‘Palm Royale’ star Allison Janney is poised to tie Emmy record for most wins
Allison Janney has won a lucky seven Emmys and could well pick up an eighth trophy for her scene-stealing role in Apple TV’s hit comedy series “Palm Royale.” That would tie her with record holders Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Cloris Leachman.
“Palm Royale” is a showcase for the talents of Janney, who is also an Oscar champ and Tony nominee. Abe Sylvia adapted Juliet McDaniel‘s bestseller “Mr. and Mrs. American Pie” novel about the battle between social climber Maxine Dellacorte-Simmon (Kristen Wiig) and doyenne Evelyn Rollins (Janney) in 1969 Palm Beach.
Critics heaped praise on their performances and singled Janney out as the one to watch in a cast that also includes Emmy favorites Carol Burnett and Laura Dern.
Tania Hussain (Collider) noted: “Amid the dysfunction around Evelyn, Janney delivers an enthralling performance that’s rooted in insecurity, especially with Maxine’s arrival. Even though Evelyn can be mean and aloof, Janney’s magnetism keeps her devilishly charming.”
Josh Bell (CBR) opined: “The supporting cast is also excellent, led by Allison Janney as Evelyn Rollins, the reigning queen bee of the Palm Royale country club. Janney is great at playing the confident, manipulative Evelyn, who’s only looking out for herself.”
Emma Fraser (IGN) observed: “Janney is reliably excellent at depicting disdain throughout these first 10 episodes; after years of dominant performances on network series like ‘The West Wing’ and ‘Mom,’ it’s thrilling every time she uses a curse word. When cracks appear in Evelyn’s armor, the actor truly gets to play, taking what could be an incredibly bizarre setup… and ensuring it doesn’t spiral into farce.”
As a result of these rave reviews, we are currently predicting that Janney will be nominated for Best Comedy Supporting Actress alongside Meryl Streep (“Only Murders in the Building”), Hannah Einbinder (“Hacks”), Sheryl Lee Ralph (“Abbott Elementary”), Abby Elliot (“The Bear”), Janelle James (“Abbott Elementary”), and Liza Colon-Zayas (“The Bear”).
This is no surprise — Janney is an Emmy darling. She has racked up a whopping 15 nominations to date. She won consecutive awards for Best Drama Supporting Actress for “The West Wing” in 2000 and 2001. She then won a third Emmy in a row for that Aaron Sorkin political drama — this time for Best Drama Actress in 2002. She picked up three more Best nominations in lead (2003, 2004, and 2006) with a win in 2004.
Janney then pulled off the same dual nominations in three consecutive years (2014 – 2016): Best Comedy Supporting Actress for “Mom” and Best Drama Guest Actress for “Masters of Sex.” She won for “Mom” in 2014 and 2015 and for “Masters of Sex” in 2014. Janney then moved up to lead for “Mom” in 2017, 2018, and 2021.
Janney is a high-profile star in a scene-stealing role. This is a combination Emmy voters love in this category with recent such examples including Olivia Colman (“Fleabag”), Betty White (“Hot in Cleveland”), and Jean Smart (“Samantha Who?”).
Let’s also address the fact that Janney is competing against not just one but two co-stars for a nomination in this category: fellow Oscar-winner Dern and TV legend Burnett. That shouldn’t matter, though. Emmy voters have proven time and time again that they don’t mind nominating multiple from the same show in this category.
In fact, there have been at least two shows with at least two stars nominated in this category in each of the last 10 years.
Recent such examples include Juno Temple, Hannah Waddingham, and Sarah Niles (“Ted Lasso”); Janelle James and Sheryl Lee Ralph (“Abbott Elementary”); Aidy Bryant, Kate McKinnon, and Cecily Strong (“Saturday Night Lives”); Borstein and Marin Hinkle (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”); and Sian Clifford and Colman (“Fleabag”).
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