Emmys 2026 Poll: Who Should Win For Lead Actress In A Drama Series?

We'll crown a new champ this year in the Emmy race for Lead Actress in a Drama Series — and two perennial nominees are hoping to notch their first win.

"Severance" didn't air a new season this year, so last year's winner in this category, Britt Lower, is out of the running. And among this year's five nominees, the frontrunner might be Rhea Seehorn, who earned three nominations for Supporting Actress in a Drama (but, infamously, zero wins) for her work as Kim Wexler on "Better Call Saul." This time around, she's trying her luck in the lead category as survivor Carol Sturka on Apple TV's sci-fi freshman "Pluribus." 

But she'll have to beat out a fellow Emmy veteran in Keri Russell, who notched her sixth career nomination in this category for playing Kate Wyler in Season 3 of Netflix's political thriller "The Diplomat," but also has no wins to show for it. So far, anyway.

There is a former winner in the mix, too, with Zendaya — who took home a pair of Emmys for playing recovering drug addict Rue on the HBO teen drama "Euphoria" — back with another nomination for that series' third and final season. Plus, Carrie Coon nabbed her second nod for playing socialite Bertha Russell on HBO's sumptuous period piece "The Gilded Age," but she has yet to take home an Emmy win across four career nominations.

The lone newcomer in this year's crop is Chase Infiniti, who wowed film audiences with her breakout turn in "One Battle After Another" before stunning on the small screen in Hulu's "Handmaid's Tale" spin-off "The Testaments," earning her first career nomination in the process. (See the full list of 2026 Emmy nominees here.)

So which leading lady would you most like to see take home the trophy this year? Vote for your favorite in the poll below, then hit the comments to defend your pick.