Of course, AMC is also submitting the final episodes of Odenkirk’s “Better Call Saul” in the drama fields. Should Odenkirk be nominated in both the best drama actor and best comedy actor races, he would become the first performer in history to be nominated in both genres in the same year.

Several performers have been nominated and even won Emmys as both drama and comedy leads — but never at the same time. It’s a possibility: Odenkirk has been nominated five times in the best drama actor category for “Better Call Saul,” and this will be his final opportunity to compete in that race for “Saul” (which has received 46 nominations through its run, but has yet to win a single Emmy). Meanwhile, Odenkirk has been known first and foremost as a comedy performer, making him a real contender in the comedy race this year for “Hank.”

“Lucky Hank” will actually mark the first time Odenkirk has been submitted in the lead comedy acting category. He has previously won two Emmys: One in 1989 for writing on “Saturday Night Live,” and one in 1993 for writing on “The Ben Stiller Show.”

The reason behind placing “Lucky Hank” is probably obvious: This avoids putting it in competition with “Better Call Saul,” and forcing voters to choose between two different Odenkirks.

But there’s also plenty of comedy DNA behind the show, which was adapated from the Richard Russo novel “Straight Man.” The show was pitched as a “dark comedy,” the network noted, and besides Odenkirk’s comedy background, it also comes from co-showrunners and exec producers Paul Lieberstein (“The Office”) and Aaron Zelman (“Silicon Valley”), both of whom also have comedy writing backgrounds.

Other submissions for “Lucky Hank” include Mireille Enos for supporting actress in a comedy; Cedric Yarbrough and Diedrich Bader for supporting actor in a comedy; and Kyle MacLachlan for guest actor in a comedy. Also submitting are Peter Farelly (episode 101) and Nicole Holofcender (episode 107) for comedy directing, and Lieberstein and Zelman for comedy writing (episode 102).

Read the full article HERE

Credit: Michael Schneider, Variety, March 27th 2023