LOS ANGELES, Sept 14 — HBO’s political series is the hot favourite in the Comedy category of the 69th Emmy Awards, announced Sunday, September 17. The show’s star, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, could also go down in Emmy history by bagging her sixth consecutive title.

Breaking the reign of Veep will be no mean feat for this year’s contenders. After winning the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series for the last two years, HBO’s political comedy doesn’t seem to be in any rush to give up its title — especially since the network’s recent announcement that the seventh season, due in 2018, will be the last.

Faced with Veep, the competition seems relatively lightweight this year. Although Modern Family may have dominated this category prior to Veep — winning five awards between 2010 and 2014 — the pinnacle of the show’s success may now have waned. Silicon Valley, also shown on HBO, doesn’t seem like enough of a heavyweight to outrun Veep and, in spite of good reviews, Netflix’s Master of None and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt still seem too new to be serious contenders.

That leaves Black-ish, which is growing in popularity, and Atlanta, which is nominated for the first time. This show is a new arrival on FX, and seems like the most credible challenger for Veep after bagging a Golden Globe in January.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Jeffrey Tambor unstoppable?

Atlanta actor Donald Glover could also shake things up by beating Jeffrey Tambor in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series category, a title he has held since 2015 thanks to his performance in Amazon’s Transparent. Anthony Anderson (Black-ish), Aziz Ansari (Master of None), William H. Macy (Shameless) and Zach Galifianakis (Baskets) are also nominated in this category.

For contenders in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series category, dethroning Julia Louis-Dreyfus from her long-held top spot will be much more difficult. The actress is the sole winner in this category since 2012. She also scooped an Emmy Award in 2006 for another role (Christine Campbell in The New Adventures of Old Christine). As a result, the star, who plays Selina Meyer, has made Emmy history as the most decorated actress.

Winning won’t be easy for fellow nominees Pamela Adlon (Better Things), Jane Fonda (Grace and Frankie), Allison Janney (Mom), Ellie Kemper (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Tracee Ellis Ross (Black-ish) and Lily Tomlin (Grace and Frankie). — AFP-Relaxnews