Having bagged back-to-back Best Drama Supporting Actress Emmys for her turn as firecracker Ruth Langmore on “Ozark” in 2019 and 2020, Julia Garner is currently tied with seven other performers as the third most-nominated actors in the category. Should she now nab a third statuette for the Netflix drama’s fourth and final season, she would enter Emmy record territory by tying Ellen Corby (“The Waltons”) at three wins — though Nancy Marchand (“Lou Grant”) would remain the category’s all-time leader at four wins.
Here are the seven people with whom Garner is presently tied as the category’s third most-decorated actors at two wins:
1. Bonnie Bartlett: “St. Elsewhere” (1986-87)
2. Tyne Daly: “Christy” (1996) and “Judging Amy” (2003)
3. Blythe Danner: “Huff” (2005-06)
4. Anna Gunn: “Breaking Bad” (2013-14)
5. Allison Janney: “The West Wing” (2000-01)
6. Kristy McNichol: “Family” (1977, 1979)
7. Maggie Smith: “Downton Abbey” (2012, 2016)
Of this group, the only two actors to not receive additional nominations in this category are Danner and Janney, but that’s because “Huff” only lasted two seasons and Janney competed in lead — where she converted two of four bids to wins — for “The West Wing” starting in 2002. Daly has the most additional bids with one for “Christy” (1995) and five for “Judging Amy” (2000-02, 2004-05), trailed by Smith, who earned two other noms for “Downton Abbey” (2013-14). The other three all reaped one more nom apiece for their aforementioned series — Bartlett in 1988; Gunn in 2012; and McNichol in 1978.
As of this writing, Garner, who is in second place in our drama supporting actress odds, is poised to follow in Barlett’s, Gunn’s and McNichol’s footsteps by picking up a third nom for “Ozark,” but will she be able to pull off what those three weren’t by actually going three-for-three for wins? Even though Corby and Marchand managed to rack up third — and in Marchand’s case, fourth — Emmys for “The Waltons” (1973, 1975-76) and “Lou Grant” (1978, 1980-82), respectively, they did so under a completely different voting system. By winning a third time for “Ozark,” Garner would accomplish a completely unprecedented feat, as no actor across any acting category has bagged three Emmys for one show since the TV academy switched from a ranked ballot to a popular vote system to select the winners in 2016.
But if you had to bet on someone to finally achieve this hat trick, the smart money would probably be on Garner. Having nabbed two victories is no small feat for the 28-year-old performer, notably the only “Ozark” cast member to have scooped up an acting Emmy for the show. (Co-star Jason Bateman has also won a trophy, but for directing.)
Now, she is red hot following the release of the show’s fourth installment, whose 14 episodes were divided into two parts, which debuted January 21 and April 29. The savvy release strategy has allowed Garner to sustain buzz throughout the entire second half of this year’s Emmy cycle. This buzz coupled with the fact that this is voters’ last chance to acknowledge Garner for playing Ruth could be exactly what she needs to be tipped over the edge for this season — one that is basically an extended Emmy clip for the actor.
It doesn’t hurt that this year also saw Garner take on a completely different role in another uber-popular Netflix title, “Inventing Anna.” Released on February 11, the true-crime limited series came out at the perfect time, sandwiched between the two parts of “Ozark’s” final outing, and stars Garner as Soho scammer Anna Delvey. Regardless of whether the actor, who is presently in eighth place in our limited series/TV movie actress odds, ends up landing a nom for the show, her one-two punch of commanding but polar-opposite performances could give her an additional boost for “Ozark.”
Rounding out the Top 8 in our drama supporting actress odds are Sarah Snook (“Succession”) in pole position, Jung Ho-Yeon (“Squid Game”) in third place, J. Smith-Cameron (“Succession”) in fourth, Rhea Seehorn (“Better Call Saul”) in fifth, Christina Ricci (“Yellowjackets”) in sixth, Julianna Margulies (“The Morning Show”) in seventh and Sydney Sweeney (“Euphoria”) in eighth.
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