‘Hacks’ Julianne Nicholson Wins Emmy for Guest Actress in a Comedy

Michael Buckner

Julianne Nicholson has won the Emmy for guest actress in a comedy.

Nicholson is a double nominee this year, scoring two Emmy nominations — for her haunting turn in Hulu’s post-apocalyptic political thriller “Paradise” and her scene-stealing comedic performance in HBO Max’s “Hacks.”

On “Hacks,” Nicholson played the memorable Mary Alice, aka “Dance Mom.” Speaking about the role, Nicholson said, “I came in as a huge fan of the show. So it’s a bit surreal to suddenly be sort of under Jimmy and Kayla.”

The physicality of the role was no joke either. Nicholson worked closely with choreographer Corey Baker to develop her character’s clunky, earnest dance style. “I worked my ass off to learn these dances,” she said. “I had to work really hard to look that bad.”

This marks her second Emmy win. Nicholson won the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for HBO’s limited series “Mare of Easttown.”

Also nominated in the category were Jamie Lee Curtis, Olivia Colman, Robby Hoffman, Zoe Kravitz and Cynthia Erivo.

The Creative Arts Emmys are taking place over two nights at the Peacock Theater in Downtown Los Angeles.

Going into the night, “Severance” landed 27 nominations, including outstanding production design and outstanding editing. Production designer Jeremy Hindle was nominated for his sets. “Woe’s Hollow” (episode 4) was his most challenging episode of the season, because they shot all the exteriors on location.

In the character voiceover/short form performer category, Julie Andrews landed a nomination for her work on the Netflix series “Bridgerton” as the voice of Lady Penelope. Last year’s winner, Maya Rudolph, nabbed a nomination again for her work as Connie the Hormone Monstress on “Big Mouth.”

Music superstar Beyoncé is also nominated at the Creative Arts Emmys. She landed a nomination for outstanding directing for a variety special category for “Beyoncé Bowl.” The Netflix special landed a total of four nominations including outstanding variety special (Live).

Last month, the Television Academy unveiled the winners of the 77th Emmy Awards in its highly specialized juried categories, celebrating standout achievements in animation, costume, emerging media programming and motion design.

Beyonce took home the Emmy for outstanding costumes for variety, nonfiction or reality programming. The superstar shares design credit alongside Shiona Turini, with an extensive creative team bringing the vision to life. Netflix’s “Arcane” secured two honors, with Bruno Couchinho recognized for background design on the episode “The Dirt Under Your Nails” and Faustine Dumontier honored for her color artistry in “The Message Hidden Within the Pattern.”

The 77th Emmy Awards will be hosted by Nate Bargatze and broadcast live Sunday, Sept. 14 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS, as well as stream live and on demand via select packages on Paramount+.