When Rhea Seehorn won the Golden Globe earlier this year for Pluribus, it confirmed what many were already suspecting: a long-delayed first Emmy victory could be just around the corner.
That suspicion was furthered on Emmy nominations morning, when the rookie Apple TV series racked up a whopping 18 bids, including Seehorn in Best Drama Actress. She previously earned two supporting nominations for her prior Vince Gilligan collaboration, Better Call Saul (2022 and 2023).
Now, according to Gold Derby’s odds, she’s the favorite to win on her first go in the lead actress category. This is actually Seehorn’s fourth bid overall, as she competed in the short form race for Cooper’s Bar (2022), making her overdue for some Emmy hardware.
Drama Actress
1.
2.
Keri Russell
The Diplomat
3.
4.
Carrie Coon
The Gilded Age
5.
Chase Infiniti
The Testaments
It’s not surprising that Seehorn is the Emmy front-runner, considering a Golden Globe victory for a first-season show has often translated into an Emmy win later that same year. After all, a strong acceptance speech at the Globes tends to stick in the minds of Emmy voters.
Just ask Jeremy Allen White, who won the first of three Golden Globes as Best TV Comedy Actor for The Bear ahead of back-to-back Emmys successes (2023-24). The same thing happened to Jason Sudeikis, who won matching Golden Globes and Emmys for the first two seasons of Ted Lasso (2021-22).
In 2018, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel star Rachel Brosnahan followed the Golden Globes-to-Emmys path in Best TV Comedy Actress. She won a second Globe for Maisel the next year, but came up short at the Emmys against Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who then followed the similarly successful Emmy-to-Golden Globe route.
Donald Glover took home the Golden Globe as Best TV Comedy Actor for the first season of Atlanta in 2017 before clinching an Emmy that same year. His Emmys predecessor, back-to-back Transparent champ Jeffrey Tambor, kicked off his awards run at the 2015 Golden Globes for that show’s debut season.
In 2011 and 2012, Claire Danes took home hardware at the Globes and Emmys as Best TV Drama Actress for the first two seasons of Homeland. In 2008, Glenn Close won that prize at the Globes for the debut season of Damages, later claiming back-to-back Emmys in 2008 and 2009.
On the comedy side, Ugly Betty star America Ferrera kicked off her awards run at the 2007 Golden Globes, leading to her eventual Emmy triumph. Ditto Tony Shalhoub, who used a 2003 Globes victory for Monk as a springboard for three Emmy victories (2003, 2005, and 2006).
Although Seehorn gave a great acceptance speech at the Globes, her chief rival, Keri Russell, gave an even more recent oration at the Actor Awards, where she won her first prize for The Diplomat. With six previous losses under her belt (three for The Americans, three for The Diplomat as star and producer), Russell is just as overdue for some Emmy love, and benefits from her show having an uptick in nominations this year from two to seven. (Russell also competes as a producer in Best Drama Series.)
Interestingly enough, one show Russell never earned an Emmy nomination for was Felicity, despite winning the Golden Globe for the first season in 1999. Considering Seehorn actually got nominated for Pluribus, she at least has that working in her favor.
