How ‘Dahmer’ scene-stealer Niecy Nash-Betts could follow Jennifer Coolidge’s exact path to first Emmy win
Hot on the heels of a Critics Choice Award win and Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations, Niecy Nash-Betts is now the odds-on favorite to take home the Best Limited Series/TV Movie Supporting Actress Emmy for “Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.” But will she, if nominated, be able to sustain her momentum all the way through the end of voting in late August? Her trajectory could be similar to that of the reigning champ in the category, Jennifer Coolidge (“The White Lotus”), who also prevailed for a buzzy show that came out very early in the Emmy cycle after landing bids at all winter awards but only triumphing at Critics Choice.
The uncanny similarities between Coolidge’s and Nash-Betts’ trajectories begin with “The White Lotus” and “Dahmer” both being first installments of anthology series that seemingly came out of nowhere and not only became hot titles almost instantly upon their releases — the former aired during the summer of 2021 on HBO while all 10 episodes of the latter dropped on Netflix on Sept. 21 last year — but also quickly cemented themselves as one of the first major limited series Emmy contenders in their respective cycles. What “Dahmer” lacks in critical acclaim when compared to “The White Lotus” — it has a Rotten Tomatoes approval rating of 57 percent and a Metacritic score of 46 versus “The White Lotus'” 90 percent and 82, respectively — it more than makes up for with its record-shattering viewership.
Although Coolidge’s and Nash-Betts’ roles couldn’t be more different from each other — Coolidge plays a grieving, daft socialite on “The White Lotus” while Nash-Betts portrays Glenda Cleveland, the suspicious next-door neighbor of the titular serial killer, on “Dahmer” — both performers stole their respective shows in supporting turns that earned each of them some of the best reviews of their career and catapulted them to the top of the awards conversation.
They each received their career-first Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations and won their maiden Critics Choice Award. While both actors were nominated as supporting players in the combined limited series/TV movie actress field at SAG, they competed under different circumstances at the Globes — Coolidge, in the catch-all supporting actress race; Nash-Betts, in the newly minted limited series/TV movie supporting actress category. Coolidge fell to “Succession’s” Sarah Snook at the Globes and “Mare of Easttown’s” Kate Winslet at SAG but didn’t face either at the Emmys. Nash-Betts also doesn’t have to worry about going up against the Globe and SAG champs at the Emmys this year. She lost the Globe to none other than Coolidge — who reprised her Season 1 character in the Sicily-set second installment of “The White Lotus” and will compete in drama at the Emmys — and SAG to lead actress contender Jessica Chastain (“George & Tammy”).
Being still under-rewarded for “The White Lotus” as she headed into the Emmys probably helped Coolidge ultimately prevail since she, at 61, had never been nominated before and was riding an overdue narrative. While Nash-Betts already has four bids to her name — three for her performances on “Getting On” (2015-16) and “When They See Us” (2019), and one for producing “Reno 911!: The Hunt for QAnon” (2021) — she, too, has never been victorious and, at 53, could also benefit from being under-acknowledged.
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The question for Nash-Betts now is how well “Dahmer” performs overall. Coolidge was no doubt assisted by the love for “The White Lotus” as a whole, which yielded 10 victories from 20 nominations, including Best Limited Series and a second acting win for Murray Bartlett in Best Limited Series/TV Movie Supporting Actor. At the moment, “Dahmer” is also expected to take home the series prize and a second acting award, for Evan Peters in lead, per our combined odds. So if our early predictions are any indication, Nash-Betts could, like Coolidge did, very well get an extra boost from the strength of her show.
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