It was hard not to feel a pang of frustration while scanning through the supporting and guest acting categories for this year’s Emmy nominations. They chose to reward only a few series’ actors while leaving many other great possibilities out, which has been a worrying trend. With so many of television’s very best performances unfolding in supporting roles, and at a time when there’s more TV than ever, it remains a curious shame how few shows tend to dominate the Emmys come nomination morning.
As last year, “Succession” “Ted Lasso”They made their presence known. Adam B., my coworker, explained it. Vary was a result of pure nerdy curiosity (his words). “Ted Lasso”Cast members make up a quarter of all comedy acting nominees. However, there are 35 %(!). Drama nominees include a quarter of the total comedy acting nominees, while 35%(!) are cast members. “Succession.”Between “Ted Lasso” “Hacks”In fact, nearly half of all comedy nominations were actually spoken for by one actor. Eight actors were cast from the limited series. “The White Lotus”They flooded the supporting actor zone when they were paired with six nominations. “Dopesick,”The same two shows received 53% of the limited-series acting slots.
Before the “White Lotus”/ “Ted Lasso” / “Hacks” / “Succession”If hives want to slap me for denigrating their many, numerous supporting nominations, I will first tell you: I am one! These shows are all my favorites and I would not be able to argue against their individual nominations. But there’s a difference between rewarding a show and defaulting to the same few, thus giving the impression that there was barely anything else worth the while. Because that simply isn’t true.
If Emmys wanted a wider range of supporting acting talent, they could have easily turned to other shows voters recognized. Issa could have been joined in comedy by “Insecure”Castmates Jay Ellis and Yvonne Orji will be leaving the show for their final season. Each and every one of them. “What We Do In the Shadows” leads — Matt Berry, Natasia Demetriou, Kayvan Novak, Harvey Guillén, or Mark Proksch — certainly did worthy work in the show’s third season.
In drama, “Severance”It owed a lot of its unsettling power and stability to the support players Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman. “Yellowjackets” wouldn’t have had half its punch without the younger generation holding down the flashback timeline, particularly Sophie Nelisse and Samantha Hanratty as the teenaged versions of characters played by nominees Melanie Lynskey and Christina Ricci. In a limited series, Amanda Seyfried was absolutely stunning as Elizabeth Holmes. “The Dropout,”Her performance was as brilliant as ever because of the solid work of actors like Naveen and Stephen Fry, Elizabeth Marvel, Michaela Watkins, and Elizabeth Marvel.
There are many other contenders that deserve a closer look, aside from Emmy-nominated shows. Highly acclaimed “Reservation Dogs” was apparently a long shot for the best comedy prize, but why not consider the acting talents of Devery Jacobs or Paulina Alexis, who gave two of 2021’s most unique performances? I was apparently one of maybe a dozen people who watched and liked Netflix’s limited series “The Chair,”Sandra Oh won it (arguably more than the final, shaky season). “Killing Eve”She also did so with her co-stars Nana Mensah (and Holland Taylor). Or you could try any one of these. “Girls5Eva” — especially Renée Elise Goldsberry or Paula Pell — who handle some of TV’s most bonkers jokes with ease?
Most likely, you are either reading the above paragraphs and nodding in agreement, if not, doing something similar to the now very familiar refrain. “there’s too much TV!” If you’re in the latter camp: trust me, I get it. My job is to keep up with all the new shows out there, and I still routinely look at what’s available on my roughly ten thousand streaming services and get surprised by something I’ve never heard of in my life. It seems that voters are overwhelmed with so many options to choose from and panic to default to what they know. This is why so few shows seem to be nabbing as many nominations. As relatable as that is, it’s also points to a deeply unimaginative approach to an award that is, ostensibly, meant to celebrate innovation.