This year’s 28 first-time Emmy acting features a striking mix of seasoned veterans and fresh faces — and even an Oscar winner.
The crop of newbies includes The Pitt guest stars Brittany Allen and Jeff Kober, both of whom submitted themselves for Emmy consideration after HBO Max opted not to. Self-submissions occasionally do lead to nominations, but it’s rare. Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones) and Kelly Jenrette (The Handmaid’s Tale) are two recent examples.
The Pitt is the show with the most inaugural Emmy contenders this year — 10 in all. The number includes five supporting players (Patrick Ball, Taylor Dearden, Fiona Dourif, Gerran Howell, and Sepideh Moafi), and five guest stars (Allen, Tal Anderson, Ernest Harden Jr., Tina Ivlev, and Kober).
Youn Yuh-jung, an Oscar winner for Minari (Best Supporting Actress, 2020), received her first Emmy bid this morning for Beef. In fact, the second helping of Netflix’s anthology series is also the reason Carey Mulligan and Charles Melton can now add “Emmy nominee” to their résumés.
Sci-fi hit Pluribus put Karolina Wydra, Carlos-Manuel Vesga, and Miriam Shor on the board as inaugural Emmy nominees.
And horror-comedy Widow’s Bay is also up for a trio of first-time contenders: Dale Dickey, Kate O’Flynn, and Hamish Linklater.
Below, we break down all of the first-timers by Emmy category. We’re including everyone who is new to the Primetime Emmys, regardless of whether they were previously recognized at the Daytime Emmys (like Allen).
BEST COMEDY SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Dale Dickey as Rosemary on Widow’s Bay
Kate O’Flynn as Patricia on Widow’s Bay
Megan Stalter as Kayla Schaeffer on Hacks
BEST COMEDY GUEST ACTOR
Hamish Linklater as Richard Warren on Widow’s Bay
Connor Storrie as host on Saturday Night Live
BEST COMEDY GUEST ACTRESS
Leslie Bibb as Monica on Hacks
Lauren Weedman as Mayor Jo Pezzimenti on Hacks
BEST DRAMA ACTRESS
Chase Infiniti as Agnes on The Testaments
BEST DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTOR
Patrick Ball as Dr. Frank Langdon on The Pitt
Gerran Howell as Dr. Dennis Whitaker on The Pitt
Carlos-Manuel Vesga as Manousos on Pluribus
BEST DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Taylor Dearden as Dr. Mel King on The Pitt
Fiona Dourif as Dr. Cassie McKay on The Pitt
Sepideh Moafi as Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi on The Pitt
Karolina Wydra as Zosia on Pluribus
BEST DRAMA GUEST ACTOR
Ernest Harden Jr. as Louie Cloverfield on The Pitt
Jeff Kober as Duke Ekins on The Pitt
BEST DRAMA GUEST ACTRESS
Brittany Allen as Roxie Hamler on The Pitt
Tal Anderson as Becca King on The Pitt
Tina Ivlev as Ilana Miller on The Pitt
Miriam Shor as Helen on Pluribus
BEST LIMITED/MOVIE ACTOR
Charlie Hunnam as Ed Gein on Monster: The Ed Gein Story
BEST LIMITED/MOVIE ACTRESS
Carey Mulligan as Lindsay on Beef
Sarah Pidgeon as Carolyn Bessette on Love Story
BEST LIMITED/MOVIE SUPPORTING ACTOR
Charles Melton as Austin on Beef
BEST LIMITED/MOVIE SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Joy Sunday as Det. Jodie Plumb on DTF St. Louis
Youn Yuh-jung as Chairwoman Park on Beef
BEST CHARACTER VOICE-OVER
Performers are also recognized annually in the Best Character Voice-Over, Best Narrator, and Best Short Form Acting races. Only one newbie is nominated this year across those three categories: Matt Vogel for his voice-over work as Kermit the Frog on The Muppet Show.
