Will Imelda Staunton keep the Emmy streak going for ‘The Crown’ queens?

“The Crown” is an Emmys force to reckon with. Amassing a whopping 21 Emmy wins across its first four seasons, the latest fifth season will hope to continue that impressive run.

Season five crept ever closer to modern-day history as it took place in the 1990s, in which several major events were depicted in the Netflix show. These included Queen Elizabeth‘s “annus horribilis,” the Queen’s state visit to Russia, the start of Tony Blair‘s (Bertie Carvel) reign as Prime Minister, the public divorce between Prince Charles (Dominic West) and Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki), and the latter’s “Panorama” interview.

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This season featured plenty of knock-out performances, as per usual with “The Crown,” and none more so than Imelda Staunton‘s turn as Queen Elizabeth. Staunton took over the role from Claire Foy and Olivia Colman and made the role, the third rendition of the character, entirely her own. Steely, watchful, knowing, and now an experienced leader, Staunton’s Queen wields her considerable presence and power to keep her family in order, but struggles to do so. The weight of these events wear down on her and as such, Staunton allows us to see a more vulernable side to the Queen. Critics have all agreed, Staunton delivers a great, well-rounded performance.

Kristen Baldwin (Entertainment Weekly) observed: “The new ensemble is very strong. Staunton gives us a Queen who is steely and even more reserved; her Elizabeth is very rarely wracked by the disturbance of sublimated emotion.”

Kayleigh Donaldson (The Wrap) claimed: “Imelda Staunton plays Elizabeth as a woman keenly aware of how her ageing may conflict with her duties, and brings a steely spine to the cuddly exterior that became perhaps her most iconic image.”

Peter Travers (ABC News) explained: “Both Foy and Colman won Emmys and Staunton deserves to follow suit. She’s magnificent. It’s doubtful three actresses ever played the same role with such glorious subtlety and feeling… Watch her in the stunning episode five when Staunton, without dialogue or histrionics, shows the queen drop her rigid reserve and allow the hurt to show through.”

This critical reception has led to Staunton being in our lineup of predicted nominees for Best Drama Actress alongside Elisabeth Moss (“The Handmaid’s Tale”), Emma D’Arcy (“House of the Dragon”), Bella Ramsey (“The Last of Us”), Sarah Snook (“Succession”), and Melanie Lynskey (“Yellowjackets”). And it’s no surprise, really. History is very much on Staunton’s side here.

Foy and Colman both won Emmys for their turns as Queen Elizabeth. Foy won in 2018 for Best Drama Actress and in 2021 for Best Drama Guest Actress, while she was also nominated for Best Drama Actress in 2017. Colman won Best Drama Actress in 2021 and was also nominated in 2020. That means that every actress to play this character in this show has been nominated so far, and all four seasons of the show has reaped a Best Drama Actress bid for the actress playing Queen Elizabeth. Voters clearly love this character, so it would be a huge shock if Staunton failed to continue this trend and make it five seasons out of five.

“The Crown” is also consistently rewarded by awards groups, particularly the Emmys. So far, the show has won a whopping 21 Emmys. Being involved in a show this beloved will always help your chances no matter what. But let’s dig a little deeper into Emmy voters’ love for this show. They specifically adore the performances, having awarded “The Crown” 17 nominations in total for its various actors’ roles. That is an incredible number. Season one garnered two bids, season two repaed four nominations, season three received two bids, and season four was greeted with a huge nine nominations.

Currently, we think that “The Crown” season five will be nominated for Best Drama Series, Best Drama Actress for Staunton, and Best Drama Supporting Actress for Debicki. The show is also on the precipice of a bid for Lesley Manville in the same category as Debicki, while it’s also close to a bid for Best Drama Supporting Actor bid for Jonathan Pryce. West is also up for Best Drama Actor, so the show could receive anywhere between two and five nominations for its acting. If the Emmy voters are really taken with this season, as they usually are with “The Crown,” it could be another very successful year for the show, and Staunton will be right at the front of the queue to receive their rewards.

Staunton has only been nominated for one Emmy before — for Best TV Movie/Limited Series Supporting Actress in 2013 for “The Girl” (losing to Ellen Burstyn for “Political Animals”). Emmy voters will want to reward an actress of Staunton’s stature and experience with a leading actress bid. This is their chance to do so, as Oscar voters did when she was nominated in 2005 for Best Actress for “Vera Drake.” She won a BAFTA for that movie and then earned four other BAFTA bids, while she’s also a three-time Golden Globe nominee, and a SAG winner (Best Ensemble for “Shakespeare in Love” in 1999) with three nominations overall.

The latest of those nominations came for Best Drama Series Ensemble for “The Crown” (losing to “The White Lotus”) while she was also nominated for Best Drama Series Actress at this year’s Golden Globes (losing to Zendaya for “Euphoria”). Plus, she also earned a Best Actress nomination at this year’s BAFTA TV Awards, losing to Kate Winslet for “I Am Ruth.” That is three bids for this specific role, showing that Staunton already has the necessary awards credentials and support from major awards bodies for this role. Emmy voters seem set to follow.

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