As we move to the Drama division, I am struck by the fact that every single person who appeared on screen in the latest season of Apple TV+’s The Morning Show got themselves an Emmy nomination. I mean, the show is fine, but seriously? Nine acting nominations in three categories?
The only reason there aren’t more is that there is no lead actor in the show, otherwise, we’d probably see double-digit nominations, which just boggles my mind. How could all of these people earn nominations? Does the Academy not watch any more series than these? This is utterly baffling to me.
But, that’s not why we’re here, so let’s dive into the nominees for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Nominees
- Tadanobu Asano, Shōgun
- Billy Crudup, The Morning Show
- Mark Duplass, The Morning Show
- Jon Hamm, The Morning Show
- Takehiro Hira, Shōgun
- Jack Lowden, Slow Horses
- Jonathan Pryce, The Crown
Category Analysis
Let’s deal with the trio from The Morning Show first. Billy Crudup has won this award previously, for the show’s first season, and while he could win again, it’s not going to be this year. I think Jon Hamm’s performance in the same show overshadows him, what he did this year felt like a rehash of everything we’ve seen before.
Mark Duplass is a fine actor and a gifted filmmaker, but I wonder if he’s here because, as noted above, everyone with even a slightly substantial role in The Morning Show’s third season appears to be recognized this year. As for Hamm, I believe that if he’s going to win another Emmy this year, it will be in the Limited Series/Movie division, not this one. Moving on.
Jonathan Pryce has been doing stellar work on The Crown for two seasons, and it’s a shame he’s not going to be recognized for it the way some of his costars have been (and quite possibly will be this year, in one particular case). I think this time around, it’s a case of timing.
There’s a juggernaut in the Drama division this year, and two cast members of that series are Pryce’s competition, which will keep him off the stage.
The same goes, sadly, for Jack Lowden in my favorite show, Slow Horses. River Cartwright, the role Lowden plays, is one of the best currently on television because he’s a brilliant spy who is his own worst enemy. He’s sort of hapless when he isn’t accidentally saving the day. There is such a tremendous mix of humor and pathos in the character, he is a genuine joy to watch. I know he’s not going to win this award, but he would certainly get my vote if I had one. He’s just so much fun, and that counts for a lot.
Emmy-Winning Predictions
Less fun, but equally brilliant, is what Tadanobu Asano and Takehiro Hira did in Shōgun. This is the aforementioned juggernaut, which I believe is going to come as close to a sweep as it’s possible to have. There is no Shōgun representative in the Supporting Actress category (see below), but rest assured, there are plenty from The Morning Show, so no reason to fret there.
I think this race comes down to one of these two actors. Hira excels as the chief rival to Hiroyuki Sanada’s Lord Toranaga (see Best Actor tomorrow), but Asano is downright sublime as Toranaga’s scheming underling. His climactic sequence in the show’s first season finale is enough, in my mind, to tip the scales to him. It’s a shame he won’t be around for Season Two, whenever that might happen.
Who Should Win: Jack Lowden
Who Will Win: Tadanobu Asano
Best Supporting Actress in a in a Drama
This is where I get a little nuts with the Television Academy. There are seven nominees in this category, and four of them (four of them!) are from one show.
Come on, Academy Members! There are other shows and other performances worth recognizing! How about branching out a bit? Seven actresses and three shows were represented, and it’s not just because these are the seven best performances in this category this year.
There are plenty of other performances that could have and should have been recognized here, not least of them Saskia Reeves from Slow Horses, but I’m not here to rant about injustices, I’m here to talk about who’s going to win and why, so let’s dive in,
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Nominees
- Christine Baranski, The Gilded Age
- Nicole Beharie, The Morning Show
- Elizabeth Debicki, The Crown
- Greta Lee, The Morning Show
- Lesley Manville, The Crown
- Karen Pittman, The Morning Show
- Holland Taylor, The Morning Show
Category Analysis
It might not come as a surprise that I’m going to dismiss the four Morning Show actresses out of hand. Not because they’re not talented actresses who gave good performances this year, or even because the Emmy voters are too lazy to watch other shows.
Believe it or not, I quite liked the work that each of them did in The Morning Show’s third season, especially Greta Lee, who is another actress having a year. She was, after all, snubbed for an Oscar nomination despite a thrilling performance in Past Lives.
I’m not above thinking that Emmy voters might reward her for that by voting for her here if it occurred to them, I just don’t have enough faith in Emmy voters that they would make that connection.
As to the other three, Nicole Beharie, Karen Pittman and Holland Taylor were all very good this year, but none of them made me sit up and say, “Wow.” For someone to rise above the fray, especially when there are other people from the same show nominated in the same category, there has to be that “Wow Factor.” If it’s not there, then you’re not winning, and none of them seem to have it. Not this year at least.
Meanwhile, would you believe that Christine Baranski has been nominated for an Emmy 16 times, and only won once? Would you also believe that this first win was for her first-ever nomination? And that she has now lost 14 times in a row? These are stunning facts to me, and so it’s sort of sad that she’s going to see her winless streak reach 15.
I watch The Gilded Age even though I’m not sure that I like it all that much. Baranski is great in it because she’s great in everything, but it’s hard to muster much enthusiasm for her or the show (we’ll talk more about this tomorrow, too) as much as I might enjoy her work. I know this isn’t entirely fair, but neither is the fact that one show has four of this category’s seven nominees. Don’t hate the player, hate the game.
Emmy-Winning Predictions
This brings us to the two actresses from The Crown. It’s always hard to argue against Lesley Manville, but I’m going to do so here because of the inherent degree of difficulty involved in Elizabeth Debicki taking on the role of Princess Diana.
It’s one thing to play one of the world’s most famous and tragic figures, it’s another entirely to crush it. And that is what Debicki did. She crushed it. That’s why she’s going to win this award, and why she deserves to.
Who Should Win: Elizabeth Debicki
Who Will Win: Elizabeth Debicki
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