Emmy justice for Timothy Olyphant: A nomination for ‘Justified: City Primeval’
Timothy Olyphant has returned to one of his most beloved roles as he’s donned the boots and spurs once more as Raylan Givens in FX’s “Justified: City Primeval.” Created by Dave Andron and Michael Dinner (and based on Elmore Leonard‘s crime novels “City Primeval” and “Fire in the Hole”), “City Primeval” is a continuation of “Justified,” which ran from 2010 until 2015.
This story follows Raylan working as a US Marshal in Miami while he raises his daughter. However, he eventually ends up in Detroit pursuing an outlaw known as The Oklahoma Wildman, Clement Mansell (Boyd Holbrook). Once again, this world is brought to roaring life by those involved and the charismatic, endlessly watchable Olyphant is a shining light, as noted by critics.
Robert Lloyd (LA Times) explained: “Olyphant keeps him centered, grounded. (And exasperation is an attitude he plays well, often to comic effect.) The more terrifying a situation, the more settled and serene he’s liable to seem. The show is somehow stressful and relaxing at the same time… With his laconic style and gift for dry humor, a toothy smile and ironic glint in his eyes, Olyphant has the presence of an A-list Western star, something of John Wayne, James Stewart, or, especially, Joel McCrea, but pitched to the long-form intimacy of the small screen.”
Nick Schager (The Daily Beast) opined: “It also has Olyphant, who slips comfortably back into Raylan’s Stetson and collection of black and denim jackets. In a prior age, Olyphant would have been John Wayne or Clint Eastwood, and his performance is so formidable and severe, and yet simultaneously sly and playful, that it immediately validates this Wild Wild Midwest reboot.”
Matthew Jackson (Looper) observed: “The wealth of experience on the writing, directing, and producing team, coupled with Olyphant’s own ability to slip right back into Raylan’s Stetson hat, means that there’s an unbroken link between this show and the previous one… This is all wonderfully underscored by several towering performances, led by Olyphant, who imbues an aging Raylan with a measured intensity that allows us to see the tough calculations in his head up close and personal.”
Our current predicted nominees for Best Drama Actor are Gary Oldman (“Slow Horses”), Dominic West (“The Crown”), Hiroyuki Sanada (“Shōgun”), Donald Glover (“Mr. and Mrs. Smith”), Colin Farrell (“Sugar”), and Cosmo Jarvis (“Shōgun”). However, don’t count Olyphant out just yet — there are several reasons to back him breaking into this lineup.
Firstly, he has actually already been nominated for his role as Raylan. He picked up a Best Drama Actor bid in 2011 for “Justified,” proving that awards voters like Olyphant in this category and that they love this character. Now that he has returned to this role in glorious fashion, he could follow that up with a second nomination for this character.
Olyphant was also nominated for Best TV Movie in 2019 as a producer on “Deadwood: The Movie” while he was also cited for Best Drama Guest Actress in 2021 for “The Mandalorian.” That “Mando” nomination is vital here — it’s a recent nomination, showing he still has a lot of currency with Emmy voters while it demonstrates that voters like him as a performer in general.
And the key nominations don’t stop there, either. He was nominated for Best Drama Actor for “City Primeval” at this year’s Critics Choice Awards — that is a tip-top Emmy precursor and it could help him on the way to an Emmy nomination.
Plus, the role itself could appeal to Emmy voters as Olyphant plays a charismatic, watchable, captivating character. Lots of other actors have been nominated for similar roles including the likes of Regé-Jean Page (“Bridgerton”), Sterling K. Brown (“This is Us”), Jeff Daniels (“The Newsroom”), Jon Hamm (“Mad Men”), and Hugh Laurie (“House”).
Action/crime roles also tend to do well in this category, with the likes of Pedro Pascal (“The Last of Us”), Jeff Bridges (“The Old Man”), Jason Bateman (“Ozark”), Liev Schreiber (“Ray Donovan”), Matthew McConaughey (“True Detective”), and Woody Harrelson (“True Detective”) all receiving citations for Best Drama Actor.
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