Category Analysis: Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series

by Juan Carlos Ojano

With no recurring guest nominee present, this should have been an exciting crop. And yet, if I am being completely honest, it's hard to get excited. Two nominations for The Mandalorian but none for its best submission (Bill Burr)?  The best "guest actor" from The Crown was not even submitted (Tom Brooke). An Emmy favorite gets in for a show already cancelled by its network on its first season. Meanwhile, Don Cheadle gets in for a cameo in a Marvel series? These are the men in this year's crop of contenders for this category.

Without further ado, the nominees and their episode submissions…

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Emmy FYC: The People v. O.J. Simpson for Best Limited Series

We're sharing Emmy FYCs as nomination balloting continues. Here's Lynn Lee...

When promotional clips first started appearing for The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, I found myself wondering what on earth FX could be thinking.  The whole thing seemed like an obvious misfire: Cuba Gooding, Jr. didn’t look or sound anything like O.J.; John Travolta seemed to be channeling his inner alien under layers of makeup and Botox and a perpetually, awkwardly raised chin; and who was going to be interested in a dramatization of a trial that had saturated the media over 20 years ago and was now being produced by Ryan Murphy, the king of camp?  How could it be anything but terrible?

Well, turns out FX knew what it was doing.  Not only was The People v. O.J. Simpson not terrible, it just may turn out to be the best drama series of the year.  There are many reasons why the show worked as well as it did, and why it deserves Emmy recognition, but three stand out...

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Sterling K Brown: A Star is Born

As we continue celebrating actors this month, here's Murtada on a new one to cherish. He's our TV MVP this week...

Sarah Paulson brought both pathos and steeliness to spare to her portrayal of Marcia Clark. Courtney B Vance was fiery bluster, daring viewers to take their eyes off him as Johnny Cochran. John Travolta was so infinitely alien as Robert Shapiro that he proved fascinating to watch. Almost every single performance was top notch*. What an ensemble.

And yet the clear standout is Sterling K Brown as Chris Darden.

The finale cemented what everyone watching The People Vs O.J. Simpson suspected throughout the past few weeks; we have a new fantastic actor to be excited about. The calm authority he brought to Darden’s closing argument alone should earn him a lot of accolades. Yet he wasn’t finished. At the post-verdict press conference, he goes about delivering a heartfelt speech and then in a split second he realizes words don’t matter, that’s when Brown breaks our hearts. He walks towards the Goldmans with a hunched back and overcome emotions, his body clearly telling us that’s a defeated man. No that’s not all of it. He then earns more of our admiration in his final standoff with Vance. Again bringing an eerie calm to Darden’s final testament.Through him the show delivers its statement about our current world.

Then there’s his final scene scene with Paulson; clasping hands as they walk away as Nina Simone begins to sing. Throughout the series Brown displayed palpable chemistry with his co-stars. The rat-a-tat of give and take acting with both Vance and Paulson, so riveting to watch. But also more. Didn’t you swoon when he took Paulson into his arms for a dance? Their chemistry is already generating both headlines and obsessive fandom! He’s not only a great actor but perhaps a matinee idol? Those don’t come along that often. I bet a lot of us would look at Brown the way Paulson’s looking at him in the photo above if we got the chance.

We shall be seeing a lot more of Sterling K Brown, starting with the Emmys in September. Have you watched the finale?

*I would’ve said all if it wasn’t for Cuba Gooding Jr.