Quinta Brunson (‘Abbott Elementary’) and Ayo Edebiri (‘The Bear’) set for historic SAG Awards showdown
One year after coming up short on her first individual SAG Awards outing against Jean Smart (“Hacks”), Quinta Brunson (“Abbott Elementary”) is 2024’s clear Best TV Comedy Actress frontrunner, according to Gold Derby’s racetrack odds. This time, she could face a direct challenge from “The Bear” cast member Ayo Edebiri, who 90% of our participating users believe will overcome her 2023 solo snub. If this very likely showdown does come to fruition, the two potential nominees will make SAG Awards history as the first pair of Black actresses to ever face off in an individual continuing series category.
Both Brunson and Edebiri’s new SAG Award bids would come for their work on their shows’ second seasons. In its first year, ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” also received a successful Best TV Comedy Ensemble nomination, which made it the first network series to earn recognition in the category since ABC’s “Black-ish” in 2018. “The Bear” – which is an FX on Hulu production – naturally lost the 2023 ensemble contest but did score a solo win for male lead Jeremy Allen White, who is widely expected to triumph again this year.
At this point, Black female TV performers have only individually challenged each other twice in the Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actress category. Both instances involved Kerry Washington, who battled Audra McDonald (“Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill”) in 2017 (“Confirmation”) and Michaela Coel (“I May Destroy You”) in 2021 (“Little Fires Everywhere”). Either Brunson or Edebiri would be only the second Black winner in their category’s three-decade existence, after Uzo Aduba (“Orange is the New Black,” 2015-2016). As of now, Brunson, Aduba, and Vanessa Williams (“Ugly Betty”) are the only Black women who have ever contended for this comedy award.
Our odds indicate that two more Black actresses – “Abbott Elementary’s” Sheryl Lee Ralph and Janelle James – also have realistic shots at clinching their own SAG Award bids this year. Aside from Brunson, Edebiri, and Ralph, the Black TV performers who land within their categories’ top 10s are Aduba (movie/limited actress, “Painkiller”), Dominique Fishback (movie/limited actress, “Swarm”), Idris Elba (drama actor, “Hijack”), and Tyler James Williams (comedy actor, “Abbott Elementary”). Brunson is currently one of two Black frontrunners across all 10 individual TV and film categories, along with Da’Vine Joy Randolph (film supporting actress, “The Holdovers”).
Brunson would emulate Sarah Jessica Parker (“Sex and the City,” 2001), Megan Mullally (“Will & Grace,” 2002), and Catherine O’Hara (“Schitt’s Creek,” 2021) by initially taking this prize on her second try, while Edebiri’s freshman win will have been preceded by 13 others. At 34, Brunson would follow Halle Berry (33, “Introducing Dorothy Dandridge,” 2000) and Aduba (33, 2015) as the third youngest Black TV actress to ever win an individual SAG Award, whereas Edebiri (at 28) would be the all-time youngest Black champion in any TV category. What’s more, their possible showdown has the potential to become the first between Black TV performers to actually produce a win for either person involved.
PREDICT the 2024 SAG Awards nominees through January 10
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