The Film Experience

By Abe Friedtanzer

Last year’s winner in this highly competitive category – Jodie Comer – is back after her show, Killing Eve, performed much better than most thought it would. This race will surely be close, with a defending champion, three potential new victors, and one dark horse surprise (who I think may just win).

I’ll try to avoid major plot details in my analysis – but if you'd like more spoiler-filled descriptions, click on the episode titles. Let’s consider each nominee…

Jennifer Aniston as Alex Levy in The Morning Show (Apple TV Plus)
Episode: “In the Dark Night of the Soul It’s Always 3:30 in the Morning”

Aniston earned five Emmy nominations and one win for playing Rachel Green on Friends, and also contended for a guest spot on 30 Rock back in 2009. Now, she’s here for a much more serious role, one that won her a SAG Award back in January. Aniston could really have chosen any of the ten episodes in which she plays a TV anchor since she’s angry and memorable in all of them, and her selection of the pilot is a strong one. Though her show missed the top category, she still has a very good shot since she’s well-liked and her dramatic work has obviously impressed her peers. And it really is a tour de force performance. Even better, it feels nothing like the role that made her famous.

Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth in The Crown (Netflix)
Episode: “Cri de Coeur”

Colman surprised by winning an Oscar two years for another regal role in The Favourite and has two previous Emmy bids, last year for Fleabag and four years ago for The Night Manager. Claire Foy won an Emmy for season two of her show, and now Colman has taken over playing the long-reigning monarch. Colman’s work is excellent, and the fact that Elizabeth is not always warm or likeable makes her submission of the season finale smart, since she’s more endearing than usual in her treatment of her sister and her acknowledgment of her position. Colman won the Globe and it also helps that this queen is the complete opposite of her character in The Favourite, and she plays both equally well.

Jodie Comer as Villanelle in Killing Eve (AMC)
Episode: “Are You From Pinner?”

Comer was inexplicably snubbed for the first season of her show and then managed to overtake costar and expected winner Sandra Oh last year to claim this prize. She’s easily the best part of her show as an assassin who truly enjoys killing. The hour she chose to spotlight her work finds her returning home to Russia, and she’s the only regular cast member featured. That’s a real change from last year’s, which had her interacting with Oh constantly, but it’s still a great performance. She has a magnificent, unhinged spark that makes her character intensely watchable. Despite its impressive Emmy showing, I continue to think the show is losing buzz and a repeat win extremely unlikely.

Laura Linney as Wendy Byrde in Ozark (Netflix)
Episode: “Fire Pink”

Linney is a four-time Emmy winner, collecting trophies for TV movie Wild Iris, miniseries John Adams, the final season of The Big C, and a guest spot on Frasier. She was first nominated last year for playing one half of a couple running casinos and laundering money in Missouri. The third season was a fantastic platform for Linney to dominate all of her scenes, and much of her work in the first half of the season could have made for great submissions. Instead she chose the penultimate installment that deals largely with her brother Ben, played by the unfortunately snubbed Tom Pelphrey. But she's a legitimate contender to beat out showier turns by the other actresses in this category for this marvelously controlled performance that draws on Wendy’s desire to be on top of every situation and anticipate the next moves of all her allies and adversaries.

Sandra Oh as Eve Polastri in Killing Eve (AMC)
Episode: “Are You Leading Or Am I?”

Oh collected trophies at the Golden Globes, SAG Awards, and Critics Choice Awards for the first season of her show, and then found herself snubbed by all three organizations this past year after losing the Emmy for season two to costar Jodie Comer. It was a surprise to see her included again in a crowded field, but those still watching her show can appreciate the work she is doing, even if it’s not as focused or captivating as it used to be. Her choice of the season finale is a fun episode that finds her character sharing many scenes with Comer’s Villanelle, but it’s hard to imagine that she could eclipse Comer this time around, let alone any of the other nominees in this race.

Zendaya as Rue Bennett in Euphoria (HBO)
Episode: “Made You Look”

This was a less expected but extremely welcome inclusion, representing a different kind of show and performance than the rest in this field. As Rue, a recovering teenage drug addict, Zendaya delivers a disarmingly casual turn that becomes deadly serious in an instant when she faces the consequences of her actions, something that the twenty-three-year-old actress conveys mesmerizingly. The third episode of her show is a knockout submission that finds her hitting a range of emotions. She is a definite dark horse who could follow past underdog champions in this category like Jodie Comer and Tatiana Maslany to a fantastic upset victory.

Personal Ranking:

Zendaya, Euphoria
Olivia Colman, The Crown
Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show
Jodie Comer, Killing Eve
Laura Linney, Ozark
Sandra Oh, Killing Eve

Predicted Winner: Zendaya – Euphoria

Potential Spoiler: Laura Linney – Ozark

Colman won the Golden Globe, Aniston won the SAG, and now Linney is in the mix? That seems like too many frontrunners for one category. Therefore, I think Zendaya might be able to squeak out a win that will shock many and delight most. But it could easily be any of those four, or even Comer again. Only Oh would be a true shock. Who are you rooting for?