2022 Emmy Category Analysis: Comedy Guest Acting Categories
Monday, August 1, 2022 at 3:30PM
After a thirteen year stranglehold on the guest acting categories, "Saturday Night Live" only has one host nominated this year: rising stand up star Jerrod Carmichael.By: Christopher James
Though there is no shortage of television these days, we know Emmy voters only watch a handful of shows. Nowhere is this more starkly pronounced than in the guest acting categories. Name recognition (the title of the show first, the fame of the actor second) tends to determine the nods. Just five shows take up all twelve nomination slots this season.
But in a chance of pace, Saturday Night Live isn’t the main culprit. The comedy guest acting categories have long been dominated by the legendary variety show. We usually see, at minimum, two to three nominees for SNL in these categories. In 2022, though, Jerrod Carmichael is the show's sole nominee here. Will he win, or will someone from the other popular comedies edge him out? Hacks has five guest comedy nods (nearly 50% of the nominations), while Ted Lasso has three and Only Murders in the Building two.
Who will come out ahead? Let’s take a look at the categories...
Outstanding Performance by a Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
Nominees:
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Jane Adams - Hacks - Episode: “The Click” (Season 2, Episode 6)
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Description: Feeling lonely and aimless after the death of Ava’s dad, Nina decides to visit Deborah and Ava at their tour stop in Memphis.
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Harriett Sansom Harris - Hacks - Episode: “Retired” (Season 2, Episode 5)
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Description: Susan is an old friend of Deborah’s who was once her competition in the comedy world. Now retired from comedy and working at a department store, Susan is comfortable with her decisions in life but Deborah feels guilty for pushing her out of the scene.
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Jane Lynch - Only Murders in the Building - Episode: “Double Time” (Season 1, Episode 9)
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Description: Sazz, the former stunt double for actor Charles Hayden-Savage, visits the Arconia.
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Laurie Metcalf - Hacks - Episode: “Trust the Process” (Season 2, Episode 3)
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Description: Alice a.k.a. “Weed” is Deborah’s new tour manager who joins the team on the bus. A real road dog, Weed is adamant about keeping the tour on schedule. However, after Weed throws away something incredibly meaningful to Ava, Deborah insists on turning the bus around to retrieve it.
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Kaitlin Olson - Hacks - Episode: “There Will Be Blood” (Season 2, Episode 1)
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Description: DJ seeks support from Deborah while she navigates the challenges of doing IVF and her husband Aidan’s upcoming UFC fight.
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Harriet Walter - Ted Lasso - Episode: “The Signal” (Season 2, Episode 6)
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Description: Deborah is Rebecca’s mother who is working on rekindling her relationship with her daughter who she feels is indifferent to her.
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Analysis: Hacks has a strangle-hold usurping 2/3rds of this category. This doesn’t necessarily help the show’s chances at winning. Since the rule change in 2015, an acting category has been filled with four nominees from the same show six times. That’s resulted in two wins (a 33% success rate). Both times, though, there was a clear frontrunner within the bunch (think Brett Goldstein, the breakout of Ted Lasso, up against three co-stars last seasons). Laurie Metcalf probably stands the best shot if Hacks prevails. Her character, a crotchety tour manager, is the funniest of the bunch and she gets quite a bit of screen time. However, Harriet Sansom Harris gives the stronger performance as a former comedian who quit the business. Plus, Jane Adams was nominated here last year and Kaitlin Olson was a fan favorite from the first season. Voters could conceivably vote for any of the four Hacks women.
So if Hacks splits the vote, who benefits?
Emmy favorite Jane Lynch could win her sixth Emmy on her fourteenth nomination. As Steve Martin’s stunt double on Only Murders in the Building, she steals every scene. It also helps that she's a former winner playing a key role in her submission episode . Rather than just being given one joke, Lynch’s Sazz becomes involved in solving the central mystery, just another way she emasculates Martin’s Charles. Not only is Lynch an Emmy favorite, but Only Murders... is beloved by the Television Academy. For the show’s first season, it earned seventeen nominations - the most of any new series.
All that said, we can’t fully discount Harriet Walter, who plays Rebecca’s mother in Ted Lasso. She has a delightful part in her episode submission, where she has yet again broken up with Rebecca’s father. It’s the slightest performance of the bunch but Walter is a two-time nominee this season (since she's also nominated in the Drama Guest category for Succession) and Ted Lasso is the nomination leader for comedies.
Will Win: Jane Lynch - Only Murders in the Building
Should Win: Harriett Sansom Harris - Hacks
Spoiler: Laurie Metcalf - Hacks
Outstanding Performance by a Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
Nominees:
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Jerrod Carmichael - Saturday Night Live - Episode: “Host: Jerrod Carmichael” (Season 47, Episode 16)
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Description: Jerrod does his stand-up for his monologue. Parodies include “Fox and Friends” welcoming Trump and Jeanine Pirro; a post Covid game show; Jerrod playing a seat filler sitting next to Will Smith at the Oscars and a rap about short-ass movies. Two live performances by Gunna.
