Category Analysis: Was It Kathryn Hahn All Along in Limited Supporting Actress?
Tuesday, August 24, 2021 at 11:00AM Team Experience takes a look at the episode submissions for Emmy categories.
Who will win Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie?
It was Agatha All Along! Or was it?
There are several high profile performances nominated this year in the Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie category. Pairs of Hamilton and Mare of Easttown women fill up a majority of the lineup. Additionally, character actress extraordinaire Kathryn Hahn finally got a major chance to shine in Disney+’s hit WandaVision. Rounding it out is a surprise nominee - Moses Ingram - from last fall’s water cooler hit The Queen’s Gambit. It’ll be a real race for the win. Let’s take a look at the nominees...
Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton (Disney+)
Description (from IMDB): The real life of one of America's foremost founding fathers and first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton. Captured live on Broadway from the Richard Rodgers Theater with the original Broadway cast.
From the first moments of “The Schuyler Sisters,” Goldsberry announces herself as a scene stealer to take notice of. She imbues Angelica with a headstrong confidence that makes her a character you instantly want to see more of. Of the songs in the first act, “Satisfied” stood out as one of my favorite segments. In musicals, the characters holding on to unrequited love are often the most fascinating. Angelica is torn between her feelings for Hamilton and not wanting to destroy her beloved sister’s happiness. For a show that often “tells” more than “shows” history through its songs, “Satisfied” actually provides a rich, emotionally charged interpersonal scenario that shines. The second act doesn’t give her as much as the first act does. Still, she adds a new level of emotional depth to “It’s Quiet Uptown,” a really haunting number. Every time Goldsberry shows up, the audience realizes how much they’ve missed Angelica. That is the testament of a great supporting actress.
This has been a breakout year for Renée Elise Goldsberry in the TV landscape. In addition to Hamilton, she was also the scene-stealing star of Peacock’s Girls5Eva, which earned a writing nomination. This puts her in front of fellow nominee Phillipa Soo. Additionally, Goldsberry won the Tony for this same role on Broadway (Soo was nominated in lead, so they didn’t compete against each other). If voters go nuts for Hamilton (which is possible judging by the nomination tally), Goldsberry is poised to win. As funny as it is to say, she’s going up against performances that are even more high profile than her work in Hamilton.
Kathyrn Hahn as Agatha in WandaVision (Disney+)
Submission: "Breaking the Fourth Wall"
Description (from IMDB): Monica plots her return, Wanda navigates unsettling complications, and Vision forms a new alliance.
Kathryn Hahn has always understood the assignment. That’s part of the trick of WandaVision’s structure (taking on a different decade of sitcoms each episode). In the submitted episode, Hahn perfectly attunes herself to a Modern Family type sitcom as a concerned neighbor. Her laugh can punctuate even the corniest of punchlines. The minute she walks through the door to Wanda’s house, she brings in a gust of energy that no other performer has. Hahn has a special presence as an actress. Yet, Hahn’s performance in this episode is less about sitcom conventions and more about her character’s big reveal. The song “Agatha All Along” reveals that Agatha is actually Agatha Harkness, a witch that has been behind all the irregularities in Wanda’s world. It’s the defining moment of this highly popular series and it works entirely thanks to Hahn’s great performance.
Even though WandaVision is first and foremost a Marvel show, it is fundamentally about television. This is why voters likely gravitated towards it in all categories. Hahn is the clear standout of the show and this submission demonstrates why. It’s likely that “Agatha All Along” will win Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics. Similarly, Hahn stands a great chance to win here since that moment was such a defining piece of TV this year. Additionally, she’s a longtime character actress who has never received proper awards attention for her long and amazing career. Not only will this be a reward for her character and WandaVision, but it will be a proper career achievement for an actress everyone loves.
Moses Ingram as Jolene in The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)
Submission: “End Game”
Description (from IMDB): A visit from an old friend forces Beth to reckon with her past and rethink her priorities, just in time for the biggest match of her life.
For those who watched all of The Queen’s Gambit, Ingram’s entrance in the final episode of the show felt like a balm of familiarity. Jolene (Ingram), Beth’s (Anya Taylor Joy) friend from the orphanage, comes by her house to get her back into shape to go to the world championship for chess. She’s a welcome dose of no-nonsense that perfectly counteracts with Beth’s self-pitying nature at the time. This is where the writing somewhat betrays Jolene’s performance. So much of her screen-time revolves around her stating what she’s done as an adult. Jolene tries to weave a character out of Jolene’s revolutionary ambitions and interest in the law. Yet, the writing is only skin deep for the character. Her strongest moments come when she and Beth are playing pickleball together and laughing. Their friendship has to matter for the finale to work, especially in the beginning. Ingram makes the character feel real, even if the writing doesn’t always serve her.
