Only one Stranger Things actor can win an Emmy this year
While Stranger Things Season 4 boasted a number of amazing performances, only one actor could take home an Emmy this year.
TheStranger ThingsSeason 4 hype is far from over, despite it almost being a year since the finale dropped onNetflix.
Season 4 Volume 2, which is considered one of the strongest parts of the show so far, followed Nancy, Steve, Robin, and the members of the Hellfire Club as they faced off against Vecna in the Upside Down.
The newest season is currently up for a plethora of Emmy awards, which we’ll get into below. However, despite many fans clamouring for awards for all the actors, due to Emmy rules, turns out only one could actually be nominated.
Dacre Montgomery is the only eligible Emmy actor for Stranger Things
Due to specific Emmy rules, only one actor is eligible for an Emmy for their performance in Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 2: Dacre Montgomery, who plays Billy, or rather, Vecna’s depiction of Billy that he torments Max with.
See, in June 2022, theTelevision Academyeliminated the “Hangover Episode Rule,” which allowed a series that premiered same-season episodes after the May 31 Emmy deadline – but before the start of nomination round-voting – the chance to still have all of its episodes be considered for any nominations.
Now that that rule is gone, it means that Season 4 couldn’t be considered as a whole for the Emmys. And with Volume 2 – the only eligible part this year – only consisting of two movie-length episodes, that means that these episodes will be considered “Orphan Episodes.” Ultimately, there’s not enough of them to be considered for the Drama Series category, as the category requires a minimum of six episodes. And with this, the Drama Series Acting category becomes a non-option for the show.
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However, some categories are still available, such as Directing, Writing, and Guest Stars. To be considered as a Guest Star, the actor cannot appear in more than 50% of the episodes in a given season. Thankfully, Dacre Montgomery as Billy Hargrove fits these requirements.
However, if Montogemery is nominated – so far he has only been submitted – he will likely have stiff competition. Predictions for other nominees include Nick Offerman, Murray Bartlett, Lamar Johnson, and Gabriel Luna from HBO’sThe Last of Us; James Cromwell and Arian Moayed fromSuccession; and Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Michael McKean, Tony Dalton, and Mark Margolis forBetter Call Saul.
All of this comes after other Stranger Things stars, such asSadie Sink, were “snubbed” at the 2022 Emmy Awardsfor Season 4 Volume 1, despite the show winning for other categories such as Stunt Coordination and Music Supervision. And with the Duffer Brothers delaying the production of Season 5 in solidarity with the WGA strikes, who knows how long it could be before any Stranger Things actor can be nominated again.
So while iconic newcomer Joseph Quinn as Eddie Munson says in his dying breaths, “I think it’s finally my year,” it sadly isn’t in regards to the Emmys.
What Emmy Awards will Stranger Things be nominated for?
However, while the acting options may be slim, Season 4 Volume 2 has still been submitted for multiple awards, including:
Emmy voting begins on June 15, so we’ll have to wait and see if Montgomery stands a chance.
Stranger Things Season 4 is currently available to stream on Netflix. Find out more about Season 5hereand check out more of our TV & Movies coveragehere.
