Emmys: Supporting Actress (Drama) — ‘The Pitt’ Could Stack the Field, but Allison Janney and Julianne Nicholson Are Viable Contenders

Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety chief awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Updated: April 30, 2026): Paging all Emmy voters: How many women from “The Pitt” will find their way to Emmy recognition this year?

Last year, Katherine LaNasa took home the prize for her work as the beloved charge nurse in the HBO Max medical drama. None of her co-stars joined her for the ride — a fact that arguably helped her cause against the multi-pronged “The White Lotus” bloc. With Season 2 just wrapped and the show entering phase one as the early frontrunner, it’s difficult to imagine LaNasa standing alone again.

Some of her hospital staff members — Taylor Dearden, Sepideh Moafi, Isa Briones, Supriya Ganesh and Fiona Dourif — are all in play. However, it would be a stretch to assume six of the category’s presumed slots get absorbed by a single show.

That math also has to contend with Allison Janney, who is coming off a notable snub for Season 2 of “The Diplomat” and whose home streamer, Netflix, has every incentive to make sure that doesn’t happen twice.

Returning nominee Julianne Nicholson looks like a near-lock for recognition for the second season of Hulu’s “Paradise” which continues to gain fans.

The freshman bench from new shows is deep, led by the standout Karoline Wydra from Apple’s “Pluribus” and the uber-talented Emilia Jones from HBO’s “Task.”

Could the farewell season of Netflix’s “Stranger Things” bring Millie Bobby Brown to the party one last time? What about her co-stars Winona Ryder and Sadie Sink?

HBO’s newest season of “Euphoria” is up and running, and so are the hopes for previous nominee Sydney Sweeney and the never-nominated Alexa Demie. Will it land with voters?

Finally, and yet to be confirmed, but there’s a possibility of Marisa Abela going into the supporting drama field, after submitting in lead for three seasons of HBO’s “Industry.” Could that give her a stronger shot at goal?

All official category submissions have yet to be confirmed, and the field could shift before the end of the eligibility cycle.

The Emmy Awards timeline begins with nomination-round voting from June 11-22, with nominations announced on July 8. The final voting runs from Aug. 17-26, leading into the Creative Arts Awards and Governors Gala on Sept. 5–6, culminating with the Emmy Awards ceremony on Sept. 14 on NBC.

Variety Awards Circuit: Emmys

• Image Credit: Hulu window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}});