There’s never been a better time for Emmy voters to recognize ‘Better Call Saul’ fan favorite Rhea Seehorn
“Better Call Saul’s” Emmy woes have been well established by now. But with the first half of the show’s final season now underway, we can’t help but wonder: Will this be the year the “Breaking Bad” prequel finally goes home a winner? More importantly, will this be the year Rhea Seehorn finally receives a bid for Best Drama Supporting Actress after years of outstanding work as Kim Wexler?
For reasons fans and critics alike cannot understand, “Better Call Saul” hasn’t resonated with Emmy voters the way “Breaking Bad” did. The show, from co-creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, has received bids for Best Drama Series for each of its first five seasons, also picking up five nominations for writing and one for directing along the way. Meanwhile, lead actor Bob Odenkirk and supporting actors Jonathan Banks and Giancarlo Esposito have been shortlisted as well. But the show has yet to take home any hardware. And with the exception of a single guest acting nom for Michael McKean, no performer who didn’t also appear on “Breaking Bad” has been recognized for their work. But with the show entering its final two years of eligibility (the second half of Season 6 debuts in July, making it eligible for next year’s cycle), might this be a chance to give the show’s hardest working cast member her due?
As Kim, one of the few central characters whose fate we don’t yet know, Seehorn has long been the best thing about “Better Call Saul.” Initially a grounding presence and a moral conscience for Odenkirk’s Jimmy/Saul, Kim has since broken bad, revealing a new, darker side to the woman we thought we knew. And there has never been a better or more opportune time for Emmy voters to sit up and take notice. Luckily, it seems like that might actually be in the cards.
Seehorn, who also made her TV directing debut with the fourth episode this season, currently sits in fifth place at 13/1 in Gold Derby’s combined odds for Best Drama Supporting Actress. However, she’s got some serious competition this year. “Succession” star (and former Emmy nominee) Sarah Snook leads the field at 9/2 with 10 Experts and five Editors predicting her to win for her performance in the HBO drama’s third season. She leads two-time Emmy winner Julia Garner (11/2) of “Ozark,” who sits in second place for her work in the Netflix drama’s final season. Meanwhile, “Squid Game’s” Jung Ho-yeon (13/2) is in third after picking up the Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance, and J. Smith-Cameron (8/1) of “Succession” is in fourth. Rounding out the rest of the top 10 are Christina Ricci (“Yellowjackets”), Julianna Margulies (“The Morning Show”), Sydney Sweeney (“Euphoria”), Fiona Shaw (“Killing Eve”) and Yuh-Jung Youn (“Pachinko”).
Garner went home triumphant in 2019 and 2020, the last time “Better Call Saul” was eligible, and is likely to score another nomination for the show’s final season. Snook and Shaw were also nominated that year. But the rest of that field, which included women from “The Crown,” “Big Little Lies,” “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Westworld,” are not eligible. And given that three of last year’s slots were filled by women from “The Crown” and another four by the ladies of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” it should go without saying that their absence from the field in 2022 works in Seehorn’s favor.
Furthermore, while this applies more to next year’s Emmys than this year, it likely also helps that Seehorn is running out of time, as it’s not unheard of for voters to nominate (and eventually award) actors as their shows approach the end of their runs. Both Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton received their first nominations for “Friday Night Lights” during the show’s penultimate season, with Chandler going on to win during the high school football drama’s final year of eligibility (a year that was also missing “Breaking Bad” star Bryan Cranston). Similarly, Catherine O’Hara and Eugene Levy scored surprise nominations for the penultimate season of “Schitt’s Creek,” which went on to sweep all seven main comedy categories for its final season.
So, knowing all of this, and knowing what, exactly, Seehorn is capable of, there has been a better opportunity for her to snag an Emmy nomination than there is right now. Hopefully, Emmy voters realize that too.
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