Jessica Lange is coming for that Emmy record with ‘The Great Lillian Hall’

Jacob Sarkisian
·5 min read
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“The Great Lillian Hall” reunites three “American Horror Story” actresses to deliver a tour de force in TV movies. Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, and Lily Rabe all star in this HBO TV Movie, directed by Michael Cristofer, that follows the careers of fictional Broadway actress Lillian Hall.

It’s Lange who plays Lillian and the veteran actress has turned in another masterclass in acting. She has always been a commanding screen presence and that doesn’t change here as she depicts a legendary actress as a triumph on stage but a nervous wreck in rehearsals while she battles with early dementia. It’s always a treat watching icons play icons (Lange did this again in “Feud: Bette and Joan”) and while Lillian is fictional, the impact is no less felt. Critics agree, this could be Lange’s greatest performance yet.

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Caryn James (The Hollywood Reporter) observed: “Jessica Lange is perfection as the fictional actress Lillian Hall, known for decades as a revered star of the theater… a showcase for Lange, who deftly shows the character as a vulnerable woman and also displays the distinct style of Lillian the bravura actress…  Lange herself seems in her prime, expertly anchoring a film that is heartbreaking, yet joyful in its embrace of life and art.”

Pete Hammond (Deadline) stated: “Lange’s performance as a stage legend facing dementia should send chills down the spine of any other contenders for Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie this season. This veteran star simply knocks it out of the park… The strength here is that Lange never goes the easy route with this portrayal. She really imbues her with the sense of disbelief this could be happening to the great Lillian Hall, who seems to be a person not aware of life’s clock ticking.”

Peter Travers (ABC News) opined: “Starring the great Jessica Lange in one of her best performances—and that’s really saying something— “The Great Lillian Hall,” now on HBO/Max, is essential viewing for those eager to see what acting can be at its transcendent, transfixing finest… “The Great Lillian Hall” is Lange’s latest master class. Sit back and behold.”

Our current predicted nominees for Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actress are Jodie Foster (“True Detective: Night Country”), Brie Larson (“Lessons in Chemistry”), Juno Temple (“Fargo”), Sofia Vergara (“Griselda”), Kate Winslet (“The Regime”), and Naomi Watts (“Feud: Capote vs the Swans”). However, Lange is right on the precipice of breaking into this lineup; she is an Emmys legend and ticks off all the boxes here.

Lange has 10 Emmy nominations to her name, with her first bid coming in 1996 for Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actress for “A Streetcar Named Desire.” She was nominated in that category again in 2003 for “Normal” and in 2009 for “Grey Gardens.” She won her first Emmy for “Grey Gardens” and then followed that up with a victory for Best TV Movie/Limited Series Supporting Actress for “American Horror Story: Murder House” in 2012. She then reaped three more bids for Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actress for three “American Horror Story” seasons — “Asylum” in 2013, “Coven” in 2014, and “Freak Show” in 2015. She won for “Coven.” Lange then received two nominations for “Feud: Bette and Joan” — for Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actress and Best Limited Series as a producer. Her 10th nomination was for Best Drama Guest Actress in 2019 for “American Horror Story: Apocalypse.”

Seven of those 10 nominations and two of those three wins came in this very category of Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actress. Lange is a specialist in this category and voters seem to recognize her here every time they have a chance to do so. In fact, only Laura Linney and Patty Duke (with three) and Helen Mirren (with four) have more victories in this category than Lange. And only Mirren (with 10) has more nominations in this category than Lange, who has the joint second-most nominations in this category with Judy Davis. Lange could move clear of her with an eighth bid here.

Lange is also playing an actress here and voters always flock to vote for performances in shows about showbusiness. Lange herself was a beneficiary of this, as was her co-star Susan Sarandon when they were both cited for “Feud: Bette and Joan.” Other actresses in this category who have been nominated for shows depicting showbusiness include Riley Keough (“Daisy Jones & the Six”), Jessica Chastain (“George & Tammy”), Lily James (“Pam & Tommy”), Cynthia Erivo (“Genius: Aretha”), and Michelle Williams (“Fosse/Verdon”).

Lange is also a veteran and an Oscar winner (she won Best Supporting Actress in 1983 for “Tootsie” and Best Actress in 1995 for “Blue Sky”). Emmy voters love both of these, too. Veteran nominees in this category include Lange herself for the aforementioned projects, Sarandon (“Feud: Bette and Joan”), Edie Falco (“Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders”), Emma Thompson (“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”), Frances McDormand (“Olive Kitteridge”), and Cicely Tyson (“The Trip to Bountiful”).

Of those, Lange, Sarandon, Thompson, and McDormand were all Oscar winners, as were other nominees such as Chastain (“George & Tammy”), Winslet (“Mare of Easttown”), Octavia Spencer (“Self Made”), and Cate Blanchett (“Mrs. America”). Sarandon, Thompson, McDormand, Chastain, Winslet, and Blanchett are all huge superstar names, just like Lange.

In truth, we don’t need to prove why Lange might be able to get a nomination for “The Great Lillian Hall.” She has demonstrated time and time again that she is beloved by Emmy voters, particularly in this category. Frankly, it would be more of a shock at this stage if she wasn’t nominated.

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