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Bill Hader - Curb Your Enthusiasm - Episode: “Igor, Gregor, & Timor” (Season 11, Episode 9)
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Description: Bill plays three different characters: an antiques dealer, a concierge, and a maitre’d, who all look and sound very similar, all say “Shplended!”, and may or may not be brothers from somewhere in Easter Europe. Larry suspects they are all in cahoots.
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James Lance - Ted Lasso - Episode: “Building the Pyramid of Success” (Season 2, Episode 12)
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Description: Trent is a sports journalist who worked for the Independent and frequently reports on AFC Richmond.
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Nathan Lane - Only Murders in the Building - Episode: “The Boy From 6B” (Season 1, Episode 7)
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Description: Teddy Dimas is a gregarious Greek investor who owns a popular chain of delis and one of Marty’s oldest partners although they grew apart after a production gone awry.
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Christopher McDonald - Hacks - Episode: “The One, The Only” (Season 2, Episode 8)
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Description: Marty loses to Deborah in a bidding war for a Kandinsky, and then must break it to Deborah that he wanted to buy the painting to propose to his girlfriend.
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Sam Richardson - Ted Lasso - Episode: “Midnight Train to Royston” (Season 2, Episode 11)
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Description: Edwin is a Ghanian billionaire who wants to buy Sam off of Richmond.
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Analysis: Saturday Night Live is a frequent winner of this category. However, it usually only wins for famous comedians, and it rewards the same people frequently. Justin Timberlake, Jimmy Fallon and Dave Chappelle each won this award twice. Jerrod Carmichael is very funny, but it is likely too early in his career for him to win an Emmy in this category that prefers household names. Plus, his incredible special Rothaniel surprisingly missed in the Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) category. He might not yet be famous enough or have enough buzz for the win.
So who is out in front? Nathan Lane has both the performance and the narrative to take the win. Lane tries to cover up the actions of his deaf son in his episode submission from Only Murders in the Building. Adding another layer of difficulty, the whole episode is told without spoken words, since it's told from his son’s perspective. Lane gives a complex performance that skews serious for this category. However, that didn’t hurt past winners Luke Kirby (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) and Peter Scolari (Girls). Plus, Lane now has the most guest actor nominations of any actor (seven). Even better for his narrative, he has never won an Emmy. (He has three Tony Awards)
It’s possible that a sweep from any of the other big Emmy favorites could carry a guest actor to a win. If Ted Lasso picks up many awards, it could bring Sam Richardson along for the ride for his funny portrayal of a Ghanian billionaire. James Lance will likely not be much of a factor, as he barely appears in his episode. Even if Hacks overtakes Ted Lasso and picks up lots of awards, McDonald will likely not win for his brief performance.
The real spoiler we should watch out for is Bill Hader, who plays triple duty as Eastern European relatives in Curb Your Enthusiasm. It’s very broad, which can often make the difference in a tight comedy category.
Will Win: Nathan Lane - Only Murders in the Building
Should Win: Nathan Lane - Only Murders in the Building
Spoiler: Bill Hader - Curb Your Enthusiasm
Complete list of Emmy nominees
Who do you think will win the Comedy Guest Acting races? Let us know in the comments below.
MORE ANALYSIS
Reader Comments (16)
I'm rooting for Sam Richardson for Ted Lasso. His last scene in the season finale was fucking hilarious.
I'm rooting for Harriet Sansom Harris for her performance on Hacks. I think her line reading in her last scene with Deborah is devastating, and she plays such an important and key role in the season as a whole. She really plays at Jean Smart's level, and I think, helps Smart elevate her work. She's also funny at different moments, but brings real weight and life to her character.
I also think that it's just nuts that this is her first emmy nomination, especially given her well-known work as Bebe on Frasier and as Felicia Tillman on Desperate Housewives. This would be a well-deserved win for her performance, and for her career.
I would love to see Sam Richardson win, but it feels like Jerrod Carmichael has the type of buzz that someone like Tiffany Haddish had when she won - it's his year! Otherwise, I think Nathan Lane or Sam Richardson would win. I still think Richardson might be able to pull it out - he's so likeable and funny.
Just watched Harriet Sansom Harris' episode of Hacks last night - give her all the awards and roles now, please!
I grew up watching her as Felicia on Desperate Housewives and her late career hot streak is my favourite thing of the last few years - including parts in Ryan Murphy's stable of actors (say what you will about the man - he appreciates actresses) and being the best part of PTA's last two films and sweet, funny and tender in Hacks - any award or coverage she gets is fine by me :)
Can anyone explain to me why Harriet Walter didn't submit No Weddings and a Funeral? I think if voters take her performance in that episode into account (which they very well could, since it's nomianted for Writing and Directing and both Jason Sudeikis and Hannah Waddingham submitted it as their tape), then she could very well take it (especially since she's also nominated for Succession for playing a different kind of problemático motherly relationship, so that could also factor in). If the four Hacks ladies, I would also go with Harriet Sansom Harris, for the performance in her episode and because I will never understand how she was never nominated for playing Bebe Glazer (especially given Frasier's Emmy history).
