Next week, Rob Reiner is expected to receive a posthumous Emmy nomination for his guest stint on Season 4 of The Bear. The presumptive nod would be a fitting tribute to the widely admired late filmmaker behind such classics as When Harry Met Sally, The Princess Bride, and Stand by Me and Emmy-winning actor for his breakout role on All in the Family.
But, it turns out, this might not be Reiner’s final crack at the Emmys — he very well could be in the running for a statuette at the 2027 ceremony, thanks to longtime friend Larry David.
On Friday, Reiner’s top-secret final role premiered. Shot last November, just weeks before he and his wife, Michelle, were killed, Reiner played George Washington in David’s new history-skewering HBO sketch series, Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness: An Almost History of America.
In the episode (for which he shaved his signature beard), Reiner plays a retiring President Washington, insisting that the peaceful transfer of power is a hallmark of democracy. That prompts incredulity from those gathered.
“Well, what if there’s some a–hole in office, some narcissistic p—k who doesn’t follow the Constitution?” asks a character played by David. “He could use the presidency to enrich himself and his family. He could send troops into American cities to terrorize and even kill American citizens, all to distract from the fact that he’s friends with a pedophile!”
Things devolve from there as the thinly veiled Trump barrage continues. Jimmy Kimmel steps forward in a cameo: “Are you suggesting that the president would taketh the time to challenge anyone who dare make fun of him? As if he were a big baby?”
As chaos reigns, Reiner-as-Washington becomes chagrinned. “We’re f–ked,” he says as the bit ends and an “in memoriam” card comes up.
According to series showrunner and co-creator Jeff Schaffer, they decided to keep the sketch a secret until its airdate, removing it from episodes screened at the premiere. “It just didn’t feel like the right way to show the world,” Schaffer explained to Variety. “We thought long and hard about where the sketch should air … and ultimately we decided that July 3 was the perfect time. Just let it come out on the Fourth of July weekend, on the 250th, and let it sink in that way.”
Speaking to the Daily Beast, Schaffer added: “I love that in this weird way, Rob gets the last word.” And if the episode “spoils a sad octogenarian’s weekend, so be it.”
Like David and Kimmel, Reiner was an outspoken critic of Donald Trump. The president even took to Truth Social to criticize Reiner following his death, writing that the entertainer was “once very talented” but suffered from “a mind-crippling disease known as Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
Given Reiner’s stature in the industry as a producer, director, actor, mentor, and friend, and the nature of the role, the chances are high for a posthumous nomination for Guest Comedy Actor. A few things stand in the way, however, including the timing of the show — voters will need a long memory to put him on the ballot a year from now — as well the middling critical reception to David’s series, and whether HBO campaigners ultimately decide to submit Reiner’s performance for consideration.
In any event, it’s a good bet the TV Academy will honor Reiner with a nod for his work on The Bear as an entrepreneur named Albert, who helps Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson) formulate a plan to franchise The Beef — an idea that comes to fruition in the series finale.
As you can see by the latest Gold Derby prediction data, Reiner has 95% odds of making the cut for Guest Comedy Actor when nominations are announced Wednesday.
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Brett Goldstein
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