Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Presumptive Nominees

• 1. Harrison Ford (Shrinking)
• 2. Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso)
• 3. Henry Winkler (Barry)
• 4. Harvey Guillen (What We Do in the Shadows)
• 5. Tyler James Williams (Abbot Elementary)
• 6. Tony Shalhoub (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
• 7. Anthony Carrigan (Barry)

Odd Men Out

• Keenan Thompson (Saturday Night Live)
• Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live)

Potential Surprise Nominations

• GaTa (Dave)
• James Marsden (Jury Duty)

2022 Emmy Winner

• Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso)

Eligible This year? (Yes)

In what will be arguably the most interesting category of the year, you’ve got two-time consecutive winner Brett Goldstein nominated for his last time ever (presumably) as Roy Kent (at least in a supporting role on Ted Lasso…as everyone else, I’d hardly be shocked to see him nominated in the coming years as a lead actor for a spin-off series) going against favorite Harrison Ford for Shrinking. “Why is that interesting?” you ask. Well…Brett Goldstein is a writer/producer of Shrinking. So that makes for some pretty weird drama. I’m sure neither of those guys (nor dual show runner Bill Lawrence) will say it’s drama and that they’re rooting for both guys.

That being said, this is Harrison Ford’s award to be nominated for and then to lose. He’ll go in as a heavy favorite as veritably everyone identified him as the show-stealer in Shrinking’s rookie season. It’s not unlike Brett Goldstein during the majority of his run on Ted Lasso, to be honest. Tyler James Williams should show quite strong here, too. If Ford and Goldstein somehow cancel each other out (and I don’t really see how they could) Williams is probably the third most likely winner for his role on Abbott Elementary.

Both Winkler (a past winner) and Carrigan (a two-time nominee) from Barry are also pretty much locks for a nod.

My actual favorite candidate for a nomination (albeit I think it’s a long shot) is the always wonderful Harvey Guillen for What We Do in the Shadows. The series’ fifth season was his coming out (both literally and figuratively) in an already crowded cast of extraordinary performances. I hope he gets his overdue recognition.

Look for Tony Shalhoub to be given his last nod at winning an award he’s already won once before for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. In doing so, it’ll (likely) shut out a very worthy Ebon Moss-Bachrach for The Bear (who’s going to get nominated next year, anyway), and (hopefully) bounce the SNL guys.

Ted Lasso could also show up in bulk here. I don’t think it’s as likely as it was the first two seasons. However, if that’s the case, anyone from Nick Mohammad, Jeremy Swift, Phil Dunster, Brendan Hunt, and Toheeb Jimoh wouldn’t be much of a surprise. I suppose even Anthony Head (Rupert) and James Lance (Trent Crimm) aren’t entirely out of the realm of possibility for surprise nominations. Arguably they’d all deserve the award based on sweat-equity…but more arguably, every Ted Lasso in this category nomination (with the obvious exception of Goldstein) is an injustice against someone inevitably snubbed from a different show as a result of it.

In surprise nominations, I’d love to see GaTa get recognized for his brilliant performance on FX’s Dave. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see James Marsden (who’s been nominated here before…and still could be this year for Dead to Me) come out of no where for his part on Jury Duty.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Presumptive Nominees

• 1. Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbot Elementary)
• 2. Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso)
• 3. Janelle James (Abbott Elementary)
• 4. Sarah Goldberg (Barry)
• 5. Ayo Edebiri (The Bear)
• 6. Juno Temple (Ted Lasso)
• 7. Jessica Williams (Shrinking)

Odd Woman Out

• Alex Bernstein (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)

Potential Surprise Nomination

• Jane Lynch (Party Down)

2022 Emmy Winner

• Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbot Elementary)

Eligible This Year? (Yes)

In a year where Succession and Ted Lasso will be talked about the most, Abbott Elementary may actually be the night’s biggest collective winner. Sheryl Lee Ralph comes in to year two as the heavy favorite to repeat as champion; and her nomination is a lock. H

Her biggest competition may actually come from Janelle James who a lot of people though would win last year, and who’s already taken home a 2023 NAACP Image Award.

Hannah Waddingham (the 2021 winner) stands to fiercely compete here as it’s presumably her last chance to win the award for a second time.

Also on her last chance is Barry’s Sarah Goldberg whose depth and growth over the show’s four seasons was arguably its most impressive feat.

The brilliant Ayo Edebiri (who is seemingly everywhere right now) is, by far, my favorite to win this award. Her role on the first season of The Bear was the kind of breakthrough performance, literally, all Hollywood stars dream about. It was essentially perfect. Her dad (possibly the world’s nicest man) is also a good friend of mine, so I’m rooting for him as much as I’m rooting for her.

Jessica Williams gave what was perhaps the year’s most underrated performance on Shrinking, while Juno Temple who through no fault of her own had to battle her way out of her character’s terribly written subplot remained one of Ted Lasso‘s strongest performers.

Alex Bernstein is my pick to miss out on a nomination this year. She won an Emmy for season two of Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, but in a crowded field, she feels like the outsider who could miss out.

The excellent revival of Party Down could surprisingly garner Jane Lynch a nomination. Lynch famously won in 2010 for Glee.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Presumptive Nominees

• 1. Rhea Seehorn (Better Call Saul)
• 2. Jennifer Coolidge (The White Lotus)
• 3. J. Cameron Smith (Succession)
• 4. Ann-Marie Duff (Bad Sisters)
• 5. Elizabeth Debicki (The Crown)
• 6. Aubrey Plaza (The White Lotus)
• 7. Christina Ricci (Yellowjackets)

Odd Woman Out

• Ann Dowd (The Handmaid’s Tale)

Potential Surprise Nomination

• Carol Burnett (Better Call Saul)

2022 Emmy Winner

• Julia Garner (Ozark)

Eligible this Year? (No)

Look….look. Look. It’s…I…I can’t. When Rhea Seehorn doesn’t win this (and she won’t), all won’t matter, anyway. It’s indescribably frustrating that we’re six (technically seven) seasons into eligibility for what was easily one of the greatest performances ever on television and Rhea Seehorn has not only never won, she’s only even been nominated once, previously. Failing to recognize her is the epitome of everything that’s wrong with award shows in general. It’s bad enough that Better Call Saul has gone unrewarded at the Emmys during its entire run (and plenty more on that, later…I promise). It’s far worse that Seehorn hasn’t even had the opportunity to represent herself throughout the run of the show despite being the best thing on it.

Am I rooting for Rhea Seehorn? Yeah. You could say that. Is she a lock for a nomination? No. I mean, she should’ve been for six of the last six years, but in five of them she was overlooked. So I wouldn’t be in the least bit surprised if she isn’t even nominated here.

What would be a shock is if Jennifer Coolidge (the very heavy favorite) isn’t. Coolidge won this award last year but it was in the limited series category. Mike White’s adored anthology moved to full regular series categories this year, and with it moves Jennifer Coolidge’s award show win streak. She’ll cap off the boatload of nominations she’s gotten for Season two of The White Lotus with an obvious nomination and likely win.

J. Cameron Smith officially moves into the strongest player from Succession to gain a supporting actress nominee with Sarah Snook moving into a lead actress slot. I’d be surprised if she doesn’t get one.

The rest of this category is sort of weak. Christina Ricci was here last year, so expect her to return. I think the Emmys will be high on Bad Sisters, so look for Ann-Marie Duff to get a surprise nomination. I also think Aubrey Plaza will squeak in after a strong showing on The White Lotus, as well.

Who I don’t think will squeak in is previous winner Ann Dowd. She’s a perennial nominee, so leaving her out would be a snub.

The question of what to do with the legendary Carol Burnett has been kicking around for over a year. She was on too many episodes of Better Call Saul to qualify for a guest-actress nomination; one that she certainly would have won. Any opportunity to reward her and possibly put her on stage is a no-brainer. I like her for a surprise nomination here….especially if Dowd or Plaza miss the cut.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Presumptive Nominees

• 1. Matthew Macfayden (Succession)
• 2. Nicholas Braun (Succession)
• 3. Alexander Skarsgard (Succession)
• 4. F. Murray Abraham (The White Lotus)
• 5. Stellan Skarsgard (Andor)
• 6. John Lithgow (The Old Man)
• 7. Jonathan Pryce (The Crown)

Odd Men Out

• Giancarlo Esposito / Jonathan Banks (Better Call Saul)

Potential Surprise Nominees

• Alan Ruck (Succession)

2022 Emmy Winner

• Matthew Macfayden (Succession)

Eligible this Year? (Yes)

The biggest question about this category is simply how many nominations Succession will steal from other shows. Matthew Macfayden won the award last year and remains the heavy favorite to win it again. He, likely, can only lose it to Nicholas Braun who was also nominated last year. There’s no universe where both aren’t nominated again. I expect Alexander Skarsgard to get in, and wouldn’t be shocked at all if Alan Ruck slides in there as well. They can nominate as few as six actors, so there’s a possibility that four of six people are all from Succession.

The drop off from the Succession supporting cast is massive. F. Murray Abraham will likely get a nomination as will John Lithgow, whose turn on The Old Man was fine. The Emmys have never turned down an opportunity to nominate (and award) Lithgow so he’s likely a lock.

It would be weird to watch Stellan Skarsgard go up against his son Alexander for the same award. I’m not sure if that’s ever happened at the Emmys before. But if not, it was probably gonna be the Skarsgards…or the Sheens…or the Stillers…or…whatever…feel free to insert your favorite nepobaby and its parent, here.

Giancarlo Esposito (who is eligible for about fifty different shows this year) and Jonathan Banks could easily be Better Call Saul snubs as the show fights for any recognition at all. It’s feasible that its only chance to get nominations is with Odenkirk and Seehorn, and in the Best Drama Series and is very possible that it wins none of those. That being said, I can see neither of these guys getting nominated.