The Pitt’s Shawn Hatosy Jumps From Guest Star to Supporting Emmy Contender

If you watched the first season of The Pitt, you already know it was a massive hit, both with viewers and critics—a rare combo these days. The show's first season practically ate up awards season: loads of trophies, plenty of attention for the full ensemble, and if you were Noah Wyle, you probably needed a new shelf for all the extra hardware. The guy landed Best Actor at the Emmys, Golden Globes, and Critics Choice, just to name a few.

But Noah wasn’t the only cast member getting singled out. Shawn Hatosy, who plays Dr. Abbott (one of those roles that seems to randomly blow people away), grabbed an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor. And here's where things started getting interesting behind the scenes.

Chasing Emmy History… and Hitting a Wall

For Season 2, Hatosy came back, but with fewer episodes under his belt. That didn’t stop Emmy watchers from betting he’d score another Guest Actor nomination. In fact, if he did, he’d be gunning for an Emmy record: no one in the award’s 50 years has ever won Outstanding Guest Actor two years in a row, or for playing the same character twice. It looked like a real possibility—his Season 2 performance kept up the quality, showing up in six episodes (prime Guest category territory).

But nope—chalk this one up to a technicality. HBO has confirmed (first via Variety) they’re submitting Hatosy as a Supporting Actor this year, not Guest. So much for the back-to-back Guest Actor bid, and the shot at breaking a decades-long drought.

How Emmy Categories Actually Work (or… Don’t)

Here’s where things get almost comically maze-like, thanks to Emmy rules:

• If you bounce from Guest Actor to Supporting Actor for an Emmy nomination, you can’t ever go back to being considered a 'Guest' in that role again. One-way ticket.
• And if you (somehow) get nominated for a Lead role for a character, you also lose access to the Guest category for that same part from then on.
• No one—literally no one—has managed to win Guest Actor first, then win Supporting Actor for the same role a year later. Hatosy could be the first if things go that way for him.

The Competition (& Big Year Ahead)

The other twist for Hatosy: he’s in the mix for more than just acting award consideration. He directed an episode of Season 2 ('3:00 P.M.') and that’s up for Emmy submission too.

The Emmy nomination deadline for 2024 is May 7, so the game’s still wide open, but this year’s category looks especially crowded. Among the names floating around are Hatosy’s Pitt co-stars Patrick Ball and Gerran Howell, plus Tom Pelphrey (Task), Kurt Russell (The Madison), and Billy Crudup, who already took home the Supporting trophy last year for The Morning Show.

So Hatosy’s definitely got a tougher path, but if you’re into watching history-in-the-making, this Emmy season’s worth keeping an eye on—especially if it turns out that jumping categories can actually pay off for once.

'Nobody has ever pulled off back-to-back Guest Actor Emmys, or won twice for the same character. Hatosy’s got a shot at something even rarer—winning in two different categories for the same role, right in a row.'