Jennifer Aniston (‘The Morning Show’) looking to make Emmy history
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Jennifer Aniston delivered another star-powered performance in the new season of Apple TV’s flagship series, “The Morning Show.” The series follows the behind-the-scenes drama of a morning TV show in the US, with co-anchors Alex Levy (Aniston) and Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon) at the center of events.
The latest season (season three) depicts Alex quite literally heading into space while she tussles with Jon Hamm‘s tech mogul as a media merger for her show’s network, UBA, bubbles away. Aniston proved herself a master of comedy with “Friends” and here shows, once again, that she has the dramatic acting chops to equal her comedic skills. Aniston is captivating every time she’s on-screen and it’s a delight to see her in one of the meatiest roles of her career, as noted by critics.
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Peter Travers (ABC News) declared: “Aniston has never been better, letting us see the cost to Alex as she walks the tightrope between ambition and becoming someone she can’t recognize. As she and Witherspoon face each other in the tenth and final season three episode, Alex and Bradley enter a world of squeezed options that is all too recognizable as our own.”
Tom Gliatto (People) opined: “Aniston’s performance remains casually glamorous, occasionally sinewy and from time to time biting, although she also pouts adorably, as if she were one of director Greta Gerwig’s Barbies struggling to overcome a pesky patch of cognitive dissonance. And that’s fine — this is Alex Levy, not Lydia Tár.”
Max Gao (The AV Club) stated: “Aniston and Reese Witherspoon are a true delight to watch onscreen, and I only wish that we had seen more of them together in these 10 episodes… Jennifer Aniston and Jon Hamm have both brought their effortless charm to shine in their characters’ more romantic moments this season, but it is admittedly a lot more fun when Alex begins looking for ways to outsmart Marks, especially since he somehow doesn’t see it coming at all.”
As a result, we think Aniston will be nominated for Best Drama Actress alongside Imelda Staunton (“The Crown”), Emma Stone (“The Curse”), Anna Sawai (“Shōgun”), Carrie Coon (“The Gilded Age”), and her “The Morning Show” co-star Witherspoon. In fact, we don’t just think Aniston will be nominated — we think she’ll win this entire race.
There are plenty of reasons to follow this train of thought, too, not least the obvious one — Aniston is a hugely respected TV actress. She has eight Emmy nominations, with five of those coming for “Friends.” The first two were for Best Comedy Supporting Actress in 2000 and 2001 and the follow-up three were for Best Comedy Actress in 2002, 2003, and 2004. She then completed the comedy acting trifecta with a Best Comedy Guest Actress bid in 2009 for “30 Rock” before securing her first bid in drama in 2020 — that was for Best Drama Actress for season one of “The Morning Show.” She was also nominated as a producer for Best Pre-Recorded Variety Special in 2021 for “Friends: The Reunion.” Her sole Emmy win came for Best Comedy Actress for “Friends” in 2002.
This extensive Emmys record shows how well-liked she is and the fact that she snagged a bid for “The Morning Show” in 2020 proves that voters also like her as a drama actress in this particular role. That’s crucial.
Aniston’s role in season two of “The Morning Show” wasn’t as effective, however, with many critics lamenting the storyline of her character. The show corrected that with this third season, however, getting her character back on track and giving her much meatier material to work with. In particular, her scenes with Hamm are some of the very best moments of the entire show altogether. That certainly helps her case here.
What also helps her case is the fact that she has already garnered major awards nominations for this role this year. She was nominated for Best Drama Actress at the SAG Awards and the Critics Choice Awards. Those are two huge Emmy precursors that could act as tea leaves for the Emmys.
Voters may also want to hand Aniston another Emmy win. Her last (and only victory) came over 20 years ago and her role on “The Morning Show” marks another phase of her career. This is one of Aniston’s best roles as a dramatic actress — parts like this don’t always come around often and voters may want to take this moment to reward her for it.
Voters also admire it when an actress enters another phase of their career and “reinvents” themselves, so to speak. Plenty of stars have been nominated for Best Drama Actress for roles that reinvigorated their careers, such as Sandra Oh (“Killing Eve”), Laura Linney (“Ozark”), Robin Wright (“House of Cards”), and Kathy Bates (“Harry’s Law”).
Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?
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