Emmy Watch: Supporting Actress Drama Contenders
Sunday, April 26, 2020 at 3:45PM 
Can Fiona Shaw return despite heaps of competition?
Our Emmy punditry continues with Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. There’s a lot to unpack in this very crowded race. A full two-thirds of last year’s nominees won’t be back because they all starred on the now-ended Game of Thrones.
Count on defending champ Julia Garner (Ozark) to return, especially since the latest season of her show recently premiered to great acclaim (she may also be joined by costar Janet McTeer). I’m not sure the same will be true for Fiona Shaw (Killing Eve), since her role isn’t at all central and it’s not yet known if the show will be as well-received by Emmy voters as it was for its second season. Theoretically, that leaves four and maybe even five spots wide open, but that doesn’t take into account the many previously nominated actresses on shows returning from a season off the air and newly back in contention…
The past four years:
Let’s start with a show that has offered up four nominees in this race over the course of its first two seasons. Ann Dowd (The Handmaid’s Tale) won this award three years ago, and she could very well return as a default nominee. Yvonne Strahovski (The Handmaid’s Tale) earned her first bid for the show’s second season, and she might be nominated again for a similar spotlight in season three. Alexis Bledel and Samira Wiley both won the guest actress prize for seasons one and two, respectively, swapping with each other to compete in this race the other year. Based on their episode count and prominence in season three, I suspect they’ll both be back in the guest acting race this time around.
As for the other returning shows, the safest bet is a new contender, Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown), who earned Golden Globe and SAG bids for a role taken over from Vanessa Kirby, who was nominated for the show’s second season. I’d bet that Thandie Newton (Westworld), who won for her show’s second season, will be back for its third. Tessa Thompson (Westworld) might join her, but the field is probably too crowded. Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things) is a fan favorite from her show, which might help her net a third nomination even if her show gets dropped from the top race. Chrissy Metz (This Is Us), who was only cited for the first season of her show, had a great spotlight in season four that could invite her back to the category, which makes it all too likely that her excellent costar Susan Kelechi Watson (This Is Us) will be snubbed once again rather than finally getting the nomination that has so long eluded her. Past nominee Maura Tierney (The Affair) and two-time past winner Uzo Aduba (Orange is the New Black) are both eligible for the final seasons of their shows (though Tierney is now considered a lead), but I think Emmy voters have moved on.
Big Little Lies is now competing in this category after its first season contended as a limited series in 2017. Laura Dern won the supporting actress trophy for her performance, while Shailene Woodley was also nominated. Dern was superb in season two, and might have some added momentum thanks to her Oscar win for Marriage Story. Woodley wasn’t featured nearly as much and is very unlikely to be included. One new cast member comes with quite an awards reputation, and that’s Meryl Streep. The living legend has three Emmys under her belt and is almost a sure thing to score another bid.
I’m one of many who feel that Rhea Seehorn (Better Call Saul) should be teeing up for her fourth or fifth consecutive nomination at this point. Her show earned four acting bids last year, but only for its male cast members. She was as excellent as ever in season five with a handful of terrific episodes to choose from to showcase her performance, and it’s hard to believe that Emmy voters would finally see fit to recognize her after they’ve ignored her for so long. It’s painful to predict her and expect her to be snubbed again, but maybe it will actually happen this year.
New shows?
From new drama series, there are handful of prime candidates in the running. From the talented ensemble of The Morning Show, Gugu Mbatha-Raw is probably the likeliest, though I’d also be thrilled to see Bel Powley honored. Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo (The Outsider) is a distinct possibility as well for a show that many expect to be well-received.
So, where does this leave us? I’m honestly less confident about this category than almost all of the rest due to the wealth of contenders. It will also depend on if any of these actresses either aren’t submitted or end up in a different category.
Predictions:
- Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown)
- Laura Dern (Big Little Lies)
- Julia Garner (Ozark)
- Thandie Newton (Westworld)
- Rhea Seehorn (Better Call Saul)
- Meryl Streep (Big Little Lies)
Which actresses do you think will OR should make the cut this time around?
ALL DISCUSSIONS
Reader Comments (30)
I read an Awards Daily article saying Sarah Snook will be campaigned in supporting for "Succession", so that's another contender to consider.
Again preparing for an inexplicable Seehorn snub :(
Sarah Snook is going supporting apparently ....
This is one of the hardest categories because there are so many contenders. I feel like the safe four are:
Helena Bonham Carter
Meryl Streep
Julia Garner
Laura Dern
And then it could be any of the following:
Thandie Newton
Ann Dowd
Rhea Seehorn
Janey McTeer
Fiona Shaw
Yvonne Strahovski
Sarah Snook
Thanks for the article.
Janet McTeer MUST be the in the conversation.
I really wish Gugu (Morning Show) & Angelica Ross (Pose) were threats for a nomination because currently they have given the best performances eligible for supporting actress in a drama series.
@Paul and @Rod - thanks for that note about Snook. HBO and Netflix’s category placements are going to make all the difference once they’re finally announced in full. I still don’t know if Snook will make it in since I’m not convinced - popular as the show is - that Succession will wow in the acting categories, even if it wins Best Drama Series.
