One year ago, like Claire Foy before her, Olivia Colman won the Best Drama Actress Emmy for her second and final season as the star of “The Crown,” and thus is out of contention in that category this year. Indeed, the entire drama actress lineup (which included Colman’s costar, Emma Corrin) will look different this time.
Elisabeth Moss is the only 2021 nominee eligible to return, albeit for “Shining Girls” rather than “The Handmaid’s Tale” (for which she won in 2017). This new series would be the third for which she has received a drama actress nomination, with the first having been “Mad Men.”
Two more previous winners – Jodie Comer (“Killing Eve”) and Zendaya (“Euphoria”) – are back in the running this year after their shows’ brief hiatuses. Past nominees looking for another shot at glory are Jennifer Aniston (“The Morning Show”), Laura Linney (“Ozark”), Mandy Moore (“This Is Us”), and Sandra Oh (“Killing Eve”).
Actresses hoping for bids for new drama series include Carrie Coon (“The Gilded Age”) and “Yellowjackets” trio Tawny Cypress, Juliette Lewis, and Melanie Lynskey.
Scroll through our photo gallery of 2022 Emmy predictions for Lead Actress (Drama Series).
-
Zendaya, ‘Euphoria’ – Season 2
Image Credit: HBO Network: HBO
Role: Rue Bennett, a drug-addicted high school student with no intention of recovering.
Emmys history:
Won for Season 1 (2020) -
Laura Linney, ‘Ozark’ – Season 4
Image Credit: Netflix Network: Netflix
Role: Wendy Byrde, who actively participates in her husband’s money laundering enterprises.
Emmys history:
Nominated for Seasons 2-3 (2019-2020) -
Melaine Lynskey, ‘Yellowjackets’ – Season 1
Image Credit: Kailey Schwerman/Showtime Network: Showtime
Role: Shauna, a stay-at-home-mom who is frequently haunted by the 19 months she spent as a teenager stranded in the Canadian wilderness.
-
Jennifer Aniston, ‘The Morning Show’ – Season 2
Image Credit: Apple TV+ Network: Apple TV+
Role: Alex Levy, the former co-host of a New York morning show who is coaxed back into the business.
Emmys history:
Nominated for Season 1 (2020) -
Jodie Comer, ‘Killing Eve’ – Season 4
Image Credit: Anika Molnar/BBCA Network: BBC America
Role: Villanelle, a talented assassin who is inextricably linked to an MI6 agent.
Emmys history:
Won for Season 2 (2019)
Nominated for Season 3 (2020) -
Sandra Oh, ‘Killing Eve’ – Season 4
Image Credit: BBC America Network: BBC America
Role: Eve Polastri, a security officer who obsesses over a skillful assassin.
Emmys history:
Nominated for Seasons 1-3 (2018-2020) -
Mandy Moore, ‘This Is Us’ – Season 6
Image Credit: NBC Network: NBC
Role: Rebecca Pearson, the mother of three adult children who frequently look back on their childhoods.
Emmys history:
Nominated for Season 3 (2019) -
Carrie Coon, ‘The Gilded Age’ – Season 1
Image Credit: HBO Network: HBO
Role: Bertha Russell, a newly rich woman attempting to break into New York’s social scene in the 1880s.
-
Christine Baranski, ‘The Good Fight’ – Season 5
Image Credit: Paramount+ Network: Paramount+
Role: Diane Lockhart, a lawyer who has built a new career after losing the job she held on “The Good Wife.”
-
Reese Witherspoon, ‘The Morning Show’ – Season 2
Image Credit: Apple TV+ Network: Apple TV+
Role: Bradley Jackson, the co-host of a New York morning show who is often disrespected by her superiors.
-
Elisabeth Moss, ‘Shining Girls’ – Season 1
Image Credit: Apple TV+ Network: Apple TV+
Role: Kirby Mazrachi, a proposed victim of a time-traveling contract killer who finds herself able to fight back.
-
Caitríona Balfe, ‘Outlander’ – Season 6
Image Credit: Starz Network: Starz
Role: Claire Fraser, a World War II nurse who has traveled back to the 1700s and found love and adventure with a Scottish warrior.
-
Katja Herbers, ‘Evil’ – Season 2
Image Credit: Elizabeth Fisher/CBS Network: Paramount+
Role: Kristen Bouchard, a forensic psychologist who investigates supernatural occurrences.
-
Simone Ashley, ‘Bridgerton’ – Season 2
Image Credit: Liam Daniel/Netflix Network: Netflix
Role: Kate Sharma, a love interest for eldest Bridgerton sibling Anthony.
-
Octavia Spencer, ‘Truth Be Told’ – Season 2
Image Credit: Apple TV+ Network: Apple TV+
Role: Poppy Parnell, a true crime podcast host who finds herself wrapped up in a murder case.
-
Angela Bassett, ‘9-1-1’ – Season 5
Image Credit: Fox Network: Fox
Role: Athena Grant-Nash, a patrol sergeant working for the Los Angeles Police Department
-
Rosamund Pike, ‘The Wheel of Time’ – Season 1
Image Credit: Amazon Network: Amazon
Role: Moiraine Damodred, a powerful woman searching for a dragon with the ability to save the world.
-
Queen Latifah, ‘The Equalizer’ – Season 2
Image Credit: CBS Network: CBS
Role: Robyn McCall, a former CIA operative who now fights crime in New York City as a vigilante.
-
Uma Thurman, ‘Suspicion’ – Season 1
Image Credit: Apple TV+ Network: Apple TV+
Role: Katherine Newman, an American media mogul whose son is kidnapped in London.
-
Aunjanue Ellis, ’61st Street’ – Season 1
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety Network: AMC
Role: Martha Roberts, the wife of a lawyer whose new teenage client is suspected of being a gang member.
-
Juliette Lewis, ‘Yellowjackets’ – Season 1
Image Credit: Kailey Schwerman/Showtime Network: Showtime
Role: Natalie, a drug addict who is frequently haunted by the 19 months she spent as a teenager stranded in the Canadian wilderness.
-
Rutina Wesley, ‘Queen Sugar’ – Season 6
Image Credit: Oprah Winfrey Network Network: Oprah Winfrey NetworkRole: Nova Bordelon, a journalist who has recently inherited part of a sugarcane farm from her deceased father.
-
Amanda Collin, ‘Raised by Wolves’ – Season 2
Image Credit: HBO Max Network: HBO Max
Role: Mother, an android responsible for raising human children on a new planet after Earth’s destruction.
-
Lauren Ambrose, ‘Servant’ – Season 3
Image Credit: Apple TV+ Network: Apple TV+
Role: Dorothy Turner, a reporter whose deceased baby has recently been resurrected.
-
More Emmy Predictions
Image Credit: A.T.A.S. Emmy statuette trophy atmosphere
