Tough Choices Remain As Lead Actress in a Limited Series Race Thins

Jalal Haddad looks at the highly anticipated Lead Actress in a Limited Series/TV Movie Emmy race which thinned out after multiple contenders fled.

The lineup for the Lead Actress in a Limited Series/TV Movie race changed drastically since Joey Moser first covered the Lead Actress in a Limited Series/TV Movie race. Michelle Pfeiffer, Viola Davis, Regina King, and Shailene Woodley all decided to submit as supporting. Elisabeth Moss moved over to become a major contender in the drama race once Hulu declared The Handmaid’s Tale a drama series. Still the remaining contenders left in the race share an impressive five Oscars between them out of 19 total nominations. Voters have a tough decision to make when filling out their ballots next month.

In all likelihood, at least one Academy Award nominee will be left out. The most interesting part of this year’s lead actress race won’t even begin until the final round of voting. There, co-stars will likely go head to head with co-stars. Lange versus Sarandon. Witherspoon versus Kidman. There, we’ll get to see the still new popular vote system play out on a larger scale. Will one beloved Hollywood icon rise to the top? Or will a dark horse contender break through making it possible for Oprah or Carrie Coon to win the first major acting awards of their careers?

Top Contenders

Jessica Lange (Feud: Bette & Joan) As crowded as the Lead Actress in a Limited Series/TV Movie race is this year, most Emmy pundits have a hard time seeing anyone but Jessica Lange winning the actual award. As a 2-time Oscar winner portraying one of the most iconic Hollywood legends of all-time, Lange will stand out on an Emmy ballot even if she is surrounded by equally popular names. Early in the season, sects of fans unconvinced by her portrayal dismissed it as Lange playing a heightened version of herself. As the season progressed, she cemented herself as the clear favorite thanks, in part, to an extraordinary finale performance.

Nicole Kidman (Big Little Lies) Hollywood belongs to Nicole Kidman. Everyone else is just along for the ride. 2017 started off with fans obsessing over her performance as Celeste in Big Little Lies. Even her biggest naysayers admitted this is one of her career-best works, and throughout the year, voters will only be reminded of how good she is as her four projects from Cannes will be independently released. With the new popular vote system, Kidman might have an unforeseen advantage starting with star power and ending with an extra boost from constant exposure (think the surprise wins from Melissa McCarthy and Kate McKinnon).

Reese Witherspoon (Big Little Lies) In recent years, Witherspoon has become a powerful name in Hollywood, consistently producing and starring in projects giving some of our best actresses the best material of their career. Big Little Lies might be the best project she’s creatively involved herself in. Unlike Sarandon and Lange, it’s easy to imagine a scenario where Witherspoon splits votes with Kidman making it hard for either actress to win their first Emmy. Witherspoon’s character is inserted everywhere throughout Big Little Lies, especially in the first few episodes, and it’s her name most fans immediately associate with the show even if Madeline isn’t the most popular character.

Possibilities

Susan Sarandon (Feud: Bette & Joan) When Feud premiered in March, Sarandon’s performance was one of the most polarizing elements of the show. Just as many fans argued that she gave the better performance of the two stars as there were who were disappointed in her reigning in the grand diva nature of the everyday Bette Davis. As the season progressed, Sarandon’s Davis essentially became a supporting character. With so many Americans holding resentment towards her over last year’s election (myself included), it’s hard to imagine a scenario where she could even come close to winning the Emmy even though she has been nominated four times before. There are those who believe Sarandon will even be forgotten in the nominating phase of this year’s Emmy race, but in recent years, voters proved that once they fall in love with a limited series they will nominate just about every major name attached to the project – even if it takes multiple viewings of The Banger Sisters for them to even begin to grapple with forgiveness.

Carrie Coon (Fargo) Different corners of the internet rallied behind Carrie Coon since her breakthrough performance in Gone Girl and her award-winning work in The Leftovers. Now she finally has traction to earn her first major nomination. With Emmy season in full swing, Coon is an integral member of not one but two critically acclaimed series. It only helps that both shows air on voters’ two favorite networks (HBO and FX). Her only detractor is that the third season of Fargo seems to be receiving muted reactions, and ratings seem to be dipping into an all-time low which might signal that not enough voters will even be paying attention to Coon. She also emerges as the least recognizable name in a lineup where she is the only contender without the coveted title of “Academy Award Nominee.”

Oprah Winfrey (The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks) Oprah may be one of the most beloved names in America, but Hollywood has always had a hard time awarding her for her limited work as an actress whether robbing her of an Oscar for The Color Purple or refusing to even nominate her for The Butler. Now, the Emmys have a chance to celebrate her for her starring role in the HBO adaptation of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Emmy talk for Winfrey died down since the TV movie premiered last month to mixed reviews. However, her performance stands as one of the only widely acclaimed elements of the series, and she will likely (and deservingly) round out the crop of nominees.

Felicity Huffman (American Crime) The acting branch within the Television Academy has always had a soft spot for American Crime, one of the most underrated series on TV. As such, they have always made room for Felicity Huffman in the lead actress race. Theoretically, Huffman should be an even easier sell to Emmy voters now that she plays a character that isn’t absolutely grating, but the third season moved even more towards becoming an ensemble story. Therefore, Huffman had less to do while her character came off as less layered. In the end, it depends on how strong of a campaign ABC sets up to help Huffman standout in this lineup which doesn’t sound that likely now that the show has just been cancelled.

Worth Mentioning

Bryce Dallas Howard / Gugu Mbatha Raw (Black Mirror) Five years ago, a show like Black Mirror, a dark sci-fi anthology series with clear inspiration from The Twilight Zone, would never receive a vibrant Emmy campaign. Yet, as the television landscape changes and the guild groups welcomed it to the party, the series emerged an unlikely contender. Bryce Dallas Howard was singled out by SAG voters last winter and might be the biggest chance of the show earning its first acting nomination at the Emmys, but after Netflix made the decision to submit San Junipero as a TV movie, voters might be paying closer attention to Gugu Mbatha Raw. Both actresses deserve to be a part of the conversation, and in a less crowded year, they might even be stronger contenders. In all likelihood, it will take a couple of years (and less competition) for the ensemble to break into the Emmy acting races.

Early Predictions