I'm taking a look each week at some of the major categories for the Emmy Awards. Here's a look at the races for Supporting Actor & Actress in a Drama Series!
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Patrick Ball, The Pitt (HBO Max)
Billy Crudup, The Morning Show (Apple TV)
Shawn Hatosy, The Pitt (HBO Max)
Gerran Howell, The Pitt (HBO Max)
Jack Lowden, Slow Horses (Apple TV)
Tom Pelphrey, Task (HBO)
Carlos Manuel Vesga, Pluribus (Apple TV)
With The White Lotus and Severance not in the mix this year, the supporting categories in Drama are all about The Pitt with HBO Max's hit drama taking up 7 of the 14 slots between the two categories. The winner is tougher to call for Actor though then Actress. It seems to be coming down to Patrick Ball and Shawn Hatosy. Hatosy won in Guest last year and is beloved on the show while Ball wasn't nominated for the first season. But I'm leaning towards Ball getting the win by a hair because he had a more meaty storyline and Hatosy, while great, did not really carry any storylines. It's hard to believe it wouldn't go to one of those two actors but there is always the risk of The Pitt splitting votes. I don't think that will happen enough for someone to sneak in but if it did, I would like the chances of Carlos Manuel Vesga because Pluribus really did well with nominations. You can't totally count Billy Crudup out either though considering he has won twice in this category including as recently as 2024. Tom Pelphrey is great to see here but his show didn't get nominated so I don't think he has enough juice. Howell won't beat his two co-stars from The Pitt and Lowden is a perennial nominee but never a winner.
Will Win: Patrick Ball, The Pitt
Power Ranking the Rest by Chance of a Win:
2. Hatosy 3. Vesga 4. Crudup 5. Pelphrey 6. Howell 7. Lowden
Should Win: Tom Pelphrey, Task
Should Have Been Nominated: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Euphoria
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Taylor Dearden, The Pitt (HBO Max)
Fiona Dourif, The Pitt (HBO Max)
Allison Janney, The Diplomat (Netflix)
Katherine LaNasa, The Pitt (HBO Max)
Sepideh Moafi, The Pitt (HBO Max)
Julianne Nicholson, Paradise (Hulu)
Karolina Wydra, Pluribus (Apple TV)
There doesn't seem to be a lot of drama in the Supporting Actress in a Drama Series category. This award is going to be a repeat win for Katherine LaNasa. With an even more acclaimed second season for her character, LaNasa returning to the stage feels like one of the biggest locks of the night. Even with three actresses from her show in the competition, she is such a heavy favorite that I would be shocked to see it go another way. If for some reason it did, I don't think it would go to one of the other Pitt actresses. It feels like most people voting for The Pitt actresses will vote for LaNasa. So in second place I have Karolina Wydra, who was very acclaimed in the well-liked Pluribus. If LaNasa wasn't so strong, I would smell an upset brewing. Julianne Nicholson is a former Emmy winner and Paradise was a popular show so I have her in third. Allison Janney has won many Emmys, including in this category, but doesn't feel strong enough to mount an upset campaign.
Will Win: Katherine LaNasa, The Pitt
Power Ranking the Rest by Chance of a Win:
2. Wydra 3. Nicholson 4. Dourif 5. Janney 6. Dearden 7. Moafi
Should Win: LaNasa
Should Have Been Nominated: Emilia Jones, Task
