Emmys spotlight: It’s time to single out Lisa Ann Walter alongside her ‘Abbott Elementary’ co-stars

The Emmy race for Best Comedy Supporting Actress was one of the biggest nail-biters of the ceremony last year. The sheer talent in the category was staggering with previous winners Hannah Waddingham (“Ted Lasso,” 2021), Alex Borstein (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” 2018 – 2019) and Kate McKinnon (“Saturday Night Live,” 2016 – 2017), as well as previous nominees Hannah Einbinder (“Hacks,” 2021) and Juno Temple (“Ted Lasso,” 2021), in contention. Adding to the complexity, Sarah Niles (“Ted Lasso”) snagged her first bid for the reigning Best Comedy Series while Janelle James and Sheryl Lee Ralph earned nominations for “Abbott Elementary’s” freshman season.

Ralph ended up winning, overcoming Gold Derby’s odds and a potential vote split with her scene-stealing co-star. That just goes to show how much of a juggernaut “Abbott Elementary” was, and as we cruise into Emmy season this year, that’s important to keep in mind. Worth remembering, too, is that Ralph was in eighth place in our odds to receive a nomination last year, which brings me to Lisa Ann Walter.

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Walter currently occupies that slot in our Emmy odds for playing Melissa Schemmenti on the ABC sit-com. If our odds got the category 100% correct right now, not only would Walter get in, but James and Ralph would earn their second bids as well. Having three nominees from the same series seems unlikely at first glance, but if last year’s success for “Ted Lasso” serves as precedent, it can happen. To further use “Ted Lasso” for comparison, its freshman season had two nominees in the category, but it had three for its sophomore year. “Abbott Elementary” is on that trajectory. The cast’s recent SAG Awards ensemble win proves broad support for the series that could carryover to the next Emmys.

One of Walter’s best scenes from season two is in episode 4, “The Principal’s Office,” when Janine (Quinta Brunson) is trying to help Melissa mend fences with her sister, Kristin (Lauren Weedman). Blindsiding Melissa by covertly sending Kristin a family food dish, Janine inadvertently orchestrates a confrontation that is non-stop hilarious. Walter’s shining moment comes when Kristin accuses Melissa of poisoning the dish she received. Taken by surprise, Melissa doesn’t miss a beat and says, “You know I would never poison anybody. If I’m taking someone out, I wanna watch ‘em go!” In that one instance, Melissa’s character is showcased in a gut-busting way and Walter’s work on the show continually delivers standout moments like this.

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Walter’s range is highlighted in episode 11, “Read-A-Thon.” This plot finds Melissa and Janine in competition to see whose second grade class can read the most books. Melissa is soaring ahead the entire time, but right at the end she realizes that her star pupil isn’t actually reading at all. Instead, she has difficulty reading and faked her way through a list of books. Instead of chastising the student, Melissa takes her into the hall and poignantly recounts her own learning struggles. She lifts the student up and shows her that no matter how hard reading is, she will grow to love it. This demonstrates a rare softness to Melissa’s character that Walter plays perfectly. Later on in the episode, Melissa discovers a loophole in the rules that enables not only her second graders to compete against Janine’s class, but her whole classroom – including the third graders in her recently hybridized student body. Once this realization dawns on Melissa, she joyfully shoves it in Janine’s face and does a small victory dance in a moment of pure physical comedy. Walter’s ability to jump from sincerity to hilarity is never more evident than in this episode and it allows Walter’s talent to shine brightly.

Melissa’s relationship with Barbara (Ralph) is another standout for Walter. The two veteran teachers are often on the same page versus the newbies and in episode 16, “Teacher Conference,” we see Janine and Jacob (Chris Perfetti) try to plan out each moment to experience the conference to its fullest, while Melissa and Barbara quickly show face and leave to relax by the hotel pool. In moments like these, the fun that Walter has playing Melissa is evident and makes watching her all the more delightful.

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The strength of “Abbott Elementary” coupled with the excellence of Walter’s performance is the perfect kind of storm that can, and should, result in an Emmy nomination. She also remains the only original series regular to not be singled out by a televised awards show. Brunson, Ralph, James, and Tyler James Williams were all first celebrated with Emmy nominations, while Perfetti picked up his first bid at the Critics’ Choice Awards. It’s time for Walter to be included alongside her outstanding co-stars and the Emmys would be the perfect place to start.

Walter currently sits in eighth place in our odds for an Emmy nomination, which is where Ralph sat going into nominations last year. If Ralph serves as an example, not only can Walter get in – she could win!

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