In Guest Actor, I'm rooting for Nathan Lane, because he has yet to win and because he does some very interesting work in Only Murders in the Building. I'd have to re-watch Sam Richardson's scenes on Ted Lasso, though I do generally like him (he was always hilarious on Veep and I really enjoyed him in The Afterparty).
Harriet Sansom Harris was great and would be a worthy winner. However, the other three Hacks nods are quite lazy.
Kaitlin Olson was good, but didn’t have all that much to do. Was better last season.
I appreciate Jane Adams’ role, but Emmy worthy? Not so sure.
Laurie Metcalf was funny, but had no real arc. Again, doesn’t feel worthy of being singled out as “best of the year.”
I think Harris or Lynch will win (I suppose Metcalf wouldn’t surprise me). I don’t watch Ted Lasso so can’t comment on that nod.
The Flight Attendant is a comedy series, so I'm guessing that Sharon Stone could/should have been nominated in this category. That performance hits a lot of narratives -- movie star, comeback, playing against type, seriously dramatic in a comedy, previous nominee, never won -- that are ordinarily catnip to the Emmy voters. It takes a special kind of laziness/defiance to ignore her.
I mean, there's the title, right next to Hacks on the HBO Max streaming platform...
Will echo everyone else and say I'm rooting for Harriett Sansom Harris. It might be tough for her to actually win since it's not the buzziest role, but it's definitely the "best" one emotionally.
As for the guys, I was leaning towards Sam Richardson, but knowing that Nathan Lane has NEVER won an Emmy AND being reminded which episode he is nominated for (it's VERY good), I might just root for him. Finally, as a BARRY fan and a huge fan of Hader, I hope he does NOT win here. He can be awarded elsewhere.
Philip H -- we dont always agree but i concur on every point (except ted lasso as i love that show) it's so frustrating that voters are this lazy but HARRIET SAMSON HARRIS is definitely worthy.
Brevity -- i dont watch The Flight Attendnat but i believe you. I am beginning to wonder if it's laziness or if the current voting system is just totally stacked against ANYTHING happening outside of 5 shows (if everyone happens to be watching those shows)... if you can vote for however many people you like and don't have to choose (and choosing IS the point of awards) naturally the 5 most popular series will always have an enormous advantage simply because they're the shows everyone is watching and so you just list all the names!
I sort of love the Guest Actress category - Harris is superb and really creates a whole character and arc in a short space of time (she'd be a great winner), and Metcalf is probably the most laughs-per-minute of any nominee across either category. I suspect she'll win, and will be happy with that too.
To provide a counter opinion to others here, I'm happy seeing Olson here since she's never been nominated, and I thought her brief appearance in her last episode of the season gave her a nice emotional scene against Jean Smart. The Emmies do their share of lazy voting, but I wouldn't cite this as a big example (just look at how abysmal these categories were last year).
A shame there couldn't be room for Gillian Anderson (or the unsubmitted Ninette Finch) in The Great, Kiki May for Ted Lasso, or Tracey Ullman for Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Guest Actor is much thinner but I'd be pleased to see Nathan Lane win here. Richardson and Hader earned their spots, and I like what McDonald adds to the Hacks ensemble, but it's a shame no one from Atlanta (particularly Justin Bartha or unsubmitted Samuel Blenkin), or Reservation Dogs (particularly Gary Farmer, Bill Burr, or Dallas Goldtooth) could get in.
Likewise, if they were in the mood for a Regular Cast Member Demoted to Guest nominee like Olson/Lance/McDonald, I would've loved to see Leroy McClain get in for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which I thought was a wonderful one episode performance this year.
Should win - Harriet Sansom Harris & Christopher McDonald
Will win - Jane Lynch & Jerrod Carmichael
Jane Adams for the win.
@Duncan, I agree about Olson. Though she had far less to do this season, I thought she was solid and was able to bring a level of pathos to her role this season. I also like the idea of her as an emmy nominee finally, and I hope the rest of the cast of It's Always Sunny find themselves with nominations one day.
@Brevity, Sharon Stone is an emmy winner - she won guest actress in a drama for a 3 episode stint on The Practice in 2004. She's quite good and brings a nice bit of comedy, and depth to her character.
@Joe G: My mistake; I misread Sharon Stone's IMDb awards page. Time to get a new pair of glasses from LensCrafters.
Repeat winners are even more catnip to Emmy voters. This is why Tony Shalhoub exists.
I hope Sam Richardson wins. He was so great in Ted Lasso
Where is Tracey Ullman for Curb?? That's a huge miss.
Oops! ;-)