Melanie Lynskey announced why she won’t be at the Emmy Awards hours before the ceremony.
“So my little one came home from school on Friday and wanted to have a cuddle with mama. As we were cuddling and talking about her day, I noticed she was really warm. After the cuddles we did a Covid test, and sure enough she was positive,” Lynskey, 46, wrote via Instagram on Monday, January 15. “Eventually, so was I. We are both feeling fine, but the way! But I’m giving out our personal medical information to let everyone know why I’m not attending the Emmys tonight!”
Lynskey is nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Shauna on Yellowjackets.
“I would never want to put anyone’s health at risk, much as I want to celebrate. For many years, these types of amazing events were not a part of my life, and to finally be invited to the party and not get to go is painful!” she continued. “This is the greatest honour of my career, and there was a team of amazing people who were going to get me ready today.”
Lynskey teased that she was going to wear a gown designed for her by Christian Siriano, adding, “Plus I had an absolutely beautiful dress made for me by the genius @csiriano- my favourite dress I’ve ever put on, and designed so I’d be comfy at the after-parties 
I’m hoping I have another occasion to wear it to. It’s so stunning, and I love you and thank you for your hard work, Christian.”
In the social media post, Lynskey wished her Yellowjackets costars good luck in their category for Outstanding Drama Series alongside Andor, Better Call Saul, The Crown, House of the Dragon, The Last of Us, Succession and The White Lotus.
“I will miss my beloved @yellowjackets family- have the best time, I will be googling to see what you’re all wearing! And I’ll be on my feet (but probably still in my pajamas) cheering for whoever wins my category- what an incredible group of actors I’m nominated alongside,” she concluded. “I worship every one of you brilliant geniuses, @bellaramsey @sharonhorgan @sarah_snook @elisabethmossofficial and kind, talented Keri Russell. Still pinching myself that my name is mentioned alongside all of yours. Thank you @televisionacad. It means so much to me. I also sadly missed @mptf night before party but was thrilled they raised so much money at a time it’s so needed by our community.”
Yellowjackets, which premiered in 2021, follows a high school girls soccer team that ends up stranded in the Canadian wilderness after a plane crash. The survivors don’t return home for nineteen months during which time they are driven to cannibalism. Yellowjackets also features a present day timeline that reintroduces the survivors more than two decades later.
In the show, Lynskey shares her role with Sophie Nélisse as they navigate playing Shauna at two critical points in her life.
“Sophie has more directness in her manner. I feel like I’m quite apologetic,” Lynskey told Collider in January 2022. “My own sort of energy is not quite as direct and confident as Sophie’s, and it was something that I really loved about her and I thought, ‘This is an interesting thing to try to have Shauna be a little bit more good with eye contact, a little bit stronger, not so sort of [hunched] with her body, but a bit more confident with her body.’ Because there was something in Sophie that’s like an inherent strength, which I think is really nice for the character.”
Lynskey was originally meant to share the screen with husband Jason Ritter during season 2 but he ultimately didn’t end up making an appearance. After the series was renewed for a third season, Entertainment Tonight reported that Ritter, 43, would still join Yellowjackets in the future.
Despite Ritter’s scenes not making it into season 2, Lynskey previously discussed how her costars fell in love with her husband when he was on set.
“It was great. But I came back to work and everybody was like, ‘Your husband’s the nicest person in the world. He’s our favorite,’” she exclusively told Us Weekly in April 2023 before season 2 aired on Showtime. “And I think, previously, I felt like I was some people’s favorite.”
Lynskey added: “Everyone was like, ‘We still love you.’ And I was like, ‘I know he’s nicer. He’s nicer than me. He’s easier to be around. He never complains.’ So he became the new favorite. It was hard for me to give up the title, but I was also happy.”
The couple met while filming The Big Ask in 2013 and have since continued to collaborate on projects such as We’ll Never Have Paris and The Intervention. Ritter also scored a cameo in Lynskey’s shows Candy and The Last of Us.
“We’ve worked together a few times and it’s always been really fun, but I mean, I’ll do anything with him. He’s so talented,” she added during her interview with Us. “I love his face. I love looking at his face.”
Lynskey, who welcomed a daughter with Ritter in 2018, joked that there were no more plans for them to work together.
“No, that’s it. Thank you!” she quipped. “He can’t be the favorite! I just don’t want the crew to like him more. That was my only issue was that everybody — nobody could stop talking about how kind he was and wonderful and easygoing. And at a certain point, I was like, ‘I got it.’ Yeah, I got it. He’s great. He’s the best.”
After Lynskey announced her absence from the Emmys, Ritter took to the comments section, writing, Outstanding Leader/Actress in a Mama Series.”
