How ‘The Last of Us’ can eclipse its Season 1 Emmy acting nomination total
Much has been made about The White Lotus' domination in the acting categories at the Emmys. It received eight nominations for Season 1 in limited in 2022 and improved to nine for Season 2 in drama in 2023. You know what other show got nine acting nominations that year? The Last of Us.
It was easy for the dystopian drama's haul to be overshadowed that year between The White Lotus' increase even with the genre switch and Succession matching its own record of 14 nominations in one year for its final season. But few, if anyone, saw the Last of Us coming in acting. It was "only" predicted to snag six acting bids in Gold Derby's odds. And now for Season 2, it can do even better.
What was notable about The Last of Us' nine nominations was that the show achieved it without any supporting players. Season 1 was a very guest-forward installment, and the nominations were spread across lead for Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, and the guest categories for Nick Offerman (who won), Murray Bartlett, Lamar Johnson, then-10-year-old Keivonn Woodard, Storm Reid (who won), Melanie Lynskey, and Anna Torv. That's the opposite of The White Lotus, which only submits its ensemble casts in supporting, thus making its acting dominance very concentrated and apparent.
The Last of Us' nine nominations, including a deep pull for an unknown child actor like Woodard, and twin guest wins showed that the acting branch is paying attention to the series. Shows also tend to expand in nominations their second year after voters have had a chance to catch up. Season 1 got 24 nominations total and eight wins, and the biggest shows can get bigger — again, look at The White Lotus going from eight acting nominations to nine and from 20 total nominations to 23.
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For Season 2, The Last of Us will have supporting contenders for the first time. Gabriel Luna, who guest-starred last season, has an expanded role in Season 2 as Tommy, Joel's (Pascal) brother. Season 2 additions Isabela Merced and Young Mazino, as Dina and Jesse, respectively, play crucial roles in Ellie's (Ramsey) journey to Seattle.
Two other potential supporting contenders are Pascal and Kaitlyn Dever, whose Abby killed Joel in the second episode. Outside of a flashback, Pascal will have a diminished presence the rest of the season, so he could shift down to supporting (he cannot go guest even if he's in less than 50 percent of the season because of a new rule, as he was previously nominated in lead). Or he could stay in lead a la Brian Cox for Succession after his character Logan Roy died early in the last season. Dever is eligible in guest, but since there are no requirements for lead or supporting, she could make a strategic move to go supporting. Abby has already made a massive impact on the season, and it would tee up her expected prominence in Season 3 based on the rest of the video game.
Regardless of the categories, let's assume they all get in alongside Best Drama Actress nominee shoo-in Ramsey. That's six already before we even get to guest, where the show ruled last time. Outside of Dever's potential placement here, the show has a guest actress hopeful already in Emmy champ Catherine O'Hara, who plays Gail, Joel's therapist and the wife of Eugene, a man who was killed by Joel. Emmy winner Joe Pantoliano will play Eugene in an upcoming flashback, making him a guest contender. And Emmy winner Jeffrey Wright will reprise his video game role as Isaac Dixon. That takes us to nine.
To get more than nine, The Last of Us will have to hope for some unexpected guest nominees like Woodard, Johnson, and Reid were last time, which is very much possible. Season 2 doesn't have as expansive a list of guest stars as Season 1 did, but if the acting branch is really loving the show, surprise coattails could lie in the actors playing Abby's Firefly crew (Danny Ramirez, Spencer Lord, Tati Gabrielle, and Ariela Barer), cast additions like Alanna Ubach, Hetienne Park, and Ben Ahlers, who are playing original characters — and perhaps some previously unannounced guest stars.
The Last of Us probably won't tie Succession's record of 14 acting nominations, but don't be surprised if it does manage to hit double digits.