Rashida Jones raises the bar in ‘Black Mirror’ — and deserves an Emmy nomination for it

Rashida Jones is known as a powerhouse creator in the Hollywood industry. She has acted in several iconic, Emmy-nominated series and projects, including The Office, Parks and Recreation, and Silo. This Emmy season, she wowed audiences with one of the best performances of her career in the science-fiction anthology series Black Mirror. Jones played a lead in the episode “Common People”; however, her acting in this role is anything but ordinary.

Despite this impressive body of work, Jones has never won an Emmy and has only received one nomination for producing the Netflix documentary Hot Girls Wanted in 2015. However, as a creator, Jones has reached some impressive heights. In 2018, the documentary about her father, iconic music producer Quincy Jones, titled Quincy, which she codirected with Alan Hicks, won a Grammy for Best Music Film. In 2024, her short documentary Swim Lesson was shortlisted for the Oscars. 

Jones’s connection to Black Mirror goes back to 2016, when she cowrote the third season’s first episode “Nosedive” with her long-time friend and collaborator Michael Schur (Parks and Recreation, The Good Place). The episode delved into society's obsession with social media ratings, and many critics still regard it as one of the best in the series. This time, Jones returned to the Black Mirror universe as an actor, taking on one of the most complex roles of her career.

The seventh season's first episode, "Common People,” directed by Ally Pankiw, received a warm reception from critics and audiences. It tells the story of a married couple, Mike (Chris O'Dowd) and Amanda (Jones), who become involved in a new subscription-based service called Rivermind. This startup promises to give Amanda a second chance at life after an inoperable brain tumor diagnosis. But if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. The couple’s quality of life becomes solely dependent on the superiority of their tier plan. Throughout the episode, Jones skillfully navigates the multiple dimensions of her character, portraying a loving wife, an advertisement vessel, a user addicted to the Lux drug, and a dying woman facing her inevitable fate.

On top of Jones’s great performance, Black Mirror’s significant impact on modern culture increases her chances for acknowledgment among the voters. The show won three consecutive Emmys in the Outstanding Television Movie category in 2017, 2018, and 2019 for "San Junipero", "USS Callister", and “Bandersnatch” respectively. Back then, creators were allowed to submit individual episodes as TV movies for voting. However, after 2021, the eligibility rules for the TV Movie/ Limited Series category started to require a submitted piece of work to have a minimum 75-minute run. After the change, the show has been struggling to gain the same acclaim. However, season seven received praise for its significant improvement over previous ones. The series is currently ranked seventh in the Gold Derby odds, with four experts predicting a nomination.

This year's Movie/Limited Series Actress category is highly competitive, with only five nomination slots available. Cristin Milioti is leading the race for her career-defining role in The Penguin, per the Gold Derby odds. Michelle Williams is also a strong contender for her vulnerable performance in Dying for Sex. The Oscar winners Cate Blanchett (Disclaimer) and Renée Zellweger (Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy) hold third and fourth place, respectively. The fifth slot currently belongs to Kaitlyn Dever, who portrays a real-life influencer who lied about her cancer diagnosis in Apple Cider Vinegar. 

Then again, nothing is really settled until the voting ends. Ellen Pompeo (Good American Family), Lola Petticrew (Say Nothing), Ari Graynor (Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story), and Amanda Seyfried (Long Bright River) will make it a tight race.

Jones is currently occupying the 10th spot in our combined odds. The ambiguity in the category’s final lineup and Black Mirror’s nomination prospects give the actress a chance to make the top five on July 15.