Emmys 2023: Guest Actress In A Drama Series — Our Dream Nominees!

Do not be surprised if more than half of the nominees in this year's Emmy race for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series hail from Succession. In 2022, the HBO drama had three performers in this category (aka exactly half). Two of them — Hope Davis and Harriet Walter — are locks to repeat, and they could very well be joined by race-mates Hiam Abbass, Natalie Gold and Cherry Jones.

The big question: How many of Succession's five female guest contenders made our Emmy short list? The answer may surprise you!

Scroll through the list below to review all of our Dream Nominees (remember, these aren't predictions; they're wish lists) and then tell us if our picks warrant a "Hell, yes!," "Um, no" or "How could you leave off so-and-so?!"

For the record, 2023 Emmy nominations will be voted on from June 15-26, and unveiled on July 12. The 75th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony is scheduled to air on Monday, Sept. 18 on Fox.

Scroll down for links to our previous Dream Emmy categories:

🏆 Outstanding Drama Series — Our Dream Nominees
🏆 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series — Our Dream Nominees
🏆 Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series — Our Dream Nominees
🏆 Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series — Our Dream Nominees
🏆 Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series — Our Dream Nominees
🏆 Outstanding Comedy Series — Our Dream Nominees
🏆 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series — Our Dream Nominees
🏆 Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series — Our Dream Nominees
🏆 Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series — Our Dream Nominees
🏆 Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series — Our Dream Nominees
🏆 Outstanding Limited Series — Our Dream Nominees

WHY SHE DESERVES A NOD: Picard's final season was packed with fun Easter eggs for Trekkies to discover, but none was more impactful than Forbes' return as Ro Laren, who famously butted heads with Jean-Luc 30 years ago on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Forbes expertly opened up old wounds in a heartbreaking scene as Ro and Jean-Luc worked through their long-buried issues, tying up one of Next Generation's most nagging loose ends in grandly satisfying fashion and helping give Picard an emotional oomph that made it much more than just a trip down memory lane.

WHY SHE DESERVES A NOD: Reminding us why she's a legend, Gibbs turned in an utterly crushing performance in Season 19 of Grey's Anatomy, first by introducing the feisty woman that Simone's grandmother once was, then by revealing the toll taken on her by dementia. We'd even go so far as to suggest that the actress clinched a nomination with nothing more than the painfully raw scene in which Simone explained (again) that her mother had died. "Somebody help," cried her grandmother, uncomprehending. "Bravo," we cried as we were bowled over anew by the 92-year-old television icon who's been slaying for going on five decades.

WHY SHE DESERVES A NOD: Emmy-making performances are often all about big emotions played in a big way, but Li Jun Li's quiet Season 3 return as the prophetess Grace deserves equal consideration. Li took peaceful stillness to a new level through scenes both silly and sweet throughout the season (we particularly loved Grace's reassuring Episode 9 exchange with Laura in the ball pit), then pivoted to sheer terror as she completely committed to Grace's anguish and shock over the violent death of Monsignor Korecki. The character's deep sorrow was all the more potent because of the elegantly understated way Li plays her normally — trophy-worthy, indeed.

WHY SHE DESERVES A NOD: Parker didn't have much screen time in the HBO series' first season, thanks to playing the pivotal — and doomed — role of Joel's teen daughter, Sarah. But we'll never be able to think of the drama's premiere without remembering the ease with which she established Sarah as a sunny, self-reliant teen who deeply loved her dad. And we'll also never forget how Parker conveyed the horror of Outbreak Day, her wide-eyed stare communicating Sarah's fear of the violence and death unfolding all around her. By the time she screamed in pain, sobbing as Sarah died in her father's arms, we knew we were watching a star in the making.

WHY SHE DESERVES A NOD: Shaw brought such a quiet, grounded gravitas to her role as Maarva Andor, but she most had us feeling all the things when Cass' adoptive mother declined his invitation to skip town, and instead chose to "stick it out here" on Ferrix, Imperial presence be damned. When Maarva in turn noted that Cass has "a different path" ahead of him, your heart had to swell as Shaw looked upon Diego Luna with adoring eyes. "I've never loved anything the way I've loved you," Maarva avowed. "But you can't stay. And I can't go."

WHY SHE DESERVES A NOD: In the CBS procedural's most emotional hour yet, Taylor poured every ounce of her craft into the role of Raquel Williams, a woman whose wee daughter had been gunned down in front of her, 41 years prior. Opposite a stellar Paula Newsome as Maxine, Taylor had us rapt as Raquel went from defensive and cynical to open-minded, and then steadfast in her belief that the CSI team would at long last catch the killer. Tears were shed, by Taylor, by Newsome, and by us.

WHY SHE DESERVES A NOD: The Fringe vet crafted a complex, multi-dimensional character whom we grew to love in her short time on the post-apocalyptic series. Although decades of dystopian living had hardened Tess' outer shell, Torv remained tethered to her alter ego's underlying humanity. The actress brought that quiet vulnerability the most in her final scene. When a dying Tess finally told Joel about her terminal condition, Torv filled her words with desperation and anguish as she begged him to continue their potentially world-saving mission, infusing the plea with every bit of their shared, highly complicated romantic baggage. The result was magnificent; Torv is truly a treasure.