2024 Emmys: The STACKED Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie Category is an Oscar Best Actress Showdown

The Limited or Anthology Series categories are usually ones overflowing with talent and creativity, but this year’s overwhelming plethora of limited series have brought an abundance of originality to the race for the Emmys. This year’s biggest focus, presumably, will be for these series because the drama categories will be considerably lighter than the past due to last year’s WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. While comedy and drama categories will both find themselves a little smaller than recent years, the Television Movie or Limited or Anthology Series categories have never been more full with newcomers and old favorites returning to the categories. 

One of the biggest categories will be Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, which is shaping up to be the ladies, at the sound of a cannon, running towards a cornucopia that holds the gold statue for them. Best Actress Oscar winner Kate Winslet, a two-time Emmy winner in the category for her performances in HBO’s Mildred Pierce (2011) and Mare of Easttown (2021), returns to the Emmys this year for her role in HBO’s The Regime. She’s a likely candidate for a nomination having won in this specific category twice before. Elisabeth Moss, who hasn’t been nominated in this category since she was for her performance in Top of the Lake (2013), could be a contender for her performance in FX’s The Veil, a series that has yet to premier.

Nicole Kidman hasn’t been up for an Emmy since Big Little Lies, which brought her a victory in this category for its first season, but Lulu Wang’s Expats sees the Academy Award winner back in the category vying for a nomination. The six-episode series went by quickly in the heat of Oscar season, so a push from Prime Video will be necessary to see Kidman jump into the forefront of the discussion. Another Oscar winner and previous winner of this category, Julianne Moore (for Game Change), will be back this year for her performance in Mary & George, but a crowded year might keep her out of the nominee pool. Another previous nominee in the category returns for a performance this year, Joey King coming back for her role in We Were the Lucky Ones. 

Previous Emmy nominees in other categories will find themselves in the Limited Series competition this year, including Ted Lasso star Juno Temple, who seeks her fourth Emmy nomination this year, this time for her role in Fargo. The FX series has produced multiple nominees in this category previously, including Kirsten Dunst and Carrie Coon, so it wouldn’t be shocking to see Temple join the lineup this year. Winner of three Emmys and up for consideration again this year is Uzo Aduba for Netflix’s Painkiller, which might have gone too under the radar to gain enough traction towards a nomination. The series also suffers from being similar in themes to Dopesick, Hulu’s 2021 series about the opioid crisis, which could see voters growing tired. Used to grabbing nominations in the comedy categories, Sofia Vergara leaps back into consideration this year for her lead performance in Netflix’s Griselda. 

There are also several newbies to the performance categories at the Emmys, including Oscar winner Jodie Foster, who could score her first performance Emmy nomination for her role in True Detective: Night Country. A previous nominee for directing an episode of Orange is the New Black and for being an executive producer on the television movie The Baby Dance, Foster could see herself amongst the pool of performers nominated in the category this year. Fresh off the Oscar trail, Lily Gladstone could see a transition right into Emmy press season for her role in Hulu’s Under the Bridge, a series in which she stars opposite Riley Keough. Oscar winner Brie Larson is also in the discussion this year for the much talked about AppleTV+ series Lessons in Chemistry, which will likely bring Larson her first Emmy nomination this year. FX’s Shōgun has been receiving more attention each week, bringing praise from critics and audiences, so that could propel Anna Sawai into the light to get a nomination for her performance as Toda Mariko. Oscar nominee Naomi Watts has never been nominated by the Television Academy, but this year could see her getting her first for her role in the acclaimed second season of FX’s Feud as Babe Paley. Ambika Mod, star of Netflix’s adaptation of One Day, will be in the category and seeks a nomination for the popular series. 

It’s a huge year for theLimited or Anthology Series or Movie categories, which find themselves more full than ever before and offer a breadth of originality that is an award all its own, but someone has to win. 

My predictions for the nominees for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie:

1. Jodie Foster, True Detective: Night Country (HBO)
2. Brie Larson, Lessons in Chemistry (AppleTV+)
3. Kate Winslet, The Regime (HBO)
4. Anna Sawai, Shōgun (FX)
5. Lily Gladstone, Under the Bridge (Hulu)
6. Juno Temple, Fargo (FX)
7. Naomi Watts, Feud: Capote vs. The Swans (FX)
8. Elisabeth Moss, The Veil (FX)
9. Sofia Vergara, Griselda (Netflix)
10. Julianne Moore, Mary & George (STARZ)

Other contenders: Uzo Aduba, Painkiller (Netflix); Nicole Kidman, Expats (Prime Video); Joey King, We Were the Lucky Ones (Hulu); Ambika Mod, One Day (Netflix)