2025 Emmy Predictions: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
The State of the Race
It really does not look like there will be much turnaround this year with the Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. The way 'The Bear' uses its new season to campaign for its old season is a bit too complicated to explain in one sentence, but the important thing to know is that although Liza Colón-Zayas' standout Season 3 episode 'Napkins' was already released by the time people were voting for the 2024 Primetime Emmys, her win was for Season 2.
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'The Bear' Season 4 will be out before final voting for the 2025 Emmys, so who knows if history will repeat itself, and the actress's Season 4 performance as Tina will help her earn a second Emmy in a row. But if they just look at Season 3 on its own merits, she still deserves more credit for being the highlight.
Some more women returning to the category include 'Abbott Elementary' star Sheryl Lee Ralph, who won this category for her performance in Season 1 of the ABC sitcom. She will likely be joined by co-star Janelle James, who has also been nominated for every season of 'Abbott,' and had a brighter spotlight put on her character Principal Ava in Season 4 of the series.
Both James and 'Hacks' star Hannah Einbinder have had Emmys seasons where they have been the projected frontrunner in the category, yet a win never materialized. With 'Hacks' being the most recent Outstanding Comedy Series winner, 2025 especially feels like it could finally be Einbinder's year this time.
But these women are all up against 'The Studio' stars Catherine O'Hara and Kathryn Hahn, who are as formidable as contenders as they are funny on the show. O'Hara is also not too far away from her Lead Actress in a Comedy Series win for 'Schitt's Creek,' and showed real range this season, appearing on 'The Last of Us' as well, so she is the most likely nominee from the Apple TV+ series contending in this category. And Hahn may be lower on the prediction lists for both this and Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for 'Agatha All Along' this Emmys season, but voters have taken real notice of her. She has been on too good of a run to keep going without an Emmy win.
The final nomination slot is more of a wild card. 'Shrinking' star Jessica Williams was nominated for Season 1 of the fellow Apple TV+ show, so she feels like a safe bet, but Meryl Streep was nominated more recently for the last season of 'Only Murders in the Building.' However, more people have another Hulu series star as their dark horse: the late Linda Lavin for 'Mid-Century Modern.'
Predicted Nominees:Liza Colón-Zayas, 'The Bear' (FX)Hannah Einbinder, 'Hacks' (Max)Kathryn Hahn, 'The Studio' (Apple TV+)Janelle James, 'Abbott Elementary' (ABC)Catherine O'Hara, 'The Studio' (Apple TV+)Sheryl Lee Ralph, 'Abbott Elementary' (ABC)Jessica Williams, 'Shrinking' (Apple TV+)
Contenders:Linda Lavin, 'Mid-Century Modern' (Hulu)Meg Stalter, 'Hacks' (Max)Meryl Streep, 'Only Murders in the Building' (Hulu)In a Perfect World:Lou de Laâge, 'Étoile' (Prime Video)Poorna Jagannathan, 'Deli Boys' (Disney+)Ego Nwodim, 'Saturday Night Live' (NBC)
More Comedy Category Predictions:Outstanding Comedy SeriesOutstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy SeriesOutstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy SeriesOutstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
View IndieWire's full set of predictions for the 77th Emmy Awards.Last Year's Winner: Liza Colón-Zayas, 'The Bear'Still Eligible: Yes.Hot Streak: If it is true that her performance in Season 3 is what sway voters to award her for her performance in Season 3 of 'The Bear,' there is a strong chance that Colón-Zayas could start a two-year winning streak, and continue the show's already two-years-running winning streak in this category (Ayo Edebiri won for Season 1 before moving up to Lead.)Notable Ineligible Series: Susie Essman, 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' (ended); Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, 'Loot' (Season 3 is not eligible); Allison Janney, Leslie Bibb, Amber Chardae Robinson, Laura Dern, and Carol Burnett, 'Shrinking' (Season 2 is not eligible)
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