No one reigns over the Emmys quite like Laura Linney does. A four-time champ, she has famously scored a victory for each of her nominated roles so far, having won for “Wild Iris” (2002), “John Adams” (2008) and “The Big C: Hereafter” (2013) for Best Limited Series/TV Movie Actress, and for “Frasier” (2004) for Best Comedy Guest Actress. Now the actor has one last chance to maintain this sterling record as she, shortlisted for Best Drama Actress for “Ozark” for the third time in a row, has never triumphed for playing Wendy Byrde on the Netflix series and contends for its fourth and final season this year.
This is the first year in which Linney, who was recognized solely for acting for the second and third seasons of “Ozark” in 2019 and 2020, snagged an additional nomination for the gritty crime series: Best Drama Series as a co-executive producer. These dual bids bring her grand total to nine, which also includes her Best Comedy Actress nom for “The Big C” that she earned in 2011.
Serving as the actor’s Emmy submission this year is the 11th episode of “Ozark’s” fourth and last season, “Pound of Flesh and Still Kickin’.” When Marty (Jason Bateman) returns home from Mexico in this installment, Wendy informs him that someone is blocking their attempt to remove Omar Navarro (Felix Solis) from the SDN list. Although Marty quickly deduces that Camila (Veronica Falcón) must be behind the attempt to kill the cartel boss and the effort to keep him on this list, Wendy later enlists Camila’s help in forcing Clare (Katrina Lenk) to resume financing the Byrde Family Foundation and proposes that Camila replace Marty as acting head of the cartel. After Navarro accepts the proposal and Marty, blindsided by his wife, has no choice but to agree, emotions boil over during an explosive final sequence when Marty and Wendy go off on a fellow driver in a bout of road rage.
While this episode might not be the first one you would think of as a showcase for the performer, her decision to enter it as her submission is not surprising as it’s directed by none other than Linney herself. Even though this marks her directorial debut, she stepped into her new position like a pro, juggling multiple storylines and sustaining the show’s characteristic tension with the utmost skill, all while delivering equally noteworthy work in front of the camera. As Wendy plays everyone around her like a fiddle, Linney displays her character’s shrewdness through simple stares or by topping off an interaction with a delicious cunning smile. Toward the end of the episode, she then gets two banner scenes: the first, when Wendy is confronted by her vicious father (Richard Thomas) about her brother’s disappearance; the second, when she lets the aforementioned driver have it after he calls her a “bitch” during the road rage incident. The actor’s pitch-perfect line reading of “Oh, suck my c*ck, assh*le!” in the latter scene alone makes this episode a worthy submission.
However, in order to turn it into a winning submission, Linney will have to sneak past three of her 2020 rivals in the race for Best Drama Actress. Those include two returning champs, Jodie Comer (“Killing Eve”) and Zendaya (“Euphoria”), who beat Linney in 2019 and 2020, respectively. The other returnee is Comer’s co-star Sandra Oh, who is now up to 13 career nominations and still without victory. Also nominated is Reese Witherspoon (“The Morning Show”), who missed out on a nom in favor of her co-star Jennifer Aniston in 2020 but made the cut over Aniston this time around; she’s a previous champ as an EP of 2017 Best Limited Series winner “Big Little Lies.” Rounding out the category is first-time nominee Melanie Lynskey (“Yellowjackets”). Of Linney’s competitors, Zendaya is the only one who also received additional noms for her series this year: one in Best Drama as an EP of “Euphoria” and two as a co-writer of both of the show’s nominated songs.
SEE Emmys give farewell hug to ‘Ozark’
Given this stacked competition and the return of two champs who have bested Linney before, you might be wondering, “Well, why would she win now?” For starters, it’s voters’ last chance to reward her for this show. It wouldn’t be the first time that Netflix carries someone across the finish line for their final season. In the drama actress category alone, they have been able to do it twice, both times for a woman of “The Crown” as they exited the role of Queen Elizabeth II — Claire Foy in 2018 and Olivia Colman last year.
Linney is likely helped by the fact that “Ozark” still had a decent showing for its farewell season, earning a total of 13 Emmy bids, including four for acting — Linney, Bateman (Best Drama Actor), two-time champ Julia Garner (Best Drama Supporting Actress) and Tom Pelphrey (Best Drama Guest Actor). As this is the best the show has ever done in the acting categories, there might be just the right amount of enthusiasm for it within the acting branch of the Television Academy to finally propel Linney to an overdue victory and in turn allow her to conserve her impressive record.
This article is a part of Gold Derby’s “Emmy nominee profile” series spotlighting the 2022 acting contenders.
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