Marielle Heller was a frontrunner in this category for her role as Beth’s alcoholic adoptive mother, Alma. However, Heller was the surprise snub in the category in favor of the relatively unknown Ingram. Jolene isn’t flashy enough to draw attention away from her high profile rivals. Additionally, controversy over the miniseries’ handling of Jolene (some claimed she fit the “Magical Negro” trope) could prevent her from the win. If The Queen’s Gambit is set to pull off a sweep, she may get swept up in the fervor. Still, that feels unlikely.
Julianne Nicholson as Lori Ross in Mare of Easttown (HBO)
Submission: "Sacrament"
Description (from IMDB): When her investigation takes a series of devastating turns, Mare's friends and family members process the fallout as she attempts to finally find her own way forward.
Though the fireworks don’t begin for her character until the final 30 or so minutes, they are unforgettable. Mare (Kate Winslet) discovers that Lori “Lore” Ross’ son Ryan (Cameron Mann) committed the central murder. When Ryan runs home, Nicholson’s face drops knowing that her son will be arrested. There’s a deadness behind her eyes through the next couple scenes, until Mare checks on her in her car. Lore lets loose all of her anger and frustration at Mare (“it’s my Ryan” “why didn’t you leave it alone”). Nicholson makes every word feel like it’s coming from a gutteral place and that it’s taking a piece of her soul to utter them.
We’re so invested in Mare and Lore’s friendship that their reunion is deeply and physically healing, with only a select few words uttered between them. Nicholson even manages to make collapsing on the floor crying not look overly dramatic or stagy. The brilliance in Nicholson’s work is how realistically she’s built out Lore’s life. She’s tried so hard to keep her family together that even in moments of emotional catharsis she’s trying to keep it together because her daughter is upstairs. She does a similar thing when she finally refers to DJ as Ryan’s “little brother” when they visit him in juvenile detention. Nicholson conveys what Lore is feeling while also hiding it away from the other people in the scene.
As great as the role is, all of the fireworks are saved for the final moments of the finale. If voters aren’t keeping up with Mare of Easttown or not watching all the way through, they might not see why Julianne Nicholson is nominated here. It does work to her benefit that her main competition (Kathryn Hahn) is a more comedic performance. The race basically boils down between a comedic and dramatic performance. Based on Emmy history, it would seem that Nicholson has the edge. Though, Hahn’s performance is likely the most watched and most popular.
Jean Smart as Helen Sheehan in Mare of Easttown (HBO)
Submission: "Sacrament"
Description (from IMDB): When her investigation takes a series of devastating turns, Mare's friends and family members process the fallout as she attempts to finally find her own way forward.
God bless Jean Smart for making her first appearance in the finale a drunken pratfall. She manages to move straight from that into concern about Lore (Nicholson) after her husband’s court case. The strongest attribute of Jean Smart in Mare of Easttown is that she can believably change the tone of a scene on a dime. Take for example her showcase scene at the pizza arcade. She sweetly adjusts her great-grandson’s bandaid, which causes Mare (Kate Winslet) to make a joke about how Helen would’ve never done that to her when she was a kid. This caused Helen to open up about the anger she was feeling when she was younger. At first this seems like a plea for forgiveness, which Mare grants her. Helen once again turns the table, she wants Mare to forgive herself for her son’s suicide. The scene is so beautifully done because of how Smart commands the scene and leads everyone through tricky, hairpin emotional turns.
The one benefit to having multiple nominees from a single show is that the actors can be strategic about episode submissions. Modern Family and Desperate Housewives for example would have each nominee submit different episodes, so that way each actor got more screen time. This could’ve helped Smart quite a bit in this category. The finale is her best submission, but she has other highlights throughout the show. Nicholson, on the other hand, realistically only had one choice, the finale. By choosing the same episode, it feels as if Jean Smart is throwing in the towel here and throwing her support behind Nicholson. She’ll likely win in Comedy Actress for Hacks, so hopefully she will be walking out of the ceremony with an Emmy.
Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton in Hamilton (Disney+)
Description (from IMDB): The real life of one of America's foremost founding fathers and first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton. Captured live on Broadway from the Richard Rodgers Theater with the original Broadway cast.
