7 Big Takeaways From a Major Emmy Noms Day
Bragging rights, overachievers, snubs, records — and jaw-dropping surprises ('Unfrosted'?!). Plus: My chat with the 'Shogun' creators
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Hello, fellow Prestige obsessives! Were you nominated for an Emmy this morning? If you work on Shogun, The Bear or Only Murders in the Building the odds are in your favor — those series, all under the Disney umbrella, led the tally among this year’s nominees, with drama series Shogun at the top with 25.
That means that, as I predicted would happen earlier this week, FX had an excellent morning, not just for Shogun and The Bear but surprise comedy series nominations for What We Do in the Shadows and Reservation Dogs, which came paired with lead actor nominations for Matt Berry and D’Pharoah Woon-a-Tai, both first-time nominees.
But, as I’ll discuss in more detail below, even being on top can leave you wanting more. Both Shogun and The Bear missed out on key nominations that were widely expected, and believe it or not, FX still didn’t get the most nominations for a single network — though with 93 total, it easily broke its own record.
Immediately after the nominations were announced I got on the line with my friend, freelance critic and journalist Jordan Hoffman, to break it all down; a few hours later I got on a call with Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks, the creators of Shogun, who still seem somewhat shocked that their years-long passion project has been so warmly received.
You can listen to both conversations on the Prestige Junkie podcast, and read on for even more detailed reactions from television’s biggest morning. Find a full list of Emmy nominees at the Emmys website.
Who Gets the Bragging Rights?
Truly nobody should really be all that invested in which network or streamer gets the most nominations unless you work at said network or streamer — but given that many of you reading this probably do, we’ll start there. Despite FX’s eye-popping totals for Shogun and The Bear (which nabbed 23), it was Netflix that once again ruled the roost, with 107 nominations across all titles.
That comes thanks not only to expected contenders like The Crown and Baby Reindeer, which earned 18 and 11 nominations respectively, but such overperformers as Ripley (13 nominations), 3 Body Problem (six) and even the documentary Beckham (five). When you start throwing in nominees like the animated series Blue Eyed Samurai, documentary The Greatest Night in Pop and reality series Squid Game: The Challenge, you see how it’s hard to beat Netflix in sheer content output.
Still, if you’re FX you have plenty to be proud of, not only breaking the network’s own record (56 nominations is the previous record) but also besting HBO and Max (just barely), which earned 91 total nods.
Who Did Even Better Than Expected?
I already mentioned Ripley, which I was delighted to see get a nomination for Dakota Fanning as well as star Andrew Scott, and ought to earn cinematographer Robert Elswit a well-earned award. Its 13 total nominations was a lovely surprise, as were the 21 nods for Only Murders in the Building, which I had feared would be overlooked for its third season but instead did the opposite.
In the drama category I think almost everyone was shocked to see the series nomination for 3 Body Problem, which had only technical nominations to go with it; even if it wasn’t strong enough to get acting or writing nominations, it was clearly well-remembered. That’s even more true for Mr. and Mrs. Smith, which earned 16 total nominations, including a pair of lead acting nods for stars Donald Glover and Maya Erskine, proving that its February release date didn’t hurt it.
On a personal level I could have cried relief that Girls5Eva notched both a writing nomination for its episode “Orlando,” and its first-ever nomination for one of its songs, for Sara Bareilles’ season closer “The Medium Time.” And so soon after bemoaning the static state of the reality competition categories, I was thrilled to see The Traitors break in with both a series nomination and one for inimitable host Alan Cumming.
Okay, So What Are the Snubs?
Even for the biggest shows, some people inevitably got left out. Cosmo Jarvis, who plays the bumbling and eventually soulful Anjin on Shogun, was the only major player left out from that cast, while The Bear had hopes for nominations for Abby Elliott, Oliver Platt and Matty Matheson, all of whom didn’t make the cut. (Shogun still has five acting nominations and The Bear has 10, so again, it’s hard to complain too much).
