AD TV Exclusive: HBO Moves Sarah Snook to Supporting Actress Emmy Race

HBO revealed exclusively to Awards Daily TV today that Succession star Sarah Snook will campaign in the 2020 Emmy race in the Supporting Actress in a Drama Series category. Snook was previously thought to be considered for the Lead Actress race given her larger presence in Season 2 of HBO’s beloved ensemble drama.

The Australian actress did receive a 2020 Broadcast Film Critics Association nomination in the Best Actress in a Drama Series category. However, with the emergence of Laura Linney as a major Emmy front runner for the acclaimed (and hugely binged) third season of Netflix’s Ozark, the move makes a great deal of sense. The Lead Actress race was already looking incredibly crowded with Olivia Colman (The Crown), Jennifer Aniston (The Morning Show), Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh (Killing Eve), Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon (Big Little Lies), Evan Rachel Wood (Westworld), and Claire Danes (Homeland‘s final season).

Since Succession did not break into the acting race at the 2019 Emmys, the move by HBO perhaps clears an easier path to a nomination for Snook. That and she’s truly extraordinary in Season 2.

Also benefitting Snook is the lack of a true front runner in the Supporting Actress race.

Helena Bonham Carter’s raved turn as Princess Margaret, the arguable highlight of The Crown Season 3, was thought to dominate the winter awards season. However, she lost bids for the Golden Globe, Critics Choice and Screen Actors Guild awards (nominated in the Female Actor lead race). She did win a cast SAG award as a part of The Crown ensemble.

Last year’s winner Julia Garner should also easily make it into the supporting race again. She could be seen as the front runner despite a recent win given Ozark‘s enormous popularity during the stay-at-home COVID-19 crisis. Other contenders for a Supporting Actress nomination include Big Little Lies co-stars Meryl Streep, Laura Dern, and Zoe Kravitz, past Emmy-winner Thandie Newton for Westworld, Fiona Shaw for Killing Eve, Janet McTeer for Ozark, Ann Dowd and Yvonne Strahovski for The Handmaid’s Tale, and Rhea Seehorn for Better Call Saul.