- Aidy Bryant, "Shrill"
- Kaley Cuoco, "The Flight Attendant"
- Allison Janney, "Mom"
- Tracee Ellis Ross, "black-ish"
- Jean Smart, "Hacks"
Should win: Smart
Will win: Smart
This category also feels a bit like a callback to 2020 when Catherine O'Hara, at the age of 66, won her first acting Emmy for playing the indestructible Moira Rose on "Schitt's Creek." Smart, 69, has three Emmys — two for guesting on "Frasier" and another for a supporting turn on "Samantha Who?" But winning for her star turn on "Hacks" would be the culmination of a late-career renaissance that includes "Fargo," "Legion" and "Watchmen," plus, of course, her delightful Emmy-nominated work opposite Kate Winslet on "Mare of Easttown." O'Hara was the oldest woman to win this category. Her Emmy record will last but a year, though really I need to see a birth certificate to believe that Smart is 70.