How history could repeat itself for Evan Peters if ‘Dahmer’ sweeps the acting categories at the Emmys

Luca Giliberti
·4 min read
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After being one of three actors to win an Emmy for “Mare of Easttown” in 2021, Evan Peters could now triumph for another limited series that can bag a trio of acting victories with Netflix’s “Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.”

“Mare” earned its three prizes for Kate Winslet in lead actress and Peters and Julianne Nicholson in their respective supporting acting categories. “Dahmer” — which is the first iteration of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan‘s “Monster” anthology series and stars Peters as the titular serial killer — can now win that same combination of awards: one lead category (for Peters) and both supporting races (for Niecy Nash-Betts and Richard Jenkins).

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Of the three “Dahmer” actors, the one best positioned to prevail is probably Peters himself. The 36-year-old performer, who’s in first place in our limited series/TV movie actor odds, has been the presumed frontrunner ever since the true-crime drama’s 10-episode first installment became a, uh, monster hit for Netflix almost immediately upon its Sept. 21 release. He then only further cemented himself as the one to beat after winning the Golden Globe Award and earning a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination over the winter. While he didn’t triumph at SAG despite being widely predicted to, his loss there isn’t that detrimental to his Emmy chances since the person who beat him, “1883” star Sam Elliott, is ineligible. Not to mention, the guild has always had a tendency to favor veteran actors — “The Bear’s” Jeremy Allen White, 32, was the only person younger than 45 to be victorious at this year’s ceremony — whereas the Emmys have been increasingly kind to younger talent of late.

SEE Evan Peters and Ryan Murphy on ‘Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’ and why Peters resembling Jessica Lange jump-started his career

What also helps Peters is that no one has arisen as a clear challenger to him yet. Even though Daniel Radcliffe, who’s in third in the odds, won the Critics Choice Award for “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” in January, he did so in Peters’ absence and will have to overcome the apathy Emmy voters have recently shown toward performers from TV movies. So unless some formidable rivals emerge from upcoming spring releases, Peters is probably on track to having another good night(Mare) at this year’s Emmys.

Nash-Betts and Jenkins face steeper hills, due mainly to the stiff competition they each face. But they, in first and second place in the odds for their respective categories, both still have a good shot at coming out on top. Nash-Betts is heading into the Emmys with a ton of momentum after winning at Critics Choice and being shortlisted at not just the Globes but also in a combined limited series/TV movie actress field at SAG. Plus, she is overdue for her first Emmy victory after four bids and steals every scene as Glenda Cleveland, Jeffrey Dahmer‘s suspicious next-door neighbor, on the show. And Jenkins, despite having the least showy part of all three in Dahmer’s father, Lionel Dahmer, and the strongest rival in Critics Choice and Globe champ Paul Walter Hauser (“Black Bird”), at least landed a Globe nom over the winter and could be swept up if “Dahmer” steamrolls.

SEE Emmy predictions: Shows based on real events will dominate the limited series field (again)

Should “Dahmer” indeed go three for three in the acting categories, it will be the fourth limited series to achieve this feat under the popular vote system. The other three sweepers were “The People v. O. J. Simpson” (for Sarah Paulson, Courtney B. Vance and Sterling K. Brown) in 2016, “Big Little Lies” (for Nicole Kidman, Laura Dern and Alexander Skarsgard) in ’17 and “Mare” in ’21. Of these, all three were nominated for Best Limited Series and two, “O. J.” and “BLL,” won the top honor. So “Dahmer,” which seem like a safe bet for a limited series nom and presently tops our odds in that category, fits right in.

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