Best Supporting: Meet the 22 Actors Behind Emmy Season’s Most Talked-About Shows

Shows in their first and even fifth season are in the Emmy conversation this year, thanks to strong showcases from their supporting casts, be it Jamie Campbell Bower’s double duty as Henry Creel/Vecna in the final season of Netflix’s Stranger Things after a decade-long run, or Karolina Wydra’s charming portrayal of the all-knowing hivemind representative Zosia in season one of Pluribus.

Here, THR’s 2026 Supporting Class gives their hot takes on their characters and the actors they hope make a guest star appearance on their series one day (Hint: Viola Davis is in high demand).

• Erika Alexander

  

  My character (manager to ex-husband played by Tracy Morgan), summed up in five words “Bossed, bothered, kinetic, intentional, suicidal.”

  My dream show guest star “Viola Davis”

  In school, my character would be voted most likely to … “Run for office and win, even though she didn’t campaign.”

  If I could play any character past or present, it would be … “Inspector Clouseau from The Pink Panther.”