Before Emmy Gold: Outstanding Supporting Actress In a Limited or Anthology Series

Another year, another great year in TV! I’m here to unpack the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie and the performances that came before these amazing women landed their 2026 nominations. The Emmys decided not to air this category as part of the televised broadcast on Monday, September 14th. Instead, they announced the winner this past weekend at the Creative Arts ceremonies. The Emmy went to none other than TV veteran Linda Cardellini for her performance in the HBO series DTF St. Louis.

This was a tough category, and I had a few performances I loved among these nominees. The nominees include TV veterans, international icons, newcomers, and everyone in between. Now it’s time to dive into the performances that deserve a shout out aside from the fantastic work that got them nominated this year. 

Linda Cardellini

Nominated For: DTF St. Louis (Winner)

Previous Nominations: 3 – Outstanding Comedy Series (Dead To Me) – 2020, Outstanding Comedy Series (Dead To Me) – 2020, Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (Mad Men) – 2013

Hidden Gem: Bloodline

TV lovers have watched Linda Cardellini grow up on screen for decades. From her breakout role in the beloved short-lived series Freaks and Geeks as angsty teen Lindsay Weir to her role as single mom and ER nurse Samantha Taggart. Throughout the course of her career, Cardellini has proven herself as a versatile actress, but the throughline that I most appreciate is how she brings humor to her projects, whether wearing the worst perm ever as the scene stealing stepdaughter who’s accused of murdering her husband in Legally Blonde or playing up the dark humor and hijinks in Dead to Me. 

For me, the criminally underrated Netflix show Bloodline really showcases what Cardellini can do. As Meg Rayburn, there’s a level of control that she possesses as an A-type. She’s the one that family depends on, but as the series goes on we slowly get a chance to see the deep cracks as her cool and collected veneer slowly deteriorates over time. 

Her latest project DTF St Louis, which she just won an Emmy for, sees her as Carol, a woman caught in the middle of a complicated love triangle that turns deadly. The actress can play different shades of humor because she always plays to the truth of the moment, which makes her shine. It’s that same deadpan humor she had in Dead to Me but she exudes a quirky quality in DTF that makes this performance utterly unique, right down to the comically large umpire outfit her character wears. And still, as in all of her characters, there are layers there. She’s calculating, demanding, and unpredictable, which makes this a performance you can’t take your eyes off of. 

Dakota Fanning

Nominated For: All Her Fault

Previous Nominations:  1 – Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie (Ripley) – 2024

Hidden Gem: The Runaways

The minute Dakota Fanning made her breakout debut in I Am Sam, there was a sense that she was so special that we would be watching her for a long time. When most kids were learning simple arithmetic, she was earning critical praise for acting alongside Sean Penn in the aforementioned movie at 7. She could cry on cue, handle emotionally demanding material with adult themes, and had a sense of wisdom that most adults don’t have. A few years later, she followed that performance up by holding her own with Denzel Washington in Man On Fire. While some child actors get frozen in time or pigeonholed, Fanning has only gotten better at her craft and seamlessly transitioned from child actor to adult roles. From Brimstone as Liz, a woman who’s suffered abuse from a preacher, to her quiet and restrained performance in the Netflix series Ripley as Marge, she has a depth to her that makes me feel like I’m discovering something new about her as a performer with every new role she takes on, especially in Ripley. 

Her Hidden Gem is The Runaways. While the film got early buzz outside of the Sundance Film Festival, not enough people saw it. However, it really marked a turning point in Dakota’s career. In the film, she played Cherie, the lead singer in the rock band, to Kristen Stewart’s Joan Jett. It was a raw performance that earned her attention as a young adult. While Ripley might be her most critically acclaimed performance, it’s The Runaways that proved that she had staying power.

This year, she’s a double nominee. In  Peacock’s All Her Fault, Fanning plays Jenny, a concerned friend who’s incidentally connected to Marissa’s son Milo’s disappearance. It’s the first time we’ve seen Fanning play a mother, and it’s a welcome change as we see her tackle material that unpacks the demands working moms face and the anxiety it brings. While Sarah Snook’s Marissa is the central part of the story, it’s nice to see Fanning find something new to discover in this role. 

Laurie Metcalf – Monster: The Ed Gein Story

Previous Nominations: 12 –  Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series (Roseanne) – 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2018, Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series (3rd Rock From The Sun) – 1999, Comedy Series (Monk) – 2006, Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series (Desperate Housewives) – 2007, Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series (The Big Bang Theory)- 2016, Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series (Getting On) – 2016, Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series (Horace and Pete) – 2016,  Outstanding Guest Actress In A Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series (Hacks) – 2022

Hidden Gem: Getting On 

What is there left to say about an acting legend like Laurie Metcalf? There’s no challenge she won’t take on, there’s no stone left unturned in her career, and yet watching her in new projects, feels like she’s discovering something new about her ability and pushing herself, whether it’s in the sitcom Roseanne or The Conners in her Emmy Award winning role as Aunt Jackie, on stage in her Tony winning performance in Death Of A Salesman, playing a formiddable presence, a new twist on the usual wallflower Linda Loman, or in Netflix’s Big Mistakes as the scene stealing overbearing matriarch, who’s both hilariously frenetic and infuriating.  

