Emmy Submission Mission- Supporting Actress in Drama

The 2011 Emmy Awards will be hosted by Jane Lynch September 18. In the weeks leading up to the event, TV Fanatic staff writer Dan Forcella will watch every episode submitted by various actors in various categories and present to you his analysis on each contender.

It's the TV Fanatic Emmy Submission Mission, readers, and it has finished with the comedy categories: Lead Actor, Lead Actress, Supporting Actor, and Supporting Actress. Next up? Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama, and here is TV Fanatic's breakdown:

Margo Martindale

Three out of the past four years, the Supporting Actress in a Drama Award has gone to a performer that had never before been nominated, let alone won an Emmy. Katherine Heigl for Grey’s Anatomy in 2007, Cherry Jones for 24 in 2009, and Archie Panjabi for The Good Wife last year all came out of nowhere to claim the coveted prize from their peers. If the trend should continue in 2011, we will see either Margo Martindale or Michelle Forbes giving a speech up on stage.

While many thought it a difficulty for Martindale to even receive a nomination, given that Justified wasn’t on the Emmys radar last year, things have changed in 2011. A number of her fellow cast members ended up receiving nominations as well, and there is enough buzz swirling around Justified’s second season (specifically Martindale’s performance), that she definitely has a lot of things on her side.

Not the least of which is how good she was in her submission episode, “Brother’s Keeper.” Almost inarguably the best episode of the series to date, Martindale showcases all of her talents, as her character Mags Bennett goes through many ups and downs over the course of the hour. She is the comforting mother, the angry mother, the stoic negotiator, and the condescending business woman all in one episode. Martindale portrays such joy when Mags thinks her and her family are on top of the world, then comes down in such sadness and disbelief when everything is taken away from her so quickly. With such a great performance, and the buzz to go with it, I definitely see Margo going home a winner.

To read the rest of my Emmy Submission Mission for Supporting Actress in a Drama, head over to TV Fanatic.