Rooting for Rhea and Cynthia, who both gave intriguing, entertaining performances in good seasons.
Better not sleep on Holly $@#&! Hunter as Rhea Jarrell in Succession.
I've been rooting for Rhea Seehorn since S1. She thanked me a tweet once.
For all the problems Big Little Lies had this season, I thought Dern, Streep, and Kravitz were all deserving. They played their materiel well and often elevated into something that was must watch. However, I suspect only Dern and Streep will get in.
The Morning Show didn't always work, but Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Karen Pittman were incredibly strong. I could see Mbatha-Raw sneaking in. She was well showcased in the final few epiosdes, which will probably be screeners for Aniston, and she was at the center of the me too storyline, helping to make that storyline work and make it completly devastating. For an industry that cares, nominating her would honor that.
This is a tough category. I would say not to count out Janet McTeer. She's fairly awards friendly, though she has been snubbed by this body before, and Ozark grew from season 1 to 2 in nominations.It seems really primed, with its acclaim, to do well on nomination morning.
Both Julia Garner and Janet McTeer are EXACTLY what I think of as a Best Supporting Actress.
I think what J. Smith-Cameron did this season in Succession is definitely worthy. Sarah Snook as Supporting is category fraud.
Sarah Snook was not a leading presence on Succession. If that's the case, all the kids are leads and they're not. Just Kendall. He has the arch, the screentime and the showcase. It's definitely an ensemble show but Snook being the main female doesn't make her a lead.
Isn’t Cynthia’s show a miniseries? If so, I think she’s likely to get a nomination there.
Rhea Seehorn was fantastic in this season, the writing was 100% on her side, I think it's the best acting she has done in the series, hope she is in. AND tbh, I didn't care about her in other seasons, she was really good, but she only had 2 things to do, now it is all about her.
I think J. Smith Cameron in "Succession" would be a great nominee, Sarah Snook should be a lead but who knows. Is Holly Hunter eligible for guest for this show? She was also great.
I see one of The Handmaid's Tale actresses sneaking in. The show may not be as strong as before in the Drama Series category but it has always been a top contender in the acting races. Yvonne Strahovski's second season was her best but she has some great material in this one and Ann Dowd had a complete episode for her and she was brilliant.
How Rhea Seehorn hasn't got a nomination yet is beyond me. She's giving the most beloved performance on a show that's been showered in Emmy love, with a strong character arc, and yet...I know Emmy voters took a while to catch onto what Anna Gunn was doing on Breaking Bad, but here's hoping Rhea Seehorn gets some well-deserved momentum.
Luiserghio, clearely you know nothing about acting.
Dern was (is?) terrible on BLL. Woodley is the most deserving in the cast.
I would to see Susan Kelechi Watson make it in.
Aaron. I believe it's campaigning as a regular series. anyone can clarify?
JS & Abe -- abe you make a good point with the oscar bump but i'm not sure Dern is safe. BLL feels like it came out 100 yars ago and people didnt like it as much as the original. so we'll see.
ben1283: Emmy Voters are really just treating it as Breaking Bad 2: Electric Saulaloo, not as its own show with its own rhythms. So any character not originally from Breaking Bad? They check out completely. Michael Mando in S2? Jonathan Banks. Michael McKean does that epic breakdown in Chicanery in S3? Jonathan Banks is still their guy. Patrick Fabian in S4? STILL. JONATHAN. BANKS. I like the guy, but...Ugh.
Rhea Seehorn and then everybody else. Seriously HBC and Streep can't compete with Rhea and it'll be a disgrace if they steal her slot. Janet McTeer was excellent in Ozark.
Nathaniel & Aaron: The Outsider is being submitted as a drama series.
Rhea should have this in the bag.
I was watching Killing Eve last night and decided to take it off my DVR season pass list. It should have ended by now, and I will be annoyed if they nominate it due to stagnation.
Wow ppl commented fast, I'm going to comment ASAP
But wanted to mention one last time that I have an online discussion tonight on Zoom on the summer movie season:
https://www.facebook.com/events/2642302109336529/
I feel like The Handmaid's Tale is being so vastly underestimated at this point.
Season 1: 4 nominees
Season 2: 8 + 2 nominees
Wiley qualifies for supporting by episode count, but she doesn't have the material. Strahovski has multiple submission-worthy episodes while Dowd has an episode on her own (as well as high episode count). Dowd is a previous winner; Strahovski almost won in season 2.
I haven't watched Better Call Saul since 2015 but I think it's pretty clear that Rhea Seahorn is the buzziest thing on TV from what I'm hearing. I have a hunch based on that alone she will win
I hope Rhea snags a nomination. This season has been her best work.
Not about this category, but I really hope Netflix airs STATELESS and campaigns for Yvone Strahovsky in the miniseries actress category. She's doing some god tier work there.
Seriously, Liza Weil in "HTGAWM". She's absolutely brilliant and has been snubbed for 6 seasons. We can feel in our bones her sadness and pain.
She truly deserves.