While Renée Elise Goldsberry bursts out with tremendous energy at the beginning of Hamilton, Phillipa Soo feels more like a slow burn. Yes, “Helpless” is a bop and Soo is a calming, magnanimous presence. Still, the first act doesn’t have as many key moments for her to shine and in the group numbers she falls into the background, rather than standing out in the foreground. This all changes in the second act, particularly around the death of her son. Soo is the one who sells the emotional hurt and anguish after losing a child. It’s really strong work that is only enhanced by the camera being able to zoom in on Soo’s facial expressions.
As good as her work is, Goldsberry likely stands the better chance of winning if Hamilton is going to take this category. Even then, the debate over whether Hamilton should be considered a “TV Movie” when it’s a filmed stage production could hurt both Goldsberry and Soo’s chances.
Predictions
- Kathryn Hahn - WandaVision
- Julianne Nicholson - Mare of Easttown
- Renée Elise Goldsberry - Hamilton
- Jean Smart - Mare of Easttown
- Moses Ingram - The Queen’s Gambit
- Phillipa Soo - Hamilton
Personal Ranking
- Julianne Nicholson - Mare of Easttown
- Kathryn Hahn - WandaVision
- Jean Smart - Mare of Easttown
- Renée Elise Goldsberry - Hamilton
- Phillipa Soo - Hamilton
-
Moses Ingram - The Queen’s Gambit
Who are you rooting for?
Reader Comments (15)
My personal ranking:
(three-way tie) Nicholson/Smart/Goldsberry
(two-way tie) Hahn/Soo
Ingram
Prediction: OMG, this could go to any of the top 5 (and I'd be delighted), but I'm leaning more Mare or Aggie...
I think Nicholson wins. I am sure there are still voters who still watch submissions, and if they do, she is very hard to beat. And if Mare is the front-runner we are making it to be, I can't see it only winning for Winslet only.
Jean Smart is my favorite here.
But could Renee Elise Goldsberry please share her fountain of fucking youth? She went from playing a D.A. on One Life to Live 22 years ago to a presumably younger character in Hamilton here.
Kelly --- right? It's incredible.
kin --- i also think Julianne is going to win. weirdly i'm not as sure about Kate given the Anya Taylor-Joy problem
I agree it's either Nicholson or Hahn. (I just can't get behind Hamilton's nominations for filmed theater performances.) I give the slight edge to Hahn because of her long list of unheralded work, but wouldn't be upset if either won.
I'm going with Kathryn Hahn. I just love her performance and that song.
Yet, I can't be enthused right now as a god just died in Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones.
R.I.P. Charlie
Hahn seems to be a shoe-in. This way Wandavision gets a big honor and fandom gets what it wants. But Nicholson has also been working steadily, as respect, and is also under rewarded. I think it is between those two. Soo is the dark horse. I remember when Hamilton premiered and Facebook was flooded with people saying Soo made them weep.
Tom -- now that you mention it i wanna change my prediction to Hahn. That would be an easy way to reward the show that won't win in the top categories.
This is a tough one. Nicholson knocked me out in the finale, but Hahn OH HAHN. Both are respected, under-rewarded veterans and I honestly would love to just have a tie here (is that possible?). Watch it go to Smart.
Nicholson all the way.
Hahn is way too comedic.
Not sure why Smart is even on this list. Of all the performances in Mare, hers was just okay and actually, an underwritten part (but I love her in Legion, Watchmen, and of course, Hacks.)
I vote for Hahn, my favorite part of Wandavision.
And while the Hamilton ladies are superb, I'm still angry that a pro-shot theater production gets to compete in regular Emmy categories. Just plain wrong.
I think I'll be happy with (almost) any outcome. That being said, I'm rooting for Nicholson and predicting Hahn.
Pam, i agree with you on basically all counts. The only two women here that i think truly earned the nominations and would make excellent winners are Hahn and Nicholson. The Hamilton ladies shouldn't be eligible as brilliant as they are (particularly Goldsberry)
Still hard to believe that Marielle Heller didn't make it into this category. I think she would've had my vote had she made the lineup. In her absence, I think Hahn takes it, not just for being the best part of Wandavision but also for her past decade of scene stealing TV work.
If you asked me earlier this year I would've said Kathryn Hahn all the way! But now I think I'd vote for Julianne Nicholson. Rooting for both ladies anyway.