Emmy Winner Predictions: Best Directing for a Comedy Series

Nominees are listed in alphabetical order by show. Beware of minor spoilers for listed episodes.

Matt Shakman, The Great (The Great)
Amy Sherman-Palladino, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (It’s Comedy or Cabbage)
Daniel Palladino, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Marvelous Radio)
Gail Mancuso, Modern Family (Finale, Part 2)
Ramy Youssef, Ramy (Miakhalifa.mov)
Andrew Cividino and Dan Levy, Schitt’s Creek (Happy Ending)
James Burrows, Will and Grace (We Love Lucy) 

Sherman-Palladino won this award two years ago for her show’s pilot, and both she and Palladino were nominated last year. Mancuso has three previous nominations for “Modern Family,” and she won this prize in 2013 and 2014. Youssef is also nominated as a performer, as is Levy, who also contends for writing. Burrows is the most-nominated and most-honored director in this category, with twenty-five career bids, six of which were for “Will and Grace,” and five wins, most recently for “Frasier” in 1994. Shows with multiple nominations sometimes win this category, but it hasn’t happened since 2012. Only “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and “Schitt’s Creek” are nominated for Best Comedy Series, a very unusual occurrence.

What should win: I’d go with “Ramy” or either of the “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” episodes.
What will win: It’s possible that departing shows and past Best Comedy Series winners “Modern Family” or “Will and Grace” could win their fifth and first trophies in this race, respectively, for their series finale, but I’m betting on another series finale that’s nominated for a number of other prizes this year: Schitt’s Creek.