Amy Poehler is also expected to be a guest at the Emmy Awards.
Poehler received two Emmy nominations for supporting comedy actress in 2008 and 2009 while a cast member of “Saturday Night Live.” Additionally, she is eligible to receive a nomination this year as the host of the second episode of Season 51, even though the Television Academy’s latest rules prohibit former supporting nominees from making guest appearances.
In January 2025, the Television Academy enacted a new rule that means performers who have previously been nominated for or won an Emmy Award for a leading or supporting role cannot apply in the guest star category for the same role. This revision effectively shut out some performers who had hoped to become Emmy nominees.
Meryl Streep, who was nominated for Supporting Comedy Actress in Season 3 of Hulu’s Only Bill Murders, was not considered as a guest actress in Season 4, despite only appearing in three and two episodes respectively, but will return as a guest actress in Season 5.
Interestingly, season 4 co-star Paul Rudd almost qualified because he played a new character. Rudd was previously nominated for Best Supporting Comedic Actor in Season 3 for his role as Hollywood actor Ben Glenroy (Corpse). In season 4, he played Glenn Stubbins, Ben Glenroy’s Irish-born former stuntman. Interestingly, in season 5, Ladd is the voice of Arconia’s new robot doorman, LESTR, which makes him eligible to apply in the voice performance category.
The rule also affects another Hulu series actor in Season 2 of the political thriller “Paradise,” last year’s supporting drama actor nominee James Marsden, even though he appeared in only three of the eight episodes.
When “SNL” performers are entered for Emmy nominations, they are usually credited with playing “various characters.” But the official Emmy Awards credits list the NBC sketch comedy host simply as “host,” a designation that creates ambiguity and exposes a loophole that has already drawn scrutiny from competing strategists and studios.
“That’s unfair,” one veteran publicist tells Variety. “This is a very beneficial rule for skit shows, and it penalizes those who receive a nomination through sheer luck, or otherwise through bad luck.”
The policy, also known as the “Claire Foy Rule,” is named after “The Crown” star, who won the Emmy Award for Best Drama Actress for her role as Queen Elizabeth II in 2018. She then made a brief return in the same role in 2021, this time winning the Emmy Award for Guest Actress, and was nominated again in the same category in 2024. Coincidentally, Olivia Colman, who also won Best Actress for her role as Queen Elizabeth II, was not eligible to apply as a guest that year due to lack of screen time.
Provided by SNL
Poehler never experienced Emmy glory. She has received 26 career nominations in multiple categories, including as an actor on “Parks and Recreation,” as a producer on “Russian Doll,” the documentary “Lucy and Desi,” and the reality competition shows “Making It” and “Baking It.” She also received double nominations for writing and hosting at the 70th and 71st Golden Globe Awards.
She won her first Primetime Emmy Award as a guest comedy actress in 2016 with SNL co-host Tina Fey.
The current rules will primarily affect a niche group of “SNL” alumni who were previously nominated for supporting roles and later returned as hosts. These include Eddie Murphy (nominated in 1983), Bill Hader (2012, 2013), Alec Baldwin (won in 2017, nominated in 2018), and past nominees Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Vanessa Bayer, Leslie Jones, Cecily Strong, and Aidy Bryant. Bowen Yang is leaving the show in the wake of Ariana Grande’s Christmas episode, but he may return as host one day and not face such restrictions. And if he does decide to leave, it’s worth keeping an eye on longtime cast member Kenan Thompson.
The new rules do not affect former “SNL” performers, who frequently appear as hosts, who were not nominated for any acting Emmys during their tenures. Performers like Jimmy Fallon, Tracy Morgan, Adam Sandler, Tina Fey and Maya Rudolph have a clear path to qualifying for the guest category simply because they weren’t recognized in the major acting races while on the show.
Poehler’s host drew a lot of attention as she and Tina Fey satirized former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and former Attorney General Pam Bondi and parodied the Netflix thriller series “The Hunting Wives.”
