8 and 9. And join in the fun debate over the 2018 Emmy taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our television forums. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.
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