Carrie Preston would set Emmy record with nomination for guesting on ‘The Good Fight’

Over the years, dozens of actors have accomplished the feat of being Emmy-nominated in one guest category for multiple shows, but only one has been recognized in this manner for playing a single character. This special case involved Shelley Long, who received comedic notices for playing Diane Chambers on both “Cheers” (1993) and “Frasier” (1996). After more than a quarter century of standing alone in this distinction, she could soon be joined by Carrie Preston, who won the 2013 Best Drama Guest Actress award as eccentric lawyer Elsbeth Tascioni on “The Good Wife” and is now seeking a bookend trophy for its Paramount Plus spinoff, “The Good Fight.”

SEE‘The Good Fight’ finale: From WGA nominee to Emmy contender?

Preston won her first Emmy for her seventh of 14 “Good Wife” appearances, which were spread over six of the CBS show’s seven seasons. By the time “The Good Fight” ended its six-year run in November 2022, she had guest starred in five of its episodes. The latest, entitled “The End of Ginni,” marks Elsbeth’s first appearance in over four years and features a storyline in which she represents a pregnant woman negotiating a financial agreement with her husband, who has hired Ri’Chard Lane (Andre Braugher).

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This would be Preston’s third Emmy nomination, since she earned a second guest bid for “The Good Wife” in 2016. She lost to Margo Martindale (“The Americans”) in that case after prevailing against her three years earlier. Including Martindale, only eight women will have preceded Preston in each receiving three or more drama guest actress notices for playing one character. The other seven are Joan Cusack (“Shameless”), Diana Rigg (“Game of Thrones”), Allison Janney (“Masters of Sex”), Cicely Tyson (“How to Get Away with Murder”), Laverne Cox (“Orange is the New Black”), Alexis Bledel (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) and Phylicia Rashad (“This Is Us”).

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A victory for “The Good Fight” would make Preston one of only three actresses to be honored twice in this category for a single role. Martindale, whose 2016 win for “The Americans” was her second in a row, was added to the list after Patricia Clarkson, who triumphed for “Six Feet Under” in 2002 and 2006. The five instances that have occurred in the corresponding comedy category involved Colleen Dewhurst (“Murphy Brown”), Jean Smart (“Frasier”), Cloris Leachman (“Malcolm in the Middle”), Kathryn Joosten (“Desperate Housewives”) and Maya Rudolph (“Saturday Night Live”).

Included among Preston’s strongest challengers are former nominees Mckenna Grace (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) and Hope Davis and Harriet Walter (both from “Succession”), as well as past champions Claire Foy (“The Crown”) and Cherry Jones (“Succession”). According to Gold Derby’s odds, she is currently running 12th in the race with plenty of time to pull further ahead. Since it was just announced that she will be headlining the upcoming CBS series “Elsbeth,” it’s clear that her character is still quite popular after 13 years, and it should come as no surprise if that is reflected in the form of TV academy support.

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