A ‘Good Wife’ showdown: Julianna Margulies and Christine Baranski to face off at SAG Awards?

Fans of the CBS series “The Good Wife” have still not recovered from the series-ending slap that Christine Baranski’s Diane Lockhart delivered to Julianna Margulies’ protagonist Alicia Florrick five years ago. Now on different series, Margulies and Baranski could compete at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, where both could earn nominations for drama actress. Margulies is eligible for her performance in the second season of Apple TV+’s “The Morning Show,” while Baranski continues to portray Lockhart on the fifth season of Paramount+’s acclaimed spin-off “The Good Fight.”

Right now, neither actress cracks our projected nominees in the combined odds, but they’re not far off. Margulies sits in sixth place, just one slot shy of the top five, trailing her “Morning Show” co-stars Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, plus Sarah Snook (“Succession”), Elisabeth Moss (“The Handmaid’s Tale”), and Mj Rodriguez (“Pose”). Baranski is a little further back, but she still makes our top 10, behind Emmy nominee Uzo Aduba (“In Treatment”), J. Smith-Cameron (“Succession”) and Patricia Arquette of  Apple TV+’s “Severance,” which has yet to premiere.

SEE Julianna Margulies, former queen of the SAG Awards, looks to rule again with ‘The Morning Show’

While no doubt a competitive lineup, Margulies should never be underestimated at the SAG Awards. Margulies is one of the most nominated actors in the history of the awards, with 19 career citations for “ER” and “The Good Wife.” Of those many bids, Margulies won two individual prizes for “ER,” two for “The Good Wife,” and four ensemble trophies for “ER” too. She once held the record for SAG wins before being tied with Alec Baldwin (“30 Rock”) and then lapped by Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“Seinfeld,” “Veep”), who has nine. Nobody has more wins than her in the drama actress category, though, and she could extend that record with a nomination and win for “The Morning Show.”

Shockingly, Baranski never earned a SAG nomination for “The Good Wife,” even though she received six consecutive Emmy nominations for the role — more than any other cast member on the series. She otherwise has a strong track record at SAG and even one-ups Margulies by winning two film ensemble trophies for “The Birdcage” in 1997 and “Chicago” in 2003. Baranski has one individual trophy for “Cybill” (1996) and five other nominations. A bid for “The Good Fight” would be her first individual citation for drama actress.

SEE Will the ‘better than ever’ fifth season of ‘The Good Fight’ get some awards love?

If only one of these actresses were to earn the nomination, Margulies looks more likely than Baranski. Not only does she rank higher in our odds, but we predict “The Morning Show” will easily earn a nomination for drama ensemble, an award it was not nominated for the first season; it sits in a comfortable third position behind only “Succession” and “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Currently in ninth place, “The Good Fight” will most likely miss out on the (well-deserved) ensemble bid. Plus, it has never broken through here in its past four seasons, while “The Morning Show” earned three nominations for its first year and even won for Aniston.

But not to worry, Baranski fans. She and Margulies may just square off at the 2022 Emmys in drama supporting actress, where Margulies will compete for “The Morning Show” and Baranski for the new HBO drama series “The Gilded Age,” for which she could very well enter in supporting. With these two Emmy-winning actresses in the running for the Emmy-winning “Morning Show” and this new prestige HBO drama from Emmy favorite Julian Fellowes (“Downton Abbey”), their Emmy race could be even more of a nail-biter.

PREDICT the 2022 SAG Awards nominees until Jan. 12

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