With fewer eligible series — a consequence of both last year’s strikes and of a general post-Peak TV contraction — it seemed unlikely that the Emmys (the second such ceremony this year!) would provide much in the way of surprises.
Perhaps, though, awards-watchers shouldn’t have counted them out.
Wednesday morning’s nominations announcement featured at least one major contender (Emma Stone in “The Curse”) shut out, and included heartening and unexpected recognition for other stars whose names hadn’t been part of the conversation to this point. (Congratulations to Idris Elba and Matt Berry!)
In all, the Emmy nominations depict an industry in rapid transition — relatively few returning series made the cut (although those that did, like “The Bear” and “Hacks,” are very strong contenders). But nowhere was the competition more pitched, and the volume of surprise omissions as high, as in the limited series field. (Read the full list of nominees here.)
Limited series bloodbath, Part 1: In the overall category, no “Masters of the Air,” “Fellow Travelers” — and more shutouts!
Of all this year’s categories, limited series — and the accompanying acting categories that go along with it — is by far the most competitive. And as opposed to drama and comedy, which had eight slots each to fill, limited got a mere five. So going into the day of the Emmys announcement, it was obvious that several critically acclaimed, popular shows would be left out.
And indeed, that is what happened. Frontrunners “Baby Reindeer” (Netflix), “Fargo” (FX) and HBO’s “True Detective: Night Country” were all nominated, as were Apple TV+’s “Lessons in Chemistry” and Netflix’s “Ripley.” But huge, years-in-the-making series didn’t receive series nominations, such as Apple’s “Masters of the Air,” Showtime’s “Fellow Travelers,” Netflix’s “All the Light We Cannot See,” Amazon Prime Video’s “Expats,” and Netflix’s “Griselda.” Brutal category — brutal!
Limited series bloodbath, Part 2: Kate Winslet, Nicole Kidman and David Oyelowo excluded from lead acting nominations
The limited series lead actor and actress categories also have only five available spots, so TV Academy voters faced tough choices here as well. In actress, two Oscar winners — Brie Larson (“Lessons in Chemistry” and Jodie Foster (“True Detective: Night Country”) — will face off this September, joined by Juno Temple (“Fargo”), Sofia Vergara (“Griselda) and Naomi Watts (“Feud: Capote vs. the Swans”). Strong performances by Kate Winslet in “The Regime” and Nicole Kidman in “Expats” didn’t make the cut.
Over in actor, Richard Gadd (“Baby Reindeer”) and Jon Hamm (“Fargo”) were both considered locks, and indeed, they were nominated. Andrew Scott’s take on Tom Ripley in Netflix’s “Ripley” was also a sure bet — and yes, he got a nod too. Beyond that, though, things got more interesting: Matt Bomer for Showtime’s “Fellow Travelers” and Tom Hollander of FX’s “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans” received nominations, which is great! That meant that other favorites — David Oyelowo (“Lawmen: Bass Reeves”), Tony Shalhoub (“Mr. Monk’s Last Case”) and Hoa Xuande (“The Sympathizer”) were not nominated.
“Reservation Dogs” gets some farewell love
Over the first two seasons of “Reservation Dogs,” the series picked up a single nomination, for sound editing. (It lost to “The Bear.”) But powered by fan love as well as the formidable FX campaign machine — which can count this as a victory alongside the widespread love for “The Bear” and “Shōgun” — the show picked up nominations in comedy lead actor (for D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai) and in comedy series. Fans who might have been prepared to take comfort in the show joining “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “The Wire” on the long list of series that were too ahead of their time for Emmy now have cause to celebrate.
Selena Gomez finally makes it in as an actress
Selena Gomez is on something of a career high — in May, she shared the best actress prize at Cannes with her co-stars in the film “Emilia Perez,” and she continues to provide the acidity and blunt humor at the heart of “Only Murders in the Building.” And the TV Academy has finally taken notice — while Gomez had shared in the comedy nominations as an executive producer for each of the show’s three seasons so far, she received her first nomination as an actor, joining fellow “Only Murders” stars Steve Martin, Martin Short, Meryl Streep, and Paul Rudd.
