2024 Emmy Predictions: Best TV Movie/Limited Series Supporting Actor
Hot off his Best Supporting Actor Oscar win for “Oppenheimer,” Robert Downey Jr. has a shot at clinching his first Emmy for his featured turn on the HBO limited series “The Sympathizer.” However, given that his program wasn’t generally well received by the TV academy, he faces the very real possibility of losing in this case, most likely to Critics Choice Award recipient Jonathan Bailey of Showtime’s “Fellow Travelers.”
All but one of the seven men currently seeking the Best TV Movie/Limited Series Supporting Actor prize are new to the category, with the odd one out being posthumous contender Treat Williams (“Feud: Capote vs. The Swans”). As it happens, Downey is the only other one who had ever earned Emmy recognition prior to this year.
In order to make sense of this potentially tight race, let’s take a closer look at each nominee. Be sure to make your predictions in this and 24 other Primetime Emmy categories by September 15.
Jonathan Bailey as Tim Laughlin (“Fellow Travelers”)
Bailey’s first Emmy nomination comes four years after he began playing his breakthrough role of Anthony on Netflix’s “Bridgerton.” In this adaptation of Thomas Mallon’s novel of the same name, he appears opposite lead contender Matt Bomer as a U.S. congressional staffer whose secret romance with a State Department official spans multiple decades.
Robert Downey Jr. as various characters (“The Sympathizer”)
Like 2021 “Hamilton” nominees Daveed Diggs and Anthony Ramos, Downey has received this single notice for his portrayal of multiple characters, all of whom serve as antagonists to a young 1970s communist spy known as the Captain (Hoa Xuande). The sole previous entry on his Emmys resume came in 2001 for his comedic supporting performance on “Ally McBeal.”
Tom Goodman-Hill as Darrien O’Connor (“Baby Reindeer”)
Three decades into his acting career, Goodman-Hill has caught the TV academy’s attention as a predatory writer who takes advantage of series protagonist Donny Dunn (Richard Gadd). He appears in just two episodes of the seven-part program, which Gadd adapted from his autobiographical one-man show of the same name.
John Hawkes as Hank Prior (“True Detective: Night Country”)
As a concurrent Best Music and Lyrics nominee for the “True Detective” song “No Use,” Hawkes directly follows John Mulaney (“Documentary Now!” and “Saturday Night Live,” 2019) as the latest male recipient of same-year songwriting and acting mentions. On the fourth iteration of this anthology series, he plays an Alaska police captain whose corruption drives a wedge between him and his son, who shares his profession.
Lamorne Morris as Witt Farr (“Fargo”)
“New Girl” alum Morris follows Colin Hanks, Jesse Plemons, Bokeem Woodbine, and David Thewlis as the fifth “Fargo” cast member to compete in this category. His character is introduced in the fifth season as a conscientious North Dakota state trooper who becomes irrevocably entangled in a case involving a kidnapping victim with a dark past.
Lewis Pullman as Calvin Evans (“Lessons in Chemistry”)
At 31, Pullman is the youngest actor in this bunch and could follow Scott Jacoby (“That Certain Summer”) and Michael A. Goorjian (“David’s Mother”) as the third youngest recipient of this particular honor. He is seen in six of this period series’ eight episodes as a scientific researcher who falls in love with protagonist Elizabeth Zott (Brie Larson).
Treat Williams as William S. Paley (“Feud: Capote vs. The Swans”)
Playing the real-life former president of CBS, Williams follows 2017 hopefuls Alfred Molina and Stanley Tucci as the third man to receive a notice in this category for his work on “Feud.” The former nominee for 1996’s “The Late Shift” immediately follows Ray Liotta (“Black Bird”) on a list of just nine performers who were posthumously recognized for supporting roles on non-continuing programs.
So, who will win the 2024 Emmy for Best TV Movie/Limited Series Supporting Actor? While Bailey’s Gold Derby user support rate of just under 68% puts him an average of 10 points behind every other movie/limited acting frontrunner, his 44-point lead over all of his direct competitors makes him a pretty safe bet. Indeed, the fact that he and Downey swiftly switched places in our ranking on nominations day speaks to the passion that has been building behind his performance since the CCA honored it in January.
Both Bailey and Downey are counting on following in the footsteps of this category’s 2023 champ, Paul Walter Hauser (“Black Bird”), by triumphing despite the fact that their programs are not up for Best Limited Series. While the overall rareness of such occurrences leaves an opening for one of the other five candidates to snatch the gold, it’s wisest to expect Bailey to go all the way.
PREDICT the 2024 Emmy winners through September 15
Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?