I had higher hopes for The Gilded Age, which did get a lead actress nomination for Carrie Coon and supporting for Christine Baranski, but could have done much more with its cast overflowing with Broadway talent. It was a rough morning for Paramount and Showtime series, with just a single nod for the score for the limited series Lawmen: Bass Reeves and absolutely nothing for The Curse (more on that later). Despite a strong 16 nominations for Fallout, I was still hoping to see star Ella Purnell make her way into the lead actress lineup — though for that one, I suppose there’s always next season.
With Surprise Appearances By . . .
Once again, there are a whole lot of Emmy categories, and inevitably some odd nominees will sneak in there. I can’t be the only one surprised to see The Idol, the widely panned HBO series, earn a nomination for best choreography a full year after its ignoble end. The lavish series The New Look, The Regime and Mary & George were largely ignored despite their starry casts, but all managed to get a nomination for their costumes. And despite some of the worst reviews I’ve read for anything in ages, the Jerry Seinfeld passion project Unfrosted scored a single nomination in the TV movie category.
The Morning Show Leads the Apple Charge
Apple has neither the subscriber numbers nor the content output of Netflix — but when it comes to the Emmys, Apple has everything it needs. Having received four acting nominations for its first season and three for its second, The Morning Show exploded this year with a whopping 10 acting nominations, plus six more in other categories, including best drama series.
The Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon-led series is Apple’s undeniable awards juggernaut, but it did well for several smaller shows as well. SNL pals Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph are both nominated in comedy actress for their shows Palm Royale and Loot, respectively, while in best actor in a drama series, Idris Elba and Gary Oldman will go head-to-head for their Apple TV+ shows Hijack and Slow Horses.
After months of careful campaign work for the limited series that premiered last fall, Lessons in Chemistry earned a solid 10 nominations, including for actors Brie Larson, Lewis Pullman and Aja Naomi King. It fared much better than Apple’s splashier limited series Masters of the Air, which had to settle for just three technical nods. But even with a zillion Emmy categories to compete for, you truly can’t win ‘em all.
Is There an Oscar Halo? It Depends
Shortly before this year’s Oscar ceremony, when pundits like me were feeling restless and looking toward the season ahead, we realized that many of Oscar season’s top contenders would be heading straight back into the Emmy fray. Many of them did just that: Recent Oscar winners Robert Downey Jr. and Da’Vine Joy Randolph are both nominated, as are Oscar nominees Lily Gladstone, Jodie Foster and Ryan Gosling.
Three exceptions to the rule, one more noteworthy than the others. Annette Bening’s Peacock series Apples Never Fall failed to gain much traction, and she didn’t pull off what would have been a surprising nomination. And though Paul Giamatti was eligible for his final season of Billions, he’d never previously been nominated — and wasn’t yet again.
But many of us had hopes for Emma Stone and The Curse, the Showtime series that was a love-it-or-hate-it sensation last fall, courtesy of provocative creators and co-stars Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie. Alas, the Television Academy fell more on the side of hating it, blanking The Curse entirely. The show did feature some of Stone’s best-ever work as a soulless wannabe HGTV star — but with a second Oscar newly placed on her shelf, we can’t imagine her complaining too much either.
Who Made History?
My fellow nerds and I will be sifting through the stats for a while yet — again, there are so many Emmy categories — but a few noteworthy firsts have already emerged. With her nomination for Griselda, Sofia Vergara has become the first Latin actress nominated for best actress in a limited series, while Kali Reis and Lily Gladstone are the first Indigenous actresses to ever receive Emmy nominations, period. (Yes, really!)
It’s a big year for Native representation in general, with the first-ever series nomination for Reservation Dogs and star D’Pharoah Woon-a-Tai becoming the first Native actor nominated in his category as well.
Nava Mau has also made history with her supporting actress nomination for Baby Reindeer, becoming the first trans actress ever nominated in that category. And while celebrating her first-ever acting nomination for Only Murders in the Building, Selena Gomez made some history as well; nominated for the third time as an executive producer of the show, she’s now the most-nominated Latina producer in Emmy history.
So nice to see so many firsts in the women nominations ❤️. All amazingly talented women who are doing so much to bring diverse representation to the forefront.