Do co-stars nominated for the same Emmy hurt or help each other’s chances of winning?
Rising tides raise all ships, or so goes the cliché. In Emmy terms, that means the more awards your show gets, the better it is for everyone who works on the show. But how does that translate when you’re going head-to-head with your costar? On this week’s episode of Push The Envelope, our editor-in chief, Patrick Gomez; managing editor, Erik Adams; and TV editor, Danette Chavez discuss the pros and cons of being nominated alongside a colleague at the 2020 Primetime Emmy Awards.
Today’s episode of the podcast—which features interviews with A Black Lady Sketch Show’s Robin Thede and What We Do In The Shadows writer Stefani Robinson—centers on all the comedy categories. Among that batch of nominees, there are four pairs of co-stars nominated against each other (in the image above); two directors (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino); two Schitt’s Creek writers (Dan Levy and David West Read); and the writers of three What We Do In The Shadow scripts (Sam Johnson and Chris Marcil, Paul Simms, and Stefani Robinson).
“I think it’s going to be interesting to see Alex Borstein up against her co-star Marin Hinkle—that could end up creating some room for someone like [The Good Place’s] D’Arcy Carden,” Chavez says of the Maisel co-stars possibly splitting the vote in the supporting actress category. But sometimes direct comparison between co-stars can give one of them an edge, as might happen between Dead To Me’s Linda Cardellini and Christina Applegate. “It’s good to see Linda Cardellini get the same recognition as Christina Applegate,” says Chavez. “I actually think Linda Cardellini’s role is more difficult pull off because she lends more of the comic relief on the show, and it can be intimating to do that opposite Christina Applegate who is just this tower of fury and grief.”
There are of course many factors to consider, including which episodes each actor submitted or if writers worked on a finale or mid-season episode—all of which are discussed on this week’s Push The Envelope. You can stream the podcast here or access it wherever you get your podcasts.
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