Cherry Jones is chasing Emmy history in ‘Succession’s’ final season

Kaitlin Thomas
Updated ·4 min read
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The fourth and final season of “Succession” was always going to be an Emmy threat. The HBO drama about a powerful and wealthy New York media family led by Logan Roy (Brian Cox) amassed a whopping 48 nominations and 13 wins throughout its first three seasons. Nearly half of those bids (23) were for acting, so no one should be surprised if/when the Jesse Armstrong-created series earns several more on its way out, beginning with the guest categories and going all the way up the chain. And no one should be surprised if a few of those nominations also lead to repeat winners.

Cherry Jones is one of three “Succession” actors who have won for their performance thus far (Jeremy Strong and Matthew Macfadyen are the others). She took home the Emmy for Best Drama Guest Actress in 2020 for her turn as Nan Pierce, the formidable head of the wealthy Pierce family and the savvy owner of the media conglomerate known as Pierce Global Media, a major competitor of Waystar Royco. Jones reprised the role in March’s Season 4 premiere, titled “The Munsters,” which saw Nan play Kendall (Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Shiv Roy (Sarah Snook) against their aging father to see who could say the biggest number to purchase PGM.

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Jones, who’s also eligible in comedy guest actress for “Poker Face” and for her supporting turn on the limited series “Five Days at Memorial,” makes the most of her limited screen time, and as a result is currently in second place at 9/2 in Gold Derby’s combined odds to secure another nomination for playing Pierce. She trails only Dame Harriet Walter, another “Succession” alum who portrays Lady Caroline Collingwood, the distant and emotionally unavailable mother of the three youngest Roy siblings (Walter has been nominated twice for her performance already). Two additional “Succession” stars are also vying for a bid this year: Hope Davis, nominated last year for her portrayal of Sandi Furness, and Hiam Abbass, who portrays Logan’s third wife Marcia, sit in fifth and 10th place, respectively. Elsewhere, Melanie Lynskey (“The Last of Us”), Fiona Shaw (“Andor”), Anna Torv (“The Last of Us”), Betsy Brandt (“Better Call Saul”), Claire Foy (“The Crown” and Storm Reid (“The Last of Us”) round out the top 10.

SEE Cherry Jones could score Emmy triple play

Should Jones, a three-time Emmy winner overall, earn another nomination and eventually walk away the winner, she’ll make history and become the first person to ever win the Emmy for Best Drama Guest Actress three times (it will be her fourth nomination in the category overall). She took home the first one in 2019 for her short but memorable guest appearance as the mother of Elisabeth Moss’ character on Hulu’s dystopian drama “The Handmaid’s Tale.” The following year marked her win for “Succession.” Other actresses with two drama guest wins are Patricia Clarkson, Shirley Knight, Margo Martindale, Amanda Plummer and Alfre Woodard.

While Jones’ appearance in the Season 4 premiere is fairly brief — her scenes clock in at approximately four and a half minutes — there is precedent for voters to nominate and even award guest stars despite having only minimal screen time. Martindale, a three-time Emmy winner, won her second consecutive Best Drama Guest Actress Emmy in 2016 for “The Americans” after appearing in a single scene that was approximately 90 seconds in length. And Jones’ own “Handmaid’s Tale” triumph came after two scenes in her submission episode that were under two minutes and 30 seconds in length when combined. By those standards, her appearance on “Succession” this season might as well be a limited series. She’s given voters plenty of material by which to judge, and only a fool would consider that the two-time winner in the category will be left wanting when all is said and done.

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