It was a struggle to find a true hidden gem for Metcalf since her career has been written about for decades, and because she’s so loved in mainstream media, but I decided to go with the HBO series Getting On. In the medical dark comedy, Metcalf played Dr. Jenna James, the director of the geriatric wing. While she was able to portray a terse, dysfunctional character in a high stakes situation — her specialty —  it was nice to see the actress in a true television ensemble again.

This year, she’s nominated for Netflix’s Monster: The Ed Gein Story as serial killer Ed Gein’s harsh mother. Her performance anchors the whole series, as the dysfunctional mother and son relationship is the catalyst for Ed Gein’s origin story. As Augusta, she plays Gein’s abusive, ultra-religious mother who loves her son through psychological torture. As gruesome a watch as it is, her chemistry with Charlie Hunnam (Ed Gein) is worth the watch. It’s worth mentioning that she’s also a double nominee this year. 

Joy Sunday – DTF St. Louis

Previous Nominations: Her first

Hidden Gem: Wednesday

Joy Sunday’s big breakout role was in the Netflix series Wednesday as Bianca Barclay, the frenemy of Wednesday Addams. In the show, Bianca’s supernatural power is that she can hypnotize people with the sound of her voice. In season 2, we get a deeper look at Bianca as it showcases her dynamic with her mother explores the darker side of her power, and sees her pair up with Wednesday to take down Dort. While Wednesday isn’t technically a hidden gem, it’s Sunday’s first mainstream exposure in a real way.  

In DTF St. Louis, she plays Detective Jodie Plumb, the lead detective on the murder case, who is skeptical of Carol and her role in Floyd’s death. In the role, Sunday holds her own against Richard Jenkins, who plays her partner on the case. She’s the smartest one in the room, and with this performance Sunday brings a quiet intensity, especially in the interrogation scenes with Jason Bateman’s Clark. It’s a performance that makes me excited to see what she’s working on next.  

Youn Yuh-jung – Beef

Previous Nominations: Her first

Hidden Gem: Minari

Youn Yuh-jung is one of Korea’s most iconic actresses. She’s been acting for decades and is a revered actress. She didn’t gain notoriety in the US until her breakout role in Minari, which earned her an Academy Award in 2020. Not only did Minari signal her first mainstream role, but she became the first Korean actress to win an Academy Award. In the film, she played Soonja a potty-mouthed grandma, whose bond with her small grandson David, is heartwarming and, in my eyes, the beating heart of the movie. I picked this performance as her hidden gem because it’s the first time I was exposed to Yuh-jung’s incredible talent and I think more people should see it. 

In Netflix’s Beef, the actress plays Chairwoman Park, a wealthy owner of the country club that Joshua Martin works at. While Beef is a high stakes show complete with frenetic scenes between the two couples Joshua and Lindsay, Ashley and Austin, Yuh-jung’s quiet but powerful presence anchors the tone and brings it back down to earth. Through her monologues and the character’s relationship with Dr. Kim, she often spoke to the power dynamics explored throughout the show.

Constance Zimmer – Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette

Previous Nominations: 1 – Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (UnREAL) – 2016

Hidden Gem: UnREAL

And last but certainly not least in my book is Constance Zimmer, who gives an incredible performance in Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette. My favorite kind of performance is when I get to watch an actress who I think I know do something completely different from their wheelhouse. Despite already loving her roles in UnREAL, Entourage, Good Trouble, she really blew me away as Ann Marie Messina, the mother of the late Carolyn and Lauren Bessette. In the series, she gives a voice to a woman who was a “side character” in the media circus surrounding JFK Jr and Carolyn Bessette’s love story. In this story, we get to see Ann Marie as a fierce advocate for her daughter, and later on in the series, a grief stricken mother. It’s a performance that really cracks your heart in two, and Zimmer’s performance is an incredibly raw and devastating portrait of grief. 

When I spoke with her prior to her nomination, she had this to say, “I didn’t filter anything. I didn’t question anything. I haven’t been given a lot of characters that have led with vulnerability, so I thought, well, this is my opportunity to lead with that, and I always let that guide me. The writing always felt grounded in a reality that I could relate to.”

For the hidden gem, despite her nomination, I’m giving it to UnREAL. While the show is having a resurgence thanks to streaming services, when it originally ran on Lifetime, it was frustrating that not enough people were watching this delightful show. In it, the actress plays Quinn King, a smart, powerful, fast talking, co-creator of a fictional reality show. Zimmer’s performance as Quinn is electric, with her no BS approach, fashionable power suits, and manipulative streak — she can play this character in her sleep.