Cherry Jones may just be the next performer to double up on guest Emmy nominations in the same year

Joyce Eng
·5 min read
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Cherry Jones could score three Emmy nominations this year for her supporting turn on the Apple TV+ limited series “Five Days at Memorial” and her guest appearances on “Poker Face” and “Succession.” It’s those double guest bids, though, that would put her in rarefied air as the three-time Emmy winner would become the 11th person to earn drama and comedy guest acting nominations in the same year.

Since the guest categories as we know them were standardized in 1989, 10 people have pulled off this feat. Jack Gilford was the first, getting shortlisted that very year for “The Golden Girls” and “thirtysomething.” In 1991, Colleen Dewhurst won comedy guest actress for “Murphy Brown” and was nominated in drama for “Road to Avonlea.” Gwen Verdon snagged noms in 1993 for her guest spots on “Dream On” and “Homicide: Life on the Street,” while Marlee Matlin followed in 1994 with  bids for “Seinfeld” and “Picket Fences.”

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The first double guest nominee of the 21st century was Jean Smart, who won for “Frasier” (her second in a row) and was nominated for “The District” in 2001. Cloris Leachman doubled up in 2005 with mentions for “Malcolm in the Middle” and “Joan of Arcadia,” just two of her 22 nominations over the course of the eight-time champ’s career. In 2012, Michael J. Fox was nominated for “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “The Good Wife.” His fellow “Good Wife” guest star Nathan Lane reaped a bid in 2013 along with a nom for his appearance on “Modern Family.” In 2016, Laurie Metcalf did what Jones is attempting: earn three nominations. She was nominated for her guest spots on “The Big Bang Theory” and “Horace and Pete” and her lead performance on “Getting On.”

Last year, Jones’ “Succession” co-star Harriet Walters joined the club with bids for “Ted Lasso” and “Succession,” losing the former to none other than Metcalf for “Hacks” and the latter to “Squid Game’s” Lee Yoo-mi. Walter could garner the same noms for the same shows again, but at the moment, she’s only predicted to land one as she’s in first place in Best Drama Guest Actress and in seventh in Best Comedy Guest Actress.

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

Jones, however, is expected to make the cut in both categories, sitting in second in drama and fifth in comedy. The “Succession” bid is by far the safest one to predict. Not only is the reigning Best Drama Series champ the one to beat as it wraps up its fourth and final season, but Jones has already won this award, in 2020, for her portrayal of Pierce Global Media head Nan Pierce in Season 2. After sitting out last season, she returned in the Season 4 premiere as Nan shrewdly pitted Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Shiv (Sarah Snook) against Logan (Brian Cox) to snare a $10 billion offer to buy her aging legacy brand (she knew exactly what came after eight and nine).

Last year, “Succession” picked up three nominations in the category, including for Hope Davis and Sanaa Lathan, and it’s predicted to replicate that with Jones, Walter and Davis, the last of whom is in sixth (Hiam Abbass, who made her triumphant return to “Succession” in Sunday’s episode, is currently in 10th). Melanie Lynskey (“The Last of Us”) is in third, with Fiona Shaw (“Andor”) in fourth and Anna Torv (“The Last of Us”) in fifth. Jones also has another drama guest actress victory, having prevailed for her very brief appearance on “The Handmaid’s Tale” in 2019. A third win would make her the first to cross that benchmark in this category.

The actress, who also won a supporting Emmy for “24” in 2009, has yet to be nominated in a comedy category, but “Poker Face” can change that. Jones guest-starred in the eighth episode of the first season, “The Orpheus Syndrome,” which was also directed and co-written by star Natasha Lyonne, as Laura, the co-founder of a visual effects company whose husband Max (Tim Russ) seemingly jumps to his death. After she asks Arthur (Nick Nolte), the co-founder of their company and a reclusive visual effects artist, to make a bust of Max, the truth about his death and a 40-year-old incident comes out.

Emmy voters haven’t fully embraced Peacock shows yet, but “Poker Face” could be the streamer’s breakthrough. However, the murder mystery boasts a laundry list of guest stars every episode, which could impact everyone’s chances, especially on a restricted ballot. Currently, Judith Light, who appeared in the fifth episode, is in third place, behind Taraji P. Henson (“Abbott Elementary”) and Quinta Brunson (“Saturday Night Live”). Shirley MacLaine (“Only Murders in the Building”) is in fourth and Sarah Niles (“Ted Lasso”) is in sixth.

But if anyone can overcome so much internal competition to make it into the name-check-happy guest categories, it’s Jones. And if she manages that, she can then set her sights on being the first to win both guest categories in the same year.

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