Elisabeth Moss is in the Emmy race and should be congratulated.
The Emmy Award-winning star of “The Handmaid’s Tale” will be entered in the guest drama actress category as a retribution for June Osbourne on the Hulu spinoff “Testament,” Variety exclusively reports. Moss submits episode 103, “Daisy” as an official entry.
Per Television Academy regulations, performers who have previously been nominated or won for the same role in the same series for a leading or supporting role are not eligible to participate in the guest category. Moss won an Emmy for her role as June (formerly known as Offred) in The Handmaid’s Tale, but the Academy recognizes The Testament as a separate series and is eligible to compete in the guest category. Hulu and Moss’ camp were recently notified of the TV Academy’s approval decision following a petition. A complete list of submissions to the category will be published at a later date.
Last year, Alexis Bledel withdrew from the Emmy nominations for the final season of “The Handmaid’s Tale” following changes to the rules for guest acting. In that case, she would have been in the Best Supporting Actress category again despite appearing in a single episode.
“Daisy,” which premiered on April 8, was written by Bayan Walcott and directed by Mike Barker. The episode follows Daisy’s important school trip that brings back memories of her time in Toronto, revealing pieces of her past and a world torn apart by violence.
Created by Bruce Miller, “The Testements” will premiere with the first three episodes, and the first season will air with 10 episodes. The series, based on Margaret Atwood’s 2019 novel of the same name, is set in the dystopian theocracy of Gilead, several years after the events of The Handmaid’s Tale. The film tells the story of two teenage girls, Agnes (Chase Infinity), a pious woman, and Daisy (Lucy Halliday), a recent arrival from Canada. Daisy’s presence begins to unravel truths that have been buried for a long time. Moss appeared in three separate episodes, falling below the 50% episode threshold for guest star eligibility.
The series is expected to be a major contender for Hulu this awards cycle, with a cast that includes Ann Dowd, Rowan Blanchard, Eva Foote, Kira Groyen, and Amy Seimetz.
Its predecessor, The Handmaid’s Tale, made history at the 2017 Emmy Awards, becoming the first streaming series to win Outstanding Drama Series. It was nominated 77 times over six seasons and won 15 times.
Moss remains one of television’s most decorated figures, with 15 nominations between actors and producers. In addition to winning for “The Handmaid’s Tale,” she received six nominations for the series, split between lead drama actress and drama series as a producer. Her resume also includes six bids for AMC’s “Mad Men” and one bid for the miniseries “Top of the Lake.”
“The Testaments” is produced by MGM Television and 20th Television. Miller will serve as creator and showrunner and executive produce alongside Moss, Warren Littlefield, Steve Stark, Shana Stein, Maya Goldsmith, John Weber, Sheila Hockin, Daniel Wilson, Fran Sears, and Barker, who will direct the first three episodes and the season finale.
This year’s Emmy Awards timeline begins with nomination round voting from June 11th to 22nd, followed by nominations on July 8th.