Emma Stone’s Oscar win didn’t come with an Emmys halo
Coming off of an Oscar triumph — her second best actress win, earlier this year, for “Poor Things” — Emma Stone seemed likely to continue her current hot streak at the Emmys. While “The Curse,” on which she starred as a would-be home-renovation influencer whose life gets derailed by supernatural and surreal misfortune, was surely too odd to bring Stone an Emmy win, a nomination, especially in a lean year for dramas, looked likely.
It was not to be: “The Curse” was blanked across the board, and Stone’s work here joins her “Poor Things” performance not as an award-winner but as a piece of evidence of how weird she’s willing to get in service of a story. (Among players at this year’s Oscars to actually get Emmy nominations, Robert Downey Jr. looks like a frontrunner for his supporting role in “The Sympathizer,” Da’Vine Joy Randolph got her first Emmy notice for her guest role in “Only Murders in the Building,” and Stone’s chief competition for Oscar, Lily Gladstone, received an Emmy nod for “Under the Bridge.”)
Idris Elba hijacks the drama actor race
“Hijack,” on Apple TV+, is many things — propulsive, engaging, and (per Apple) widely viewed. But it didn’t necessarily seem like obvious Emmys bait? All credit, then, to Idris Elba, who receives his sixth career Emmy nomination for playing a negotiator who must try to bring an end to a hostile aircraft takeover while the plane, on which he’s a passenger, is in flight. Elba’s not the only actor in a genre play to find his way into the field this year: Donald Glover plays a superspy in “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” and Walton Goggins is a noseless bounty hunter in “Fallout.” But both Glover and Goggins had been widely predicted, while Elba — for all his character’s heroics! — was, it seemed, likely to have to settle for his show being a hit, and renewed for a second season at that. (One wonders if his character is going to have any trepidation before boarding another flight…)
Matt Berry nominated for “What We Do in the Shadows” — plus, another comedy series nomination too!
Though the great FX comedy “What We Do in the Shadows” had gotten two previous comedy series nominations — in 2020 and 2022 — none of its brilliant acting ensemble had ever been recognized previously. Today, that injustice has been righted, with Matt Berry getting nominated in the comedy lead actor category for his portrayal of the horny, dry-witted vampire Laszlo Cravensworth, who lives on Staten Island with his fellow vampires. And the show was nominated again too! Going into its final season, this feels right.
Bradley Jackson and Alex Levy finally share nominations
Taking Emma Stone’s spot, perhaps, may have been one or the other of the hardworking news anchors from fictional network UBA. Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon had, to this point, traded Emmy nominations for “The Morning Show.” For the series’ first season, Aniston alone was nominated (and lost to Zendaya); for its second, Witherspoon alone was nominated (and lost to Zendaya).
Call it the benefit of a less crowded field, or “The Morning Show” finally hitting its particularly bonkers stride: At long last, both women are in. It’s surprising perhaps that both stars finally share the honors for a season in which their characters’ onetime rivalry has fizzled out, and Aniston’s Alex Levy and Witherspoon’s Bradley Jackson are on their own respective side quests. But both should feel relieved that, with “Euphoria” off the air, Zendaya wasn’t eligible.
Shows with hazy futures nominated in the drama category
Because of both happenstance and the dual strikes, the drama category is so very strange this year. The favorites, FX’s “Shōgun” — which was initially billed as a limited series, but has been renewed for more — and Netflix’s “The Crown,” are, of course, well represented here. And our beloved “The Morning Show” has gotten its first drama series nomination. Fellow newbie “Slow Horses” was also an expected member of this category, as was “The Gilded Age.”
But beyond that is when things get a bit weird. Amazon renewed “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” in May, but whether that will be as an anthology with two different spies, as Variety has speculated, or with Season 1 stars Donald Glover and Maya Erskine returning, is unclear. Will they actually do another season? Who knows! And with the category’s other Amazon Prime Video drama, “Fallout,” the ending of the first season pointed toward a specific continuation for Lucy (Ella Purnell). But there are so many different video games following other storylines in Microsoft’s “Fallout” franchise that fans have argued that this