Reese Witherspoon (‘The Morning Show’) will be Emmy bound again
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Reese Witherspoon is one half of a dynamic duo in Apple TV’s flagship series “The Morning Show,” with off-screen best friend Jennifer Aniston as the other half. The pair play Bradley Jackson and Alex Levy, respectively, in the Apple show, which documents the behind-the-scenes drama of a US morning TV show.
Bradley and Alex are the co-anchors of the show and across the first seasons of “The Morning Show,” they had to deal with the MeToo Movement, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and California wildfires, amongst other things. In the latest edition, season three, they have to wrestle with personal and public affairs including the outing of a fellow anchor, the media merger of their show’s network, UBA, and Alex literally going into space.
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Witherspoon and Aniston continue to make a terrific match, with the moral-driven nature of Witherspoon’s Bradley a great foil for Aniston’s game-playing Alex. Witherspoon, in particular, is a grounding force in this season and it is her performance that allow the zaniness of the rest of the show to work, as noted by critics.
Patrick Ryan (USA Today) explained: “Witherspoon’s exceptional performance grounds the material… She’s deeply affecting in a flashback to the first year of the pandemic, as Bradley quarantines with then-girlfriend Laura Peterson (Julianna Marguiles, making a welcome return to the series). Isolation and a COVID-related death eat away at Bradley, who struggles to let her guard down with Laura.”
Max Gao (The AV Club) opined: “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.”
David Bianculli (NPR) summarized: “Last season, it was Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon who made the serious moments of ‘The Morning Show’ land so well. They’re still doing excellent work here.”
We think Witherspoon will, therefore, land an Emmy nomination this year for Best Drama Actress alongside co-star Aniston as well as Imelda Staunton (“The Crown”), Emma Stone (“The Curse”), Carrie Coon (“The Gilded Age”), and Anna Sawai (“Shōgun”).
Let’s get the obvious thing out of the way first. Don’t worry about the fact that Witherspoon and Aniston (who we think will win this category) are both going for nominations here. Even in lead acting categories, Emmy voters aren’t afraid of doubling up. Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh were both nominated for “Killing Eve” (three times, actually); Olivia Colman and Emma Corrin both snagged bids for “The Crown;” and Frances Conroy and Rachel Griffiths were both cited for “Six Feet Under.” Witherspoon and Aniston could both easily secure nominations in this category.
Crucially, Emmy voters have already proven that they like Witherspoon in this role. She was nominated for Best Drama Actress for season two of “The Morning Show” in 2022. So we know this is a role and performance they like.
They also like Witherspoon in general. She was nominated for Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actress and Best Limited Series in 2017 for “Big Little Lies.” In 2020, she picked up another Best Limited Series bid for “Little Fires Everywhere.” She then earned that aforementioned “The Morning Show” nomination in 2022 before a third Best Limited Series nomination came in 2023/2024 (it was the 2023 Emmys delayed until 2024 due to the writers/actors strikes) for “Daisy Jones and the Six.” Her sole victory came for Best Limited Series for “Big Little Lies.” This is a creative artist Emmy voters like in front of the camera and behind. That could continue here with another bid.
Plus, Witherspoon has already been nominated for a major Emmy precursor this year. She received a Best Drama Actress citation at this year’s Critics Choice TV Awards. That could be a telling Emmy tea leaf.
Emmy voters also don’t usually nominate actresses for the first season of their shows. In the last five years, only seven out of 31 nomination slots have gone to actresses starring in their respective show’s first seasons. They were Zendaya (“Euphoria”) and Aniston (“The Morning Show”) in 2020; Jurnee Smollett (“Lovecraft Country”) in 2021; Melanie Lynskey (“Yellowjackets”) in 2022; Sharon Horgan (“Bad Sisters”), Bella Ramsey (“The Last of Us”), and Keri Russell (“The Diplomat”) in 2023. Every actress was nominated for their show’s second season or beyond the second season.
That is potentially bad news for Witherspoon’s competitors Stone, Coon, and Sawai, who all star in their respective shows’ first seasons. It’s also bad news for the actresses outside of our predicted six nominees hoping to break in. Maya Erskine (“Mr. and Mrs. Smith”), Juliette Binoche (“The New Look”), and Carrie Preston (“Elsbeth”) all also star in their shows’ inaugural first seasons. That could cement Witherspoon’s nomination slot.
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