Periodically this summer I'll be sharing my picks for the Primetime Emmy awards in the various categories. Up this week, Supporting Actress in a drama series:
1. Ann Dowd (The Handmaid's Tale): As Aunt Lydia, the leader of the handmaids, Dowd is cold and vicious to her charges, probably the most outright evil character on television right now. She isn't above beating, stoning, and even burning young women to keep them in line and ensure that they fulfill their duties as child-bearers. The character could easily be a caricature, but Dowd somehow conveys a sense that there may be some semblance of decency in Aunt Lydia. The show has yet to explore Lydia's backstory in flashbacks, as it has done with most of its other characters, but I can't wait to learn how she came to be so deliciously evil.
2. Diana Rigg (Game of Thrones): As the sharp-tongued matriarch of House Tyrell, Lady Olenna, Rigg never let the younger, prettier actresses on the show upstage her. Even though she spent most of her scenes simply sitting in a chair making wisecracks and outsmarting her rivals, it was impossible to look away whenever Rigg was onscreen. Even with all the nudity and violence on the show, her monologues and conversations were my some of my favorite parts of the show. Alas she met her end last season, as so many other characters have on this show, but she won't be forgotten.
3. Susan Kelechi Watson (This is Us): Much has been said about the other female stars of this family drama, namely Chrissy Metz and Mandy Moore, but Watson, as Randall's wife Beth, more than holds her own on the show without the advantages of weepy flashback scenes and major dramatic moments for her character. Beth's relationship with Randall is the most realistic and believable marriage on television, and this is in no small part due to Watson's ability to seem so natural with Sterling K. Brown onscreen. They bicker and joke around like any real couple would, but in the more serious, dramatic moments of the show Watson easily matches the acting chops of the amazing Brown.
4. Sarah Steele (The Good Fight): Adding some much-needed comic relief to this serious legal drama, Steele, as investigator Marissa Gold, adds zest to any scene that she's in. Whether in serious moments like opening a letter filled with a potentially dangerous powder or in lighter scenes like hanging out at a club with her friends, Steele gives all of her scenes 100%, even though she's never the leading lady of the show. Thankfully, Steele's role was expanded in season 2 as Marissa was promoted from secretary to full-fledged investigator. Her talents match the other more high-profile women on the show, such as Christine Baranski and Audra McDonald.
5. Vanessa Kirby (The Crown): As Princess Margaret, Kirby is electric on this Netflix series. She adds some sex appeal to an often stuffy show about British royals. Even though her romantic escapades can sometimes seem removed from the main story of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Kirby is so fun to watch that this doesn't matter. She believably portrays Margaret's disappointment in her the queen's meddling in her love life while also still loving her sister unconditionally.
6. Bellamy Young (Scandal): As Mellie Grant, First Lady of the United States and then ex-wife of the President, Young finally took center stage in Scandal's final season after Mellie won the presidency. On this often ridiculous political soap opera, Young was magnificent at the showy melodramatic acting that the show called for. She was a believable President, and I would welcome a Mellie spinoff on my tv.
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