So far in this decade this category is frequently
dominated by performers from one or two series. The Handmaid's Tale and The
Crown did so in 2021. In 2023 five nominees from The White Lotus left
little room for any other series. Last year The Morning Show took four
slots.
It's possible The White Lotus will receive
more than the two nominations I give it and as with Outstanding Supporting
Actor I wouldn't be that upset if it did. I would be fine if Natasha Rothwell and
Michelle Monaghan were included, less so Aimee Lou Wood. But there are growing
signs this may not be the year for The White Lotus in this category. And
with so many formidable contenders eligible it may very well end up having the
possibility of eight nominees instead of the seven slots available.
For the moment I'm excluding both Severance &
The Pitt from this year's group though they may very well end up being a
force later on.
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Carrie Coon, The White Lotus
For the last decade Carrie Coon seemed to be the
most undervalued actress in television, receiving no Emmy nominations for her
work in The Leftovers or in the second season of The Sinner and being
nominated for her stunning work in the third season of Fargo.
And then last year the Emmys finally caught up
with her. She was nominated for Best Actress for the second season of The Gilded Age though she ended
up losing to Anna Sawai for Shogun. Now she will likely be nominated for
the second straight year for a different HBO series in her brilliant
performance as Laurie, the third member of 'the blonde blob' and the one who
seems to be the least successful going in. We see her on the outside at first,
then trying to make inroads with each of her friends, then going all out on an
incredible celebration, then being left on the outside. And in the season
finale she delivered an incredible monologue that laid bare all the failures of
the friendship and perhaps assured that their friendship will never be the same
afterwards – which moved her to frontrunner status among the nominees from The
White Lotus.
As with Walton Goggins I would really love to see
Coon finally take an Emmy for her work on this show. It's possible the third season
of The Gilded Age which will debut in just a few days will serve to
remind Emmy voters what a versatile actress Coon is. The Emmys have finally
realized what a gem she is. She will prevail, if not this year then soon.
Alison Janney, The Diplomat
At the end of last year Allison Janney began to
appear regularly on the list of award nominees for her work in the second
season of The Diplomat. She was the favorite for a Critics Choice Award
for Best Supporting Actress (she lost) and was nominated for Outstanding Female
Performer in a Drama along side lead Keri Russell.
This is somewhat astonishing considering Janney's
role in Season 2 was relatively limited: her character only appeared in two
episodes. But no one who has watched one of the winningest actresses of all
time knows that she doesn't deserve everything she gets. In her role as the
Vice President – the very role that Kate Wyler has been auditioning for since
the Pilot, much of which without her knowledge – there was much anticipation
considering all of the scandals that were likely going to force her from
office. Then we learned that she had a role in the bombing that led to all of
the action that led to the series beginning – and then the President ended up dying,
putting her in the White House for Season 3.
For an actress who has won Emmys in every single
category for actresses are eligible in Drama and two of them in comedy, it
would seem that it would be impossible for her to impress us. Yet the same year
after her hysterical comic turn in Palm Royale (when does she sleep?)
here Janney is getting recognized for playing a masterminding female
politician. Will she win? Probably not. But it's always good to see her there.
Skye P. Marshall, Matlock
It takes a great actress to be able to share the
screen with Kathy Bates and stare her down. And for someone who was before this
series a relative unknown it might have been too much. And in a sense the
actress known for her work in such relatively light fair as Black Lightning and
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, it might have been asking too much.
But Skye P, Marshall very quickly proved that she
was more than up to the task as Olympia Lawrence, the African-American woman
Matlock is both interning for and eventually becomes sympathetic too when she
shows up. Marshall is up to the task, making us sympathetic to her most of the
season, become harsh when she thinks she's being manipulated by her husband and
then in the climax to the season realizing that the woman she trusted and
thought was a friend has been lying to her the whole time. The final three
episodes were a powerhouse as everything was laid on the table and she began to
realize all the possibilities were in front of her – and then learned in the
final minutes of the season finale that the man she didn't know the man she
married at all – and might very well become aligned in his conspiracy.
Marshall was nominated for a Critics Choice Award
for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama and has already been nominated
for an Astra and a Gotham TV award. She received a special prize for Breakthrough
Performance from the African-American TV awards earlier this month. Will it be
difficult for her to break through against the formidable talent in this lineup
absolutely? But I wouldn't bet against it.
Isabella Merced, The Last of Us
Arguably the breakthrough performance in Season 2
of The Last of Us was Isabella Merced's work as Dina, the bisexual woman
who finds herself at the center of a love triangle in Boulder just before a
zombie attack leads to the siege of the town – and her being with Joel when the
Wolves take her. When Ellie goes on her mission to Seattle Dina goes with her,
not knowing until she gets there that she's pregnant. She learns that Ellie is
immune to zombie bites in the worst way and at that moment reveals her
pregnancy – and the two of them finally connect. Dina unveils throughout the season
she is a powerhouse – but when Jesse shows up and she starts to learn the truth
about her girlfriend, a veil goes up – one that might be up forever given the
events of the finale.
Merced like Selena Gomez is a singer-songwriter
and like Bella Ramsey is a child actress, who has started in Nickelodeon series
and done voiceover work in many cartoons. It's safe to say none of that can
prepare you for the dark territory she goes to in a veteran cast, combined with
a searing monologue she delivers to Ellie when she shares how she ended up in
Boulder. She managed an upset victory for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama
against a very crowded field which launches her into the top tier of
contenders. I look forward to seeing her on the podium – if not now, soon
Julianne Nicholson, Paradise
I no longer have to say that Julianne Nicholson
is underappreciated by the Emmys because in 2021 the Emmys finally gave
her the recognition she was entitled for her incredible work in Mare of
Easttown. That award was one of the greatest balms to my soul (I hoped it
would happen but I wasn't sure) as someone who has been in awe of her work on
TV for the last two decades and was stunned. She hadn't even been nominated for
any of the magnificent performances she had given during that period.
Now in 2025 she's hitting us with a triple threat
two of which may certainly lead to nominations. Her work as 'Dance Mom' on the fourth
season of Hacks has already made her the front runner for Best Guest
Actress in A Comedy. And that just shows yet again her versatile for her
incredible work as Sinatra, the mind behind the creation of Paradise where the
action of the series take place.
We want very much to have sympathy for this tech
billionaire mother who's lost her son and essentially builds this city because
she wants to save her daughter. But we see throughout the season how much that she
sold her soul to do so – and may have been willing to destroy the world to keep
her place at the table. She is more aware of the kind of person she is as the
final episodes unfold but that doesn't stop her from doing those horrible
things. She doesn't quite get what she deserves at the end of the season but
it's not nearly enough.
Nicholson is going to get at least one Emmy
nomination this year. I really want her to get two. After all, they owe her for
shutting her out for Masters of Sex. And Boardwalk Empire. And The
Red Road….
Parker Posey, The White Lotus
If anything Posey, the queen of the indies, is
owed far more recognition than so many of the other actresses in this category.
Ever since she made her official TV debut in Tales of The City more than
thirty years ago, the Emmys have seemed determined to deny the fact she exists.
Whether it is on The Good Wife or Louie, The Staircase or Lost
in Space, she has been ignored. Then last year she finally got recognized
for her darkly hysterical role as the Other Jane on Mr. & Mrs. Smith and
like her co-star Carrie Coon, she's almost certain to go back-to-back for two
different shows this year.
Her work as Victoria is one of the purely comic
gems of the entire third season as she plays the loving matriarch who very
quickly becomes the ugly American, taking Lorazepam every occasion, oblivious
to her husband's increasing mental breakdown, judging every single person she
meets in Thailand, and absolutely unable to comprehend what Buddhism. It's
hysterical watching her get drunk trying to deal with the problems of her
family, particularly as her husband keeps getting first stoned and then suicidal.
I don't know if Posey can prevail against this competition (much of which will
come from her co-stars) but I'm glad to see her prevail.
Christina Ricci, Yellowjackets
I was, to put it mildly, appalled when the Emmys
chose to skunk Christina Ricci both for her work in Yellowjackets and Wednesday
in 2023. I'm not convinced they'll be willing to make it up to her for her
work on Yellowjackets this season but they absolutely should.
Misty spent the entire season not mourning her
actions which led to the death of Natalie at the climax of Season 2. She also
spent the entire season doing everything she could to help her fellow teammates
and trying to solve the murder of Lottie. And as always she spent the entire
season being ignored by everybody and being suspected of every crime that
happened to anyone else (particularly by Shauna) Over and over it was made
clear the best thing she could do was walk away from them entirely. But at some
level Misty is unable to do so, no doubt out of the guilt in her role in what
happened to them after the crash – and which we now know for sure everyone who
came back knows her role in it.
Ricci's performance is some of the greatest work
she's ever done in a nearly thirty year career, playing a character who in one
sense has moved the most in a positive direction since coming back but
emotionally is still the same loser she was when she got on the plane. It is
the kind of work that deserves all the awards in the book. I hope the Emmys at
least nominate her this year.
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
Deanna Allison, Dark Winds
Allison's work as Emma Leaphorn, the wife of the
troubled sheriff Joe Leaphorn is the first acting performance of any kind in
her career. Just writing that sentence stuns me because every time I was her
play the role of Emma, the caregiver on the Navajo Reservation I think I'm
watching someone who's been doing this her whole life.
This season we got to know Emma's life in a way
we just haven't before. Joe spent the entire third season dealing with the
ramifications of killing the man who murdered his son in Season 2. When Emma
realized the horrible truth, we realized just how much of a brave face she puts
up to the entire world as she expressed shock and despair at everything her
husband did – and that he's making her carry.
But it is the episode where she is interrogated
by the FBI and lays bare just how truly horrendous her life has been in a
wrenching monologue, hoping she can forgive her husband "But until then, I
walk alone" that is the kind of think that absolutely deserves award recognition.
She and Joe's marriage may be done forever after what happened (I don't know
the books well enough to know) but the pain and agony in those scenes
demonstrates the gift of a true powerhouse.
OTHER DRAMA NOTES
I'm not prepared to talk about Directing and
Writing in a Drama yet. Guest Actor and Actress in a Drama, that I can do.
The Last of Us will likely have multiple nominees in each category. Kaitlyn Dever
and Catherine O'Hara are frontrunners for Outstanding Guest Actress and Jeffrey
Wright and Joe Pantoliano early frontrunners in Outstanding Guest Actor.
Hilary Swank has already prevailed for Best Guest
Actress in A Drama for her work in Yellowjackets. I'd love to see Joel
McHale there for that same series.
Beau Bridges deserves to be there for Matlock and
I expect to Jonathan Pryce included for his work in Slow Horses. I'd
love to see Mary-Louise Parker recognized for her work on Elsbeth as
well as Michael Emerson.
And while I don't know if it works that way I'd
love to see Jenna Elfman nominated for her work in Dark Winds. The ballroom
dance she did at the dream sequence should be enough.
Next Week, I'll be dealing with comedy – which may
not have as clear a frontrunner as it did in many categories then it did when
the eligibility period ended.
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