Parks and Recreation Star Amy Poehler Slams Oscars for Ignoring Comedy Films

Amy Poehler has a bone to pick with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Parks and Recreation star recently slammed the Academy Awards for repeatedly overlooking performances from comedy movies.

In the latest episode of her podcast, Good Hang with Amy, Poehler was joined by Olivia Colman, who was there to promote her new movie, The Roses, a satirical black comedy loosely based on the 1981 novel The War of the Roses by Warren Adler. At the start of the episode, Colman called her co-star, Benedict Cumberbatch, who claimed that “if you can do comedy, you can do anything. I really do believe that.” This led to Poehler’s Oscars rant, with the comedian exclaiming, “You don’t have to tell me, babe. Every single year at the Oscars, everybody [in comedy] gets blanked and all the serious people get up and accept and accept and accept. It’s some hot bullshit! Because comedy is not easy.”

At face value, indeed, comedy is often overlooked for drama at the Oscars, although Poehler’s claim that the awards show snubs comedic performances isn’t entirely true, and many listeners were quick to point that out on social media. For instance, Mikey Madison, Emma Stone, and Michelle Yeoh, the recipients of the last three Academy Awards for Best Actress, all won for giving performances in movies that were part of the comedy genre. Madison’s Anora was a blend of romantic comedy and drama, Stone’s Poor Things has been labeled everything from a sex comedy to a black comedy to an absurdist comedy, and Yeoh’s Everything Everywhere All at Once was an absurdist comedy-drama flick.

However, when looking at movies that are purely comedic in nature, Poehler may have a point, as one of the more notable nominations in recent memory was for Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids, which was released back in 2011. Even taking into account nominated performances in movies that are a blend of comedy and another genre, there are still, on average, more dramatic performances being nominated and winning each year at the Oscars.

Comedies Aren’t Overlooked on the Small Screen

Parks and Recreation cast photo
Image via NBC

Comedies being snubbed in favor of dramas is an issue only for the Academy Awards, as on the small screen, the two genres are split into separate categories by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for its annual Emmys ceremony. Acting, directing, and writing are all split into Comedy or Drama categories, ensuring that no genre gets favored over the other. At the recent 77th Primetime Emmy Awards, noted comedian Seth Rogen won four awards for acting, producing, directing, and writing his Apple TV+ satirical cringe comedy series The Studio.

Poehler is also an Emmy-winning actor, having won the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series in 2016 with Tina Fey for their work co-hosting an episode of Saturday Night Live. Poehler has actually been nominated nine times over the last 17 years for her work in the sketch comedy series SNL and NBC mockumentary sitcom Parks and Recreation.

Good Hang With Amy Poehler is available on all major podcast platforms.

Release Date

August 29, 2025

Director

Jay Roach

Writers

Warren Adler, Tony McNamara

Producers

Jay Roach, Michelle Graham, Adam Ackland, Leah Clarke, Ed Sinclair, Tom Carver

• Benedict Cumberbatch

  Theo

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