Why Meghann Fahy (‘The White Lotus’) could pull off Emmy shocker over co-star Jennifer Coolidge

“The White Lotus” proved popular with the TV academy again this year, with its Sicily-centric season earning a whopping 23 Emmy nominations, contributing to HBO’s prestige as the most acknowledged platform. Specifically, the show was strong with the acting branch and makes up half the slots in Best Drama Supporting Actor and five of the eight in Drama Supporting Actress. Meghann Fahy was singled out in the latter category along with four co-stars: Jennifer Coolidge, Aubrey Plaza, Sabrina Impacciatore and Simona Tabasco. They are joined by Rhea Seehorn (“Better Call Saul”), J. Smith-Cameron (“Succession”) and Elizabeth Debicki (“The Crown”). While Coolidge leads Gold Derby’s odds to repeat for the role of Tanya McQuoid-Hunt, pundits shouldn’t count out her colleagues, particularly Fahy as the complicated Daphne Sullivan. 

SEE Meghann Fahy (The White Lotus): Emmys 2023 episode submission revealed

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Adrian Horton (The Guardian) refers to Fahy’s performance as “deceptively layered” and “the most surprising and rewarding performance in a season of top to bottom great ones.” When discussing Fahy’s pivotal scene in the finale where Plaza’s character reveals her husband’s affair, Kevin Fallon (The Daily Beast) said, “Fahy has been a revelation this season, especially in this scene. There’s a look on her face as Plaza says this: one of defiance, offense, stoicism, heartbreak, and certitude all at once.” Patrick Gunn (Collider) called her “brilliant” and wrote, “Fahy knew exactly what she was doing in every scene, and she snuck up on us with one of the season’s best performances.”

Despite these lauds from critics, many people still have Coolidge out front. Her popularity and social magnetism are certainly formidable, but if nominations are any indication, her storyline was not the most beloved by the academy. Only Coolidge earned recognition from her central storyline, and it wasn’t for lack of talent. Tom Hollander, Haley Lu Richardson and Leo Woodall would have all been worthy nominees. In contrast, all four actors from Fahy’s love-square storyline received individual bids with Plaza, Will Sharpe and Theo James. Clearly, that was the storyline voters were most entranced by. I can’t deny Coolidge’s strength, but if voters are enthralled with the love-square story, it’s hard to envision the academy passing up the opportunity to pick an actress from it. While Plaza is still in this race, Fahy may have the edge with a fan-favorite performance.

Fahy is currently fifth in Gold Derby’s odds, just behind Plaza with Coolidge way out front. This reminds me of last year’s Emmy race for Best Comedy Supporting Actress. Going into the ceremony, eventual winner Sheryl Lee Ralph (“Abbott Elementary”) was positioned in fourth behind co-star Janelle James, with Hannah Waddingham (“Ted Lasso”) dominating. A lot of predictors were sticking with Waddingham because of her previous win and even had James’ more scene-stealing performance ranked above Ralph’s nuanced turn. Voters ended up appreciating Ralph’s masterful work and this year they may similarly support Fahy’s achievement.

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