Some media watchers expressed surprise at the Emmy nominations for Netflix's I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, but they shouldn't have. It's a show that has had critical love letters written about it, audiences pore over it and it hit so hard that performers like longtime character actor Biff Wiff were asked to give interviews to multiple outlets just for playing a one-off character like the profane Santa, AKA Detective Crashmore. The series' second season received two Emmy nominations.
Before people realized it was nominated for Outstanding Short Form Comedy, Drama, or Variety Series, fans were up in arms about it not getting a slot in the Outstanding Variety Sketch Series. In its current category, it is almost assuredly the front-runner. Maybe The Randy Rainbow show will upset simply due to the political climate, but all the other nominees are basically supplemental material to other shows. None of its competitors have the depth or cultural impact of I Think You Should Leave.
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The competition is far from stiff. There is Late Night with Seth Meyers Corrections, a spin-off of a segment from the main talk show. Carpool Karaoke: The Series is nominated because, well, Quibi doesn't exist anymore and shows like Mapleworth Murders and other short form originals are on the bubble over at Roku. Last, there's Tooning Out the News, a live-action, animation mix from Stephen Colbert and the folks over at The Late Show. Its moderate critical reception is matched by a lack of industry buzz. All of this points to I Think You Should Leave rightfully winning for its fresh and gonzo contribution to the art of sketch comedy.
Even the best sketch comedy is notoriously hit-and-miss. Senses of humor differ, comedy isn't evergreen and some sketches just aren't very good. I Think You Should Leave succeeds simply by having a higher percentage of sketches that hit than miss. The fast pace and short sketches give the show a high re-watchability factor. It also hits that sweet spot of modern comedy: doing really dumb comedy intelligently.
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If The Kids in the Hall were successors to Monty Python's Flying Circus and SNL, I Think You Should Leave owes more to troupes like MTV's The State and Comedy Central's Upright Citizens Brigade. It feels younger and more energetic. It embraces alternative comedy over mainstream appeal, and that's ironically one of many things that has given it such a big audience. Without making anything out of it, the show is so demographically diverse that it makes Degrassi look like Friends, and that is something that appeals to an industry still in the middle of a reckoning over inclusion. Most industries, and the country as a whole, are dealing with that same reckoning, but show biz folk always bear the brunt of the blame. Thirty-six parents were charged in the college admissions scandal, but if you watched the news you'd think it was all the doing of Felicity Huffman and Aunt Becky.
Robinson has stiffer competition in his second nominated category, Outstanding Actor In A Short Form Or Drama Series. Although none of the shows the other actors are nominated for have had the traction or impact of I Think You Should Leave, Bill Burr has many fans in the industry, as does actor's actor Brendan Gleeson. Robinson should still be considered the front-runner, as he is the driving force behind the show, and his performance alone spawned memes and lines quoted, usually screamed, by fans and the industry alike.
Comedy rarely gets the respect it deserves, which makes sense as it is almost antithetical to take comedy seriously; but comedy is a dearly loved genre for the simple fact that it makes us feel good. Original, out-of-the-box comedy is not uncommon, but done at a level where it appeals outside the sphere of hardcore comedy nerds... that's quite rare. I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson is one of the freshest breaths of air mass consumed comedy has felt in a long time. Not surprisingly, Netflix has renewed the series for a third season.
The 74th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony airs Sept. 12, 2022 on NBC.