The Emmy Awards Have The Roy Family Head-To-Head Once Again
Until last year's (and again this year's) nomination of J. Smith-Cameron as Gerri Kellman, Sarah Snook was the only woman to receive an acting nomination for "Succession." For her portrayal of Shiv Roy, Snook was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2020 and again in 2022, but 2023 is the first year she's in contention for the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series category while Smith-Cameron returns to Supporting Actress. But just like the WASPy patriarchal hellscape of "Succession," the 2023 Emmy battle within the show is a boy's club.
The Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series category is exclusively filled with performances from "Succession" season 4 and "The White Lotus" season 2, with Nicholas Braun, Matthew Macfadyen, Alan Ruck, and Alexander Skarsgård facing off against F. Murray Abraham, Michael Imperioli, Theo James, and Will Sharpe. No matter who wins, the votes will be split between the shows because there are literally no other options.
As for the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, Jeff Bridges in "The Old Man," Bob Odenkirk in "Better Call Saul," and Pedro Pascal in "The Last of Us" are battling it out with the "Succession" cast — Brian Cox as Logan Roy, Jeremy Strong as Kendall Roy, and Kieran Culkin as Roman Roy. This is Culkin's first year in Lead Actor contention, as he is typically nominated as a Supporting Actor.
Will they win, or will the Roy boys mimic the "Succession" finale and go home with nothing? Let's look at the history of acting awards on "Succession" and see if we can learn anything.
Note: "Succession" was not eligible for the 2021 Emmy Awards, which is why it does not appear in this article.
The time Succession wasn't even nominated
The first year of eligibility for "Succession" was for the 2019 awards, which happened to also be the final season of "Game of Thrones." Folks hadn't completely allowed Jesse Armstrong's despicable rich babies to fill the void of despicable rich babies plus dragons, so the actors were shut out of all acting categories. Billy Porter rightfully took home the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series statue for his performance as Pray Tell on "Pose," while Peter Dinklage unquestionably won for his last season of playing Tyrion Lannister on "Game of Thrones." Fortunately, the series did earn some overall nominations for Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series, and a win for Jesse Armstrong in the Outstanding Writing for Drama Series category.
It's fascinating to look back at this year, with hindsight of course being 20/20, and think that a series that couldn't even snag a single acting nomination for its first season would be dominating the show with the highest number of nominations for its farewell season. Let "Succession" be yet another reminder to all of those big wig suits who keep canceling shows after a single season — great things come to those who wait and allow a series to find its audience.
The times Succession won
2020 was the year that "Succession" finally picked up steam, and Jeremy Strong took home the Outstanding Lead Actor statue against Jason Bateman in 'Ozark," Sterling K. Brown in "This is Us," Steve Carell in "The Morning Show," Billy Porter in "Pose" and Brian Cox in "Succession." This was the season where Kendall Roy really started to separate himself from the rest of his siblings and was rightfully awarded for his dedication. The (not actually) eldest boy of the Roy family has been a fan-favorite ever since, and only time will tell if the internet's favorite babygirl will recapture daddy's love with another Emmy.
Last year saw the first win of Matthew Macfadyen for his role as Tom Wambsgans, taking down co-stars Nicholas Braun and Kieran Culkin in the process. Perhaps that win should have been a sign to us all of what the inevitable outcome of the show was going to be. He was becoming too powerful! The category also included O Yeong-su and Park Hae-soo from "Squid Game," John Turturro and Christopher Walken in "Severance," and Billy Crudup in "The Morning Show." Apparently vote splitting was a non-issue in this category.
The times Succession lost
Just like all of the Roy siblings in real life, the "Succession" cast has lost a lot more than they've won. Last year the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series saw Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong up against each other, but both were squashed by Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun in "Squid Game," making him the first Korean performer to ever win in the category. The category was unquestionably stacked that year, with the trio also up against Jason Bateman for "Ozark," Bob Odenkirk for "Better Call Saul," and Adam Scott for "Severance." Honestly, it was a category where any winner could have been the right call.
In 2020, three different "Succession" stars were nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series; Nicholas Braun as Greg Hirsh, Matthew Macfadyen as Tom Wambsgans, and Kieran Culkin as Roman Roy. Billy Crudup eventually walked away victorious for his role as Cory Ellison on "The Morning Show." The other nominees were Giancarlo Esposito in "Better Call Saul," Bradley Whitford in "The Handmaid's Tale," and Jeffrey Wright in "Westwood." This category was solid, but this was the first year that Emmy voters were finally on board with the hit HBO series. Considering Jeremy Strong was the winner for Outstanding Lead Actor the same year, it's hard not to think the trio split the "Succession" vote.
Predicting awards show outcomes is often a fool's errand, but if I had to choose, I'm holding out hope for 2023 wins for Kieran Culkin and Matthew Macfadyen, but "The White Lotus" and Jeremy Strong's final moments on "Succession" might prove to be just too powerful.
Sorry, Brian Cox, but Logan died in episode 3. That ain't enough screen time to justify a statue. I still love you, though.