As “The White Lotus” Season 3 continues to dominate Monday morning water cooler conversations, anticipation builds around its potential performance at the 2025 Emmy Awards. Going into this Tanya-less season, one of the biggest questions was, “Will Mike White be able to recreate the ensemble magic without Jennifer Coolidge at the helm?” While the spirit of Tanya is felt throughout this season in Thailand (or is it Taiwan? Don’t ask Victoria Ratliff), we are starting (mostly) anew with the guests checking in to “The White Lotus” Season 3. Let’s take a look at how this season’s Supporting Actor and Actress contenders are shaping up at our favorite luxury hotel getaway.
“The White Lotus” has scored Emmy wins in Supporting Acting for its first two seasons – Murray Bartlett and Jennifer Coolidge for season 1 and Coolidge standing alone for season 2, but one wonders if it can keep up the streak with someone new in Supporting Actress for the third season. Coolidge had been a frontrunner not only to score a nomination but win for the first two seasons, yet the landscape for season 3 is much murkier.
Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series
We’ve seen an interesting trio of women check into the hotel – Carrie Coon as Laurie has been doing some great work exploring the changing dynamics of lifelong friendships, asking her frazzled self and the audience if these friendships are more out of convenience and loyalty, yet somewhat desperately trying to hold on to the way things used to be. A case could also be made for Leslie Bibb’s portrayal of Kate, an “independent” who voted for Trump, beautifully toeing the line between annoyance and upholding the veil in a pivotal scene discussing politics with her two more liberal friends. Finally, while Michelle Monaghan has nailed the surface-level enviable nature of a well-known TV actress’s glamorous life, the limited layers of her character shown so far could hold Monaghan back from any meaningful awards chatter. Ultimately of the trio, I expect a nomination to come for only Carrie Coon.
We’ve also seen a return from fan-favorite Belinda this season, and Natasha Rockwell has not let her return go unnoticed. She’s getting a lot of love in the awards conversations, in the show from Pornchai (good for her), and from the outside world for continuously ripping into President Trump every single day on social media, proclaiming “you are trash,” having previously been nominated alongside costar Jennifer Coolidge for season 1. I don’t see that changing in season 3. But let us not forget the Parker Posey of it all. For all the talk of Buddhism and her nightly reliance on Lorazepam, Posey expertly flosses in pockets of understanding for Victoria’s air of plausible deniability of her family’s shenanigans. In each episode, she leaves us wondering how much Victoria really knows. Posey is having a ball with this role and I foresee the Emmy voters recognizing that. Another long-shot contender is Aimee Lou Wood, playing the delusionally self-assured Chelsea with a penchant for one particular emotionally unavailable man. There is some solid work here by Wood, but I think she’ll miss the cut with a category already stuffed with more nuanced characters from her costars.
Historically, the Emmys have awarded five Outstanding Supporting Actress nominations for each “The White Lotus” season, but this year’s race brings in a lot more external competition. The broader race will likely see entrants from its usual suspects in “Severance” (Patricia Arquette, plus Dichen Lachman doing some excellent work with Ms. Casey’s backstory) and “The Last of Us” (with series newcomer Kaitlyn Dever), plus new shows like “Paradise” making noise for Julianne Nicholson. We also can’t count out industry vet Allison Janney as a top contender to score a nomination and win for “The Diplomat.” The Supporting Actress race is shaping up to be a fight to the gills to get in, and I think “The White Lotus” will feel its impact this time compared to previous seasons where it dominated the Supporting categories.
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series
Now, on to the men…Walton Goggins is the clear frontrunner for a nomination in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series category, and if his look of awe and bewilderment opposite Sam Rockwell’s Frank in episode five is any indication of other nominations to come, Rockwell is also a shoo-in. Initially suspected to be a guest star, Rockwell has been confirmed to appear in 50% of episodes, meaning he must enter the Emmy race as a Supporting Actor rather than a Guest Actor. Jason Isaacs has also been delivering a compelling portrayal of internal turmoil through Timothy Ratliff and his money-laundering scandal, attempting (poorly, I might add) to uphold a veneer of normalcy for his family. Another Ratliff worthy of conversation is Saxon, initially portrayed by Patrick Schwarzenegger as a cocky control freak frat-bro. Still, his character’s dark turn to deep-seated sexual confusion and vulnerability has proven Schwarzenegger has the acting chops to balance the nuance of his character’s external aggressive bravado and internal fragility. With the back half of the season finding the elder Ratliff men facing the potential destruction of their carefully constructed lives, I foresee the Emmy voters recognizing the strong work Isaacs and Schwarzenegger have been unveiling with a nomination each alongside Goggins.
That’s not to say the external field for men isn’t competitive – “Severance” will no doubt have a strong showing again with John Turturro and Tramell Tillman turning in some of the finest work of their careers. I expect “Paradise” to continue to make noise in the major categories, with James Marsden potentially receiving a nomination for his role as President Cal Bradford. It also wouldn’t be surprising to see Jeffrey Wright of “The Last of Us” and Jack Lowden and Jonathan Pryce of “Slow Horses” scoring nominations come July 15th as well. One thing is for sure, though: while it’s received many nominations in the past, I wouldn’t expect “The White Lotus” to overtake most of the Outstanding Supporting Actor/Actress slots this year.
There’s still plenty of time to see this race unfold, but “The White Lotus” is approaching the latter half of its third season with four strong contenders for Outstanding Supporting Actress and four for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Carrie Coon
Parker Posey
Natasha Rothwell
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Walton Goggins
Jason Isaacs
Sam Rockwell
Patrick Schwarzenegger
But with the power of HBO & Mike White behind them, anything can happen at “The White Lotus.”
What do you think of the third season of “The White Lotus?” Will the series have a significant presence at this year’s Emmys as it has in the past? Please let us know in the comments section below or over on our X account, and be sure to check out our latest Emmy predictions which will be arriving later this week. Please also be sure to subscribe to the Next Best Series Podcast where we will be conducting a number of interviews with Emmy contenders throughout the awards season and discussing the race over the next couple of months.
