‘The Pitt’s Shawn Hatosy Bumped From Guest to Supporting Star for Emmy Awards

The first season of The Pitt scored massive viewership numbers and critical acclaim, while also going on to earn a significant number of awards from various prestigious groups. While the ensemble as a whole was lauded, star and producer Noah Wyle was singled out for accolades, scoring Best Actor at the Emmy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and Critics Choice Awards. Wyle wasn’t the only one singled out, though, as Shawn Hatosy, who plays Dr. Abbott, won an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor. As he returned for Season 2 and appeared in fewer episodes than other members of the cast, many pundits projected he would be nominated for, and win, another Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor and make history.

The Outstanding Guest Actor award was introduced at the Emmy Awards in 1975 and, in the category’s 50-year history, only a handful of actors have ever won the category twice. To date, no actor has won the accolade in back-to-back ceremonies, and no actor has won the Guest Star award for playing the same role. Thanks to another impressive performance in six episodes of The Pitt, it seemed like Hatosy could break the mold if he went on to win in consecutive years and for the same role. Now, though, this opportunity won’t present itself.

As confirmed by Variety, HBO is submitting Hatosy in a Supporting Actor role for his work in Season 2 of the series. However, even if Hatosy doesn’t set a record for winning back-to-back Emmy Awards for Outstanding Guest Actor, he still has the chance to make history in another way. The actor isn’t the first to make the jump from Guest Star to Supporting Actor, but in 50 years, no actor has won Best Guest Star and then won Best Supporting Actor the next year.

Per Emmy rules, the jump from Guest Actor to Supporting Actor does come with some consequences. Namely, if Hatosy scores the nomination for Best Supporting Actor, this would then prevent him from ever reverting back to Guest Actor for the role. Emmy rules also prevent anyone who is nominated for a lead role from being nominated for Outstanding Guest Actor for the same character.

Hatosy should still have an exciting awards season, as he is also being submitted for his direction of the Season 2 episode “3:00 P.M.”

The submission deadline for Emmy Award nominations is May 7. Based on the impressive performances on TV over the last year, Hatosy has some fierce competition, though the official race has yet to kick off. Other reported contenders would be Patrick Ball and Gerran Howell, Hatosy’s co-stars in The Pitt, as well as Task‘s Tom Pelphrey, The Madison‘s Kurt Russell, or The Morning Show‘s Billy Crudup, who won the category in 2024.