‘The Morning Show’ can tie this Best Drama Supporting Actress Emmy record

Best Drama Supporting Actress is the only Emmy acting category “The Morning Show” has yet to crack, but it’s now the one the series could dominate like only one other show has managed to. Nicole Beharie, Greta Lee, Julianna Margulies, Karen Pittman and Holland Taylor are all eligible for the Apple TV+ drama in the category this year, and if they all make the cut, “The Morning Show” will join “The White Lotus: Sicily” as the only shows to nab five drama supporting actress nominations in a single year.

“The White Lotus: Sicily” set the record last year with bids for Meghann Fahy, Sabrina Impacciatore, Aubrey Plaza, Simona Tabasco and eventual champ Jennifer Coolidge. Before that, the record for a series in the category was four nominees in one year, which only two shows had been able to field: “Game of Thrones” in 2019 (Gwendoline Christie, Lena Headey, Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams) and “The Handmaid’s Tale” in 2021 (Madeline Brewer, Ann Dowd, Yvonne Strahovski and Samira Wiley).

“The White Lotus: Sicily” was able to set this record thanks to the TV academy’s introduction of a sliding scale of nominees based on the number of submissions per category in 2020. Since then, Best Drama Supporting Actress has had eight slots every year. (Fixed at eight nominees, Best Comedy Series and Best Drama Series are exempt from this rule.) Before then, that number had almost never exceeded six, making it difficult for any show to land five nominations in a single year. Not only that, but “The White Lotus: Sicily” is an ensemble show whose main cast members were almost all submitted in supporting (the sole outlier was Jon Gries, who contended in guest).

We won’t know until Emmy ballots are released on June 13, the start of voting, whether the drama supporting actress category will meet the submission threshold for eight nominees again this year. But if it does, “The Morning Show” could very well follow in “The White Lotus: Sicily’s” footsteps.

SEE Why ‘The Morning Show’ has its best shot yet at earning a drama series Emmy nomination

At the moment, our drama supporting actress odds only have “The Morning Show” landing three noms, for Beharie, Lee and Pittman. The highest ranked of the three is No. 4 Lee, who is hot off her Critics Choice and Golden Globe Award nominations for her performance in the Best Picture Oscar-nominated film “Past Lives,” and could benefit from having an enlarged role as Stella Bak in the third season. In seventh and eighth places, respectively, are Beharie and Pittman, who were shortlisted at Critics Choice. Beharie, who joined the drama in Season 3 as new TMS co-host Christine Hunter, could also get a boost from having a killer showcase in the third episode, “White Noise,” while Pittman may be helped by being the show’s only supporting actress contender who is an original cast member.

Taylor and Margulies are not far behind, in ninth and 12th places, respectively, and you would be a fool to count either of them out. Both are previous Emmy winners, including in this very category — Taylor for “The Practice” in 1999 (her only victory to date); Margulies, “ER” in 1995 — and while they may not have as much screen time in Season 3 as their castmates, each has enough memorable moments to leave a lasting impression. Not to mention, this wouldn’t be the first time Taylor was underestimated by our odds, as she pulled off a surprise nomination for her supporting turn on the limited series “Hollywood” just four years ago.

If your main concern is that the restricted ballot will block “The Morning Show” from maxing out in the category, remember that it was already in place at the 2023 Emmys. While, in theory, this ballot should prevent shows from dominating categories since voters can no longer to check off as many names as they please, it failed to produce those results last year, as “Succession,” “The Last of Us” and “The White Lotus: Sicily” together occupied a whopping 32 of 40 total drama acting slots. How come? What we’ve seen over the last couple of years is that, as voters seemingly watch fewer and fewer shows, they tend to default to the few titles they’ve actually seen and then vote for them down the ballot, restricted or not. And with Mass TV still in full swing, those voting habits are unlikely to change anytime soon.

The good news for “The Morning Show” is that the drama series field has completely emptied out, with “The Crown” being the only previous series nominee that is eligible to return. In a more stacked year, the show might struggle to compete, given that it’s never been nominated for series, but it can now take advantage of being one of very few eligible shows with which Emmy voters are already familiar. After all, despite missing from the top category for its first two seasons, it has accrued a total of 11 bids and a win for Billy Crudup in drama supporting actor. And considering that eight of the show’s overall mentions have been for acting, it’s probably safe to say that actors have always been here for it. So if the wide-open field allows them to double down on their support this year, there is no reason to believe “The Morning Show” can’t take the drama supporting actress race by storm.

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