Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official awards predictions for the upcoming Oscars and Emmys ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis; Awards Circuit Column, a weekly analysis dissecting the trends and contenders by television editor Michael Schneider (for Emmys) and Davis (for Oscars); Awards Circuit Podcast, a weekly interview series with talent and an expert roundtable discussion; and Awards Circuit Video analyzes various categories and contenders by Variety's leading awards pundits. Variety's unmatched coverage gives its readership unbeatable exposure in print and online, as well as provide inside reports on all the contenders in this year's awards season races.
To see all the latest predictions, of all the categories, in one place, visit THE EMMYS COLLECTIVEVisit each category, per the individual awards show from THE EMMYS HUBTo see old predictions and commentary, click the EMMY PREDICTIONS ARCHIVESFor film awards predictions go toTHE OSCARS HUB
UPDATED: May 5, 2022
2022 EMMYS PREDICTIONS:
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
AWARDS PREDICTION COMMENTARY:
The race for supporting actress drama is one of the most wide-open this season. The only names that feel “safe” for recognition are two-time winner Julia Garner for the final season of “Ozark” and one-time nominee Sarah Snook for the third season of “Succession.”
The fluidity of the category brings the hope that the TV Academy will finally recognize Rhea Seehorn’s soaring work for “Better Call Saul,” especially with added exposure for directing one of the season’s episodes.
There are plenty of familiar names that could break through such as Patricia Arquette (“Severance”), J. Smith Cameron (“Succession”) and Julianna Marguiles (“The Morning Show”) while newcomers hope to have their moment in the Emmy sun such as SAG winner Ho-Yeon Jung (“Squid Game”) and Sydney Sweeney (“Euphoria”).
There’s also plenty of room for double-dipping from series outside of “Succession.” There’s plenty to admire in “Yellowjackets” with Christina Ricci and Jasmine Savoy Brown having standout roles, while the final season of “This Is Us” hopes to invite Chrissy Metz in for one dance, while also correcting the egregious snub of Susan Kelechi Watson.
This is not the full list of submitted contenders, additions will be added every Thursday.
Read more: Variety’s Awards Circuit Emmys Predictions Hub
The Emmy eligibility period runs from June 1, 2021, to May 31, 2022. The deadline for entering programs for Primetime programming and uploading all entry materials is on May 12, 2022, at 6:00 PM PT.
The nomination round of voting runs from June 16 to June 27. The official nominations for the 74th Emmy Awards will be announced Tuesday, July 12.
The list of programs and potential nominees listed below is incomplete and is subject to change. The full television awards season calendar is linked here.
2021 category winner: Gillian Anderson, “The Crown” (Netflix)
ALL AWARDS CONTENDERS AND RANKINGS:
©Showtime Networks Inc./Courtesy Everett Collection
| AND THE PREDICTED NOMINEES ARE: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| RANK | CONTENDERS | SERIES | NETWORK |
| 1 | Sarah Snook | “Succession” | HBO/HBO Max |
| 2 | Julia Garner | “Ozark” | Netflix |
| 3 | J. Smith Cameron | “Succession” | HBO/HBO Max |
| 4 | Rhea Seehorn | “Better Call Saul” | AMC |
| 5 | Jung Ho-Yeon | “Squid Game” | Netflix |
| 6 | Patricia Arquette | “Severance” | Apple TV+ |
| 7 | Christina Ricci | “Yellowjackets” | Showtime |
| 8 | Millie Bobby Brown | “Stranger Things” | Netflix |
| NEXT IN LINE | |||
| 9 | Julianna Marguiles | “The Morning Show” | Apple TV+ |
| 10 | Sydney Sweeney | “Euphoria” | HBO/HBO Max |
| OTHER TOP-TIER CONTENDERS | |||
| 11 | Kelly Reilly | “Yellowstone” | Paramount Network |
| 12 | Chrissy Metz | “This Is Us” | NBC |
| 13 | Susan Kelechi Watson | “This Is Us” | NBC |
| 14 | Yuh Jung Youn | “Pachinko” | Apple TV+ |
| 15 | Christine Baranski | “The Gilded Age” | HBO/HBO Max |
| 16 | Jasmin Savoy Brown | “Yellowjackets” | Showtime |
| 17 | Fiona Shaw | “Killing Eve” | BBC America |
| 18 | Kim Joo-Ryoung | “Squid Game” | Netflix |
| 19 | Sally Field | “Winning Time: Rise of the Lakers Dynasty” | HBO/HBO Max |
| 20 | Maude Apatow | “Euphoria” | HBO/HBO Max |
| ALSO IN CONTENTION | |||
| 21 | Christine Lahti | “Evil” | Paramount+ |
| 22 | Samantha Hanratty | “Yellowjackets” | Showtime |
| 23 | Hunter Schafer | “Euphoria” | HBO/HBO Max |
| 24 | Maya Hawke | “Stranger Things” | Netflix |
| 25 | Cynthia Nixon | “The Gilded Age” | HBO/HBO Max |
| 26 | Audra McDonald | “The Gilded Age” | HBO/HBO Max |
| 27 | Lili Taylor | “Outer Range” | Amazon Prime Video |
| 28 | Jennifer Carpenter | “Dexter: New Blood” | Showtime |
| 29 | Alfre Woodard | “See” | Apple TV+ |
| 30 | Glenn Close | “Tehran” | Apple TV+ |
| UNRANKED CONTENDERS | |||
| — | Adjoa Andoh | “Bridgerton” | Netflix |
| — | Alison Wright | “Snowpiercer” | TNT |
| — | Amy Brenneman | “Shining Girls” | Apple TV+ |
| — | Andrea Martin | “Evil” | Paramount+ |
| — | Annelle Olaleye | “The Man Who Fell to Earth” | Showtime |
| — | Audra McDonald | “The Good Fight” | Paramount+ |
| — | Bessie Carter | “Bridgerton” | Netflix |
| — | Cassandra Freeman | “Bel-Air” | Peacock |
| — | Charithra Chandran | “Bridgerton” | Netflix |
| — | Christina Chong | “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” | Paramount+ |
| — | Claudia Jessie | “Bridgerton” | Netflix |
| — | Dianne Wiest | “Mayor of Kingstown” | Paramount+ |
| — | Ella Purnell | “Yellowjackets” | Showtime |
| — | Florence Hunt | “Bridgerton” | Netflix |
| — | Golda Rosheuvel | “Bridgerton” | Netflix |
| — | Gugu Mbatha-Raw | “Loki” | Disney+ |
| — | Jamie Chung | “Dexter: New Blood” | Showtime |
| — | Jennifer Tilly | “Chucky” | Syfy |
| — | Jessica Frances Dukes | “Ozark” | Netflix |
| — | Joana Ribeiro | “The Man Who Fell to Earth” | Showtime |
| — | Johnny Sequoyah | “Dexter: New Blood” | Showtime |
| — | Julia Jones | “Dexter: New Blood” | Showtime |
| — | Kate Mulgrew | “The Man Who Fell to Earth” | Showtime |
| — | Kathryn Drysdale | “Bridgerton” | Netflix |
| — | Kiah McKirnan | “Night Sky” | Amazon Prime Video |
| — | Kristin Kreuk | “Reacher” | Amazon Prime Video |
| — | Lorraine Ashbourne | “Bridgerton” | Netflix |
| — | Lorraine Toussaint | “The Equalizer” | CBS |
| — | Madeleine Madden | “The Wheel of Time” | Amazon Prime Video |
| — | Maria Sten | “Reacher” | Amazon Prime Video |
| — | Maya Erskine | “Obi-Wan Kenobi” | Disney+ |
| — | Ming-Na Wen | “The Book of Boba Fett” | Disney+ |
| — | Moses Ingram | “Obi-Wan Kenobi” | Disney+ |
| — | Natalia Dyer | “Stranger Things” | Netflix |
| — | Nicola Coughlan | “Bridgerton” | Netflix |
| — | Olivia Cooke | “Slow Horses” | Apple TV+ |
| — | Phillipa Soo | “Shining Girls” | Apple TV+ |
| — | Phoebe Dynevor | “Bridgerton” | Netflix |
| — | Polly Walker | “Bridgerton” | Netflix |
| — | Priah Ferguson | “Stranger Things” | Netflix |
| — | Ruth Gemmell | “Bridgerton” | Netflix |
| — | Sadie Sink | “Stranger Things” | Netflix |
| — | Shelley Conn | “Bridgerton” | Netflix |
| — | Sonya Cassidy | “The Man Who Fell to Earth” | Showtime |
| — | Sophia Di Martino | “Loki” | Disney+ |
| — | Sophie Nélisse | “Yellowjackets” | Showtime |
| — | Sophie Skelton | “Outlander” | Starz |
| — | Sophie Thatcher | “Yellowjackets” | Showtime |
| — | Sosie Bacon | “As We See It” | Amazon Prime Video |
| — | Verónica Falcón | “Ozark” | Netflix |
| — | Wunmi Mosaku | “Loki” | Disney+ |
| — | Zoe Robins | “The Wheel of Time” | Amazon Prime Video |
AWARDS CATEGORY HISTORY (Supporting Actress Drama)
The Primetime Emmy Awards, better known simply as the Emmys, is television’s most prestigious artistic award. There are many records held for both wins and nominations in the near eight decades.
For wins: Nancy Marchand has the most wins in this category with four, all for her work as Margaret Pynchon in “Lou Grant,” three of which were consecutive. Ellen Corby is second in line with three.
For an entire series, “Lou Grant” has the most wins with four while “St. Elsewhere,” “The Waltons” and “The West Wing” with three apiece.
For nominations: Tyne Daly has the most nominations with eight, with Nancy Marchand and Betty Thomas close behind with seven.
“Hill Street Blues” is the series that has received the most nominations in this category over its run, with 13 nominations, with “Game of Thrones” close behind with 12.
2022 Primetime Emmy Awards Predictions
2022 Creative Arts Emmys Predictions
- Outstanding Television Movie
- Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
- Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series
- Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
- Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
- Outstanding Reality Host
- Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series
- Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series
- Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special
- Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special
- Outstanding Animated Program
- Outstanding Short Form Animated Program
- Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
- Outstanding Narrator
- Outstanding Structured Program
- Outstanding Unstructured Program
- Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series
- Outstanding Documentary Special
- Outstanding Documentary Filmmaking
- Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special
- Outstanding Main Title Design
- Outstanding Main Title Theme Music
- Outstanding Music for Series
- Outstanding Music for Limited Series
- Outstanding Music and Lyrics
- Outstanding Music Supervision
About the Primetime Emmy Awards (Emmys)
The Primetime Emmy Awards, better known as the Emmys, are given out by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). Since 1949, the awards have recognized excellence in American primetime television programming. They are divided into three classes – Primetime Emmy Awards, the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards (honors artisan achievements), and the Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards (recognizes significant engineering and technological contributions). The typical eligibility period is between June 1 and May 31 of any given year. The Television Academy comprises over 25,000 members, representing 30 professional peer groups, including performers, directors, producers, art directors and various artisans and executives.
- The 74th Emmy Awards will take place on Monday, Sept. 12, and air on NBC.