By Spencer Coile
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The Leading Actress in a Drama Series category has been an embarrassment of riches this past decade. With previous winners including Glenn Close for Damages, Julianna Margulies for The Good Wife, Claire Danes for Homeland, and Viola Davis for How to Get Away with Murder, the Emmy’s are giving the gays everything they want.
This year is particularly competitive, an eclectic diverse group of actresses at the top of their game. We have two previous winners, two who only have one last chance to win, one on an HBO blockbuster, and one making history as the first Asian American actress in the category. In a perfect world, they would all be victorious. Yet only one can win...
Best Leading Actress in a Drama Series Nominees:
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Claire Foy as “Queen Elizabeth II” on The Crown: “Dear Mrs. Kennedy”
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Tatiana Maslany as “Sarah Manning, Cosima Niehaus, Alison Hendrix, Rachel Duncan, Helena, Krystal Goderitch, Veera Suominen, Camilla Torres, and additional characters” on Orphan Black: “To Right the Wrongs of Many”
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Elisabeth Moss as “June Osborne/ Offred” on The Handmaid’s Tale: “The Last Ceremony”
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Sandra Oh as “Eve Polastri” on Killing Eve: “I Have a Thing About Bathrooms”
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Keri Russell as “Elizabeth Jennings” on The Americans: “The Summit”
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Evan Rachel Wood as “Dolores Abernathy” on Westworld: “Reunion”
Will Win: This could potentially be the most difficult race to call. As great as they are on their respective shows, it’s safe to count out Maslany and Wood. While Maslany is a previous winner, she might just be lucky to be here after missing out last year. Meanwhile, Wood, while impressive on Westworld,was not a stand-out this season.
That leaves four, and they'd all be worthy winners. This is Foy’s last season on The Crown, and on top of her being showered with acclaim for her performance, she's having a banner year with First Man, Unsane, and The Girl in the Spider’s Web. Given her prolific run this is a perfect tiem to award her. Russell is fresh off a TCA win on a beloved series that just ended its six year run. If voters are compelled to cast a win for The Americans, she could come out on top.
Sandra Oh’s nomination is historic. Not only is she a previous Emmy darling for her work on Grey’s Anatomy (without ever winning), she is the first Asian American woman to be nominated in this category. This, matched with her riveting performance on Killing Eve, could be enough for her to finally clinch a win.
That leaves Moss, last year’s winner. It feels strange, because years ago, many Mad Men fans were denouncing the Emmy’s for never rewarding Moss for her performance as Peggy Olson. Now, she is a frontrunner to win for the second year in a row. And just watch her performance in “The Last Ceremony” and you’ll figure out why. It truly is a winning tape. Still, with a variety of equally incredible actresses in contention, it feels predictable to give it to Moss again. But these are the Emmy’s we’re talking about, so expect Moss to prevail.
Should Win: Again, this is tough, because everyone is astonishing this year. That said, for six seasons of layered and haunting work, this should go to Russell. Her enigmatic Elizabeth Jennings culminates into a final explosion. I haven’t been able to shake her menace, compassion, and disillusionment. She earned her TCA and deserves her final chance at Emmy glory.
Could Spoil: Literally anyone could win. That’s what makes this race so exciting.
Your turn! Will Moss win again? Most importantly, are you heartbroken that Mandy Moore’s performance on This Is Us wasn’t nominated?