Kate O’Flynn had never been nominated for an Emmy before Monday night. By the end of the ceremony, she owned one, winning Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Patricia Moyer in Apple TV’s “Widow’s Bay.” Amy Poehler presented the award, and O’Flynn, visibly caught off guard, opened with little more than stunned laughter before settling into her remarks.
She thanked the cast and crew of the show, both in front of and behind the camera, calling the role the opportunity of her career. She credited creator Katie Dippold with trusting her, a performer she jokingly described as a plainspoken woman from Lancashire, to play a character she called a sassy, forceful presence, and thanked Apple for backing the casting choice.
O’Flynn also acknowledged director and executive producer Hiro Murai, who won his own Emmy later that night for helming the series. She closed by thanking her family, including her husband and daughter, whom she described warmly as another strong personality in the making, before dedicating the win to what she called all the Patricias of the world.
O’Flynn beat a competitive field that included her own castmate Dale Dickey, “Hacks” stars Hannah Einbinder and Meg Stalter, “Abbott Elementary’s” Janelle James, “Shrinking’s” Jessica Williams and Michelle Pfeiffer for “Margo’s Got Money Troubles.” On “Widow’s Bay,” she plays the socially awkward but fiercely loyal chief assistant to Matthew Rhys’s beleaguered small-town mayor, a character who becomes one of his closest allies as the island’s supernatural troubles escalate. The win marked the show’s ninth Emmy of the ceremony, part of a night in which “Widow’s Bay” swept every category it was nominated for after entering with 19 nominations overall, the third-highest total of any series this year.
Speaking to reporters afterward, O’Flynn said she wasn’t yet sure where the story might take Patricia next, though she floated the idea of eventually playing one of the character’s ancestors in a period-drama detour. Dippold has already confirmed that writing for the show’s second season is underway. For O’Flynn, a working British actress stepping into an unexpected breakout role, Monday’s win offered the kind of validation that came only after the show itself had already proven its staying power with audiences and critics alike.
