Amy Poehler isn’t holding back when it comes to the Academy’s treatment of comedies. On her Good Hang podcast, the actor and comedian blasted the Oscars for consistently overlooking the genre.
“Every single year at the Oscars, everybody [in comedy] gets blanked, and all the serious people get up and accept and accept,” Poehler said. “It’s some hot bullshit! Because comedy is not easy. And I got to tell you, both you and Olivia can do both.”
The episode featured Olivia Colman, who is currently promoting her new Searchlight Pictures comedy, The Roses. Benedict Cumberbatch, Colman’s co-star in the film, also joined the conversation briefly and praised the craft. “If you can do comedy, you can do anything. “I really do believe that,” he told Poehler. She quickly agreed: “Of course. You don’t have to tell me, babe!"
While best picture winners like Anora and Everything Everywhere All at Once have blended humour with drama, the Academy has long resisted honouring straight comedies. Even when Greta Gerwig’s Barbie made waves with eight nominations, it fell short of best picture, and both Gerwig and Margot Robbie were shut out of the directing and acting categories. Rian Johnson’s Knives Out franchise and Bridesmaids have fared no better, landing only screenplay nods.
Looking ahead to the 2025 Oscars, history seems poised to repeat itself. Awards chatter centres on darker-leaning projects like Yorgos Lanthimos’ Bugonia and Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly, while pure comedies such as Friendship, Good Fortune and The Naked Gun remain on the outside despite glowing reviews. Johnson’s upcoming Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery could shake things up, but whether it breaks into top categories like best picture or acting is far from certain.
Poehler, whose comedy credentials span SNL, Parks and Recreation and her Golden Globes hosting gigs with Tina Fey, made it clear: the Academy’s long-running bias against comedy deserves to be challenged.
