Emmy mystery solved: How often do the deaths of characters lead to wins?

If you’re behind on your peak TV watching, consider this your spoiler warning. It’s been nearly a year since Julia Garner collected her third and final Emmy for “Ozark,” which made her the seventh comedy or drama series regular to snag a TV academy prize for a season in which her character died. Nominations of this kind have become more common in recent years, and it’s possible that over 15% of the 2023 lead and supporting continuing series contenders will fit into the group.

Gold Derby’s Emmy nominations odds currently indicate that eight actors whose comedic or dramatic characters met their demise within the last year could feasibly earn bids, as all of them are ranked no lower than 12th place in their respective races. This does not include characters like Bunny Folger (Jayne Houdyshell, “Only Murders in the Building”) or John Paul Williams (Claes Bang, “Bad Sisters”) who died prior to the starts of their shows’ latest seasons but still appear in flashbacks. Supernatural, undead characters like most of those from “Ghosts” and “What We Do in the Shadows” also do not count here, nor do any whose deaths have not been explicitly confirmed.

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Three of said eight hopefuls could join a subgroup of nine dramatic leads who were nominated immediately after their characters expired. The only winner in this bunch is Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad,” 2014), whose Walter White died during his series’ final season, just like Brian Cox’s Logan Roy did on “Succession” this year. The other nominees whose characters’ deaths coincided with the ends of their shows are Frances Conroy (“Six Feet Under,” 2006), Matthew Fox (“Lost,” 2010), Emilia Clarke (“Game of Thrones,” 2019), Jonathan Majors (“Lovecraft Country,” 2021), Billy Porter (“Pose,” 2021), and Jodie Comer (“Killing Eve,” 2022).

Both Paddy Considine (“House of the Dragon”) and Juliette Lewis (“Yellowjackets”) could be nominated this year for playing now-deceased lead characters on drama series that are going to continue without them. They will have been preceded in this regard by Jimmy Smits (“NYPD Blue,” 1999) and Anthony Hopkins (“Westworld,” 2017). Not included in this distinction are characters who were killed off between seasons, such as Kevin Spacey’s Frank Underwood (“House of Cards”).

The largest amount of deceased character nominations have gone to dramatic supporting males, and that list could gain its 19th entrant this year if Tom Hollander lands a bid for “The White Lotus.” Jonathan Banks and Giancarlo Eposito, who are seeking their respective fifth and third notices for playing Mike Ehrmantraut and Gus Fring on “Better Call Saul,” are already part of this group since they were previously recognized for the “Breaking Bad” seasons in which those characters died.

The drama supporting actor subset was established in 1984 with Michael Conrad’s nomination for the fourth season of “Hill Street Blues,” about half of which he appeared in before succumbing to cancer in real life. The most recent additions are “Squid Game” (2022) actors Oh Yeong-su and Park Hae-soo, with the group’s three victors being Joe Pantoliano (“The Sopranos,” 2003), Željko Ivanek (“Damages,” 2008), and Bobby Cannavale (“Boardwalk Empire,” 2013).

Garner was the third drama supporting actress champion whose character had recently died, following Drea de Matteo (“The Sopranos,” 2004) and Margo Martindale (“Justified,” 2011). The only other nominees in their group are Lena Headey (“Game of Thrones,” 2019) and Jung Ho-yeon (“Squid Game,” 2022), but they are expected to soon be joined by 2023 frontrunner Jennifer Coolidge (“The White Lotus”).

As one might expect, dramatic nominations involving character deaths are much more common than comedic ones, with the ratio currently standing at about 6-to-1. Nonetheless, there could very well be three new comedy male examples if “The Great” star Nicholas Hoult and “Barry” pair Bill Hader and Anthony Carrigan all capture the academy’s attention this year. Hoult’s nomination would be particularly historic in that he played not one but two characters who died during his show’s most recent season.

Technically, several actors from “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” could also be added to the comedy list this year since their characters’ deaths are heavily implied as the series flashes forward from 1960 all the way to 2005. This includes 2019 supporting winner Tony Shalhoub, whose Abe Weissman is referred to in the past tense in scenes set as early as the 1980s. Indeed, the only major characters who are shown to be alive and well in the mid-aughts are Rachel Brosnahan’s Midge Maisel and Alex Borstein’s Susie Myerson.

To date, only five comedy series regulars have been nominated for playing deceased characters, and none of their bids resulted in wins. This does not include “Russian Doll” star Natasha Lyonne, whose Nadia Vulvokov died many times in a fantastical time loop scenario that she ultimately escaped. Those who do qualify are leads John Ritter (“8 Simple Rules,” 2004), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“Veep,” 2019), and William H. Macy (“Shameless,” 2021) and featured players McLean Stevenson (“M*A*S*H,” 1975) and Kathryn Joosten (“Desperate Housewives,” 2012). Like Conrad, Ritter and Joosten were posthumous contenders whose characters were killed off during the seasons for which they were nominated.

Since the overall list of Emmy-nominated performances involving character deaths has grown by 68% in the last four years alone, it’s perfectly reasonable to assume there will be more examples this year, especially since several hopefuls – such as past winners Hader and Coolidge – are considered locks for nominations. And, honestly, what better way to pay tribute to these departed characters than by giving their actors shots at the highest TV honors?

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