“Love & Death” is set to premiere Thursday on HBO Max (soon to be just “Max”) and is expected to be a strong Emmys player for the cable and streaming platform in the limited series races. Elizabeth Olsen’s turn as the unfiltered adulterous Candy Montgomery, along with Jesse Plemons’ performance as the dim-witted and simple churchgoing husband of her friend Betty Gore, are expected to be among the top prospects in the acting races, but not where pundits had initially speculated.
Variety has learned exclusively that Plemons will be submitted for supporting actor in a limited series and not the lead actor race category, which was assumed early on. So, unsurprisingly, Olsen will be the sole leading acting submission for the series.
Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Emmy predictions.
The true-life crime series created by Emmy winner David E. Kelley (“Big Little Lies”) tells the story of Texas housewife Candy who, in 1980, following a chance collision on a volleyball court with fellow church choir member Allan (Plemons), orchestrates an affair between the two married adults. The encounters lead to Candy being accused of murdering Allan’s wife, Betty (played delightfully by Lily Rabe). The series also stars Patrick Fugit, Keir Gilchrist, Elizabeth Marvel, Tom Pelphrey and Krysten Ritter.
Supporting limited actor has been chiefly a category that seems only assured for Paul Walter Hauser from another true crime series, “Black Bird,” for his terrifying portrayal of serial killer Larry Hall. But, again, Plemons put Allan’s awkward movement and mannerisms to the forefront, playing expertly off Olsen’s dedicated go-for-broke performance, with the two using the absurdity of how the affair of the two Texans transpired as the foundation that garners far more humor than you’d expect.
Plemons has netted two Emmy noms thus far — supporting actor (limited) for FX’s “Fargo” in 2016 and lead actor (limited) for Netflix’s “USS Callister” episode of “Black Mirror.” A third nom seems nearly assured with this campaign push. The 35-year-old is one of Hollywood’s most dependable and respected actors, and two years ago nabbed his first Oscar nom for “The Power of the Dog” in best supporting actor.
Elizabeth Olsen in “Love & Death”
HBO Max
Olsen has quickly risen to fame over the past dozen years with acclaimed performances in films such as “Martha Marcy May Marlene” (2011), “Wind River” (2017) and the Marvel franchise as Wanda Maximoff, a.k.a. Scarlet Witch. The iconic MCU character was responsible for netting her an Emmy nom for the incredible ” WandaVision ” series in 2021. With enough time passed between Hulu’s take on the crime drama “Candy” in 2022, which starred Jessica Biel and was ignored by awards bodies, “Love & Death” and Olsen herself could have a straight shot at recognition with the Television Academy, especially with a lesser-than-usual competitive slate of contenders.
The episode titles, writers and directors are listed below. All Emmy submissions are subject to change.
Episode 1: “The Huntress” (written by David E. Kelley, directed by Lesli Linka Glatter)
Episode 2: “Encounters” (written by David E. Kelley, directed by Lesli Linka Glatter)
Episode 3: “Stepping Stones” (written by David E. Kelley, directed by Lesli Linka Glatter)
Episode 4: “Do No Evil” (written by David E. Kelley, directed by Lesli Linka Glatter)
Episode 5: “The Arrest” (written by David E. Kelley, directed by Clark Johnson)
Episode 6: “The Big Top” (written by David E. Kelley, directed by Clark Johnson)
Episode 7: “Sssshh” (written by David E. Kelley, directed by Lesli Linka Glatter)
