Emmy Winner Predictions: Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Nominees are pictured and listed in alphabetical order. Submitted episode titles are in parentheses. Beware of spoilers for listed episodes.

Christine Baranski as Diane Lockhart, The Good Wife (Bang)
Baranski is an Emmy veteran who won in 1995 on her first of eight nominations, which includes a second nod this year for her guest spot on “The Big Bang Theory.” Last time, she won for supporting comedy work. Her episode is a strong one that introduces a ballistics expert love interest for her, and her toughest competition will be her breakout costar Panjabi.

Rose Byrne as Ellen Parsons, Damages (Your Secrets Are Safe)
This is the first year that Byrne can be legitimately considered a supporting actress, and in my review of her submitted episode, I even said that this is the least annoying I’ve found her yet. The premiere doesn’t give her much material to work with, so I’d be surprised if she won, but it could happen now after many people she was deserving the past two years.

Sharon Gless as Madeline Westen, Burn Notice (Devil You Know)
Gless is a two-time Emmy winner for her work on “Cagney & Lacey” back in the 1980s, and received the first-non technical nomination “Burn Notice” has ever gotten. There’s some disagreement about the strength of her episode, but I think that the season finale gave her some great stuff to do. This race has gone to veterans recently – like Cherry Jones and Dianne Wiest – so Gless could easily be next.

Christina Hendricks as Joan Holloway, Mad Men (Guy Walks into an Advertising Agency)
Holloway was snubbed for the first two years of her show and now she’s finally in the running. She hit the jackpot with her submission (I described this episode in my review as a great showcase of her acting abilities), where she demonstrates that she’s the stronger partner in her marriage. She could well win, but she’ll have to watch out for her nominated costar…

Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson, Mad Men (Love Among the Ruins)
After getting nominated in the lead category last year, Moss dropped down to the supporting race this year. She picked a brilliant episode, where she has to deal with being a woman in a man’s world. She didn’t have much hope of winning last year, but in a new category the possibilities are infinitely higher. She’s on the younger spectrum of nominees in this category, but she’s been acting for a while and that shouldn’t hurt her.

Archie Panjabi as Kalinda Sharma, The Good Wife (Hi)
The breakout star of CBS’ hit drama scored a surprising nomination and might be competitive for the win if viewers have seen the whole first season of her show. It’s a good chance for her to do investigate reporting and also get called on to testify, but it’s hardly as snarky and entertaining as some of her other work. Like she was on the nominations ballot, she’s a dark horse.

Who should win (based on entire season): Moss (my ballot)
Who should win (based on individual episodes) : Hendricks or Moss
Who will win: The most unpredictable race of all. I’ll guess Gless or Hendricks.

Next up: Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series