Who will win the Emmy for Supporting Actress in a Comedy?
Sunday, September 8, 2019 at 12:30PM
By Spencer Coile
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It really is a blessing and a curse when the Television Academy gives us eight nominees for Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series - a trend they can’t seem to depart from. It’s a blessing because we see a rich field of actresses getting their dues. Yet it’s a curse because, more than any other category this past decade, the previous year's winner seems to repeat at least once. Between McKinnon, Allison Janney for Mom, and my arch nemesis Julie Bowen for Modern Family, the winner pool isn’t as rich.
With last year’s winner Alex Borstein still very much a part of the conversation, are we going to see another repeat victory?
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Nominees:
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Alex Borstein as “Susie Myerson” on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: “Vote for Kennedy, Vote for Kennedy”
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Anna Chlumsky as “Amy Brookheimer” on Veep: “Pledge”
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Sian Clifford as “Claire” on Fleabag: “Episode 3”
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Olivia Colman as “Godmother” on Fleabag: “Episode 4”
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Betty Gilpin as “Debbie Eagan” on GLOW: “Mother of All Matches”
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Sarah Goldberg as “Sally Reed” on Barry: “The Audition”
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Marin Hinkle as “Rose Weissman” on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: “Simone”
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Kate McKinnon as Various Characters on Saturday Night Live: “Host: Liev Schreiber”
Will Win: This year, the Emmys seem to have fallen out of love with GLOW, so consider Gilpin’s nomination her reward. Rarely has this category seen an actress take multiple wins, lose, and then win again. McKinnon may still be a bright spot on SNL, but she’ll probably have to settle for her two Emmy wins. Hinkle and Clifford, both turning in sneakily hilarious work on their respective series, may be overshadowed by their co-stars also nominated in this category. The two HBO ladies are certainly competitive, but if Chlumsky was going to win, she probably would have years ago with stronger material. And Goldberg’s submission has one of the most ingenious monologues I’ve seen on television recently (I had to rewind it and watch her twice because I was laughing so hard). With Barry overperforming in nominations, she might get swept up in the support.
Right now, though, I would consider this a largely two-person race. Borstein is great as ever and the Academy still love the show. And if the series isn’t going to sweep like it did last year, this could be an easy place to reward it. Then again, Colman is coming hot off her Oscar victory for The Favourite with a show people can’t stop raving about. The material she has on “Episode 4” isn’t as plentiful, plus she will dominate the Drama categories next year for The Crown, so they may want to start showering her with Emmys next year. It’s a tough call, but I’m still going to say Borstein repeats.
Should Win: Having eight nominees makes a decision like this tough, but if we’re going just off submission tapes (which, even if it's obsolete, is still fun to assess), Gilpin hands down takes this. I vividly remember watching “Mother of All Matches” last year, thinking “If Betty Gilpin doesn’t win an Emmy for this, I will riot.” She may not win, but I can at least celebrate she’s still nominated.
Could Spoil: As I debate between Borstein and Colman, the only other name that keeps popping up is Goldberg. She is really good and they really went for Barry this year - more than last year even! Then again, they also really went for Mrs. Maisel and Fleabag...
Please please please make this race exciting, Academy! These nominations are fantastic, so let’s hope for a left-field win on Sunday September 22nd. Who do you think will win? Who should win?
Reader Comments (24)
If Borstein repeats, it will be a shame. She is the weakest in a category. I find the series annoying in general but even more annoying when she's onscreen.
I agree regarding Gilpin, but I would be thrilled if either of the Fleabag ladies took it as well.
I'm with Suzanne. Mrs. Maisel is a hugely overrated show (guess what, Maisel's comedy routines are simply not funny) and Borstein is merely adequate. Gilpin and Clifford are both fantastic but I would give the edge to Gilpin.
I have no problem if the Nurse Jackie women keep winning Emmys. Three of them were nominated last year and one of them won, so let’s keep going with that and give Gilpin her award for a great season.
Also, speaking of Nurse Jackie, Wever didn’t exactly win at a time when Jackie was popular with the Emmys. Once upon a time Jean Smart won for a not so popular Samantha Who. Even if their costars were nominated, those shows were disappearing fast. Ben Mendelsohn won when nobody cared about his show either. So did Bobby Cannavale when BE was more of a tech favorite.
My vote goes to Sian Clifford as Claire (and her relationship with Fleabag) is my favourite part of the show. She is so gloriously awkward, tense and uptight and plays it so beautifully. Love Claire! ♡
Anyone but Colman. Although at least here she's in the right category.
While Gilpin was really good in Glow's 2nd season, she's not the MVP of her episode submission. Kia Stevens is.
Glow's second season was absolutely delightful and brilliant and I can't get over the fact that neither the show nor Alison Brie nor Marc Maron got any recognition.
Gilpin's performance is SO good she really deserves the win.
On a different note (i.e. if category fraud didn't exist) I believe she should compete as a lead for the third season - though it might diminish her chances to be recognized by the Academy.
Sarah Goldberg is brilliant on Barry...and hee monologue is so well done and hilarious...would love it if she won!
I think Colman has it. Emmy loves rewarding actresses who've recently done a good movie.
I feel like the only person in the world who hated Fleabag, but there’s no denying Clifford’s skill. Fleabag is some of Coleman’s weakest work imo - but u think the character is written terribly. Gilpin is doing some of the best work I’ve seen, I hope she wins.
Is Fleabag the one where she talks to the camera? You are not alone in disliking it. I would vote for Goldberg.
I also had to watch Goldberg's monologue twice. Brilliant. Actresses may feel identified. Is the acting branch as significant as in the Academy?
If I had a ballot I would vote for Sian Clifford. Her performance in Fleabag is a work of art. I would have the chosen the episode with the bad haircut tho.
Spencer, thank you for beautifully coining the "sneakily funny" work that Clifford and Hinkle are doing on their shows. They are the two strongest nominees to me....they both pull of miracles based on the material they're given, and both create singular, original characters. But wow, all of these women are so gifted...TV is so great right now.
Wouldn't be surprised if Colman won bc of the year she just had. That feels like the reason she got the nomination anyway.
I still can't get over the fact that D'arcy Carden didn't get on for The Good Place.
i’m predicting goldberg but still lamenting d’arcy carden’s egregious omission
I'm commenting because nobody yet has come to pick her. So I'll say it:
ANNA. CHLUMSKY.
How many times has Julia Louis Dreyfuss deservedly won for VEEP? 4 times? soon to be 5? Now ask yourself, is her performance 5 times better than Anna's? The supporting cast on this show are all brilliant and a vital ingredient to the show's perfect humor. Tony Hale has been recognized. That Anna has never won must be remedied. It will look bad in Emmy history if she is not honored. Granted, I still haven't seen the final season, so I don't know what she's been given to work with. But I would vote for her solely as a last chance vote.
I would really love to see Clifford surprise here.
8 nominees, and not a black actress in sight! Get outta here with that shit, Emmys!
So much good stuff here. Someone will lose when they would have won in another year. Oh well.
I actually was certain Anna Chlumsky had won before. So yeah, that needs to be rectified this year.
I like Anna Chumlsky, but the writers gave her very little to do this year, and took out most of the comedy of her character.
Marin Hinkle is a delight, and while I would have preferred Kelly Bishop to have won for this type of role 15 years ago, I think Hinkle is doing a marvelous job creating a funny and thoughtful character.
Still holding out hope for Hinkle. She owned this season of Maisel.
Should be Gilpin but I suspect Goldberg may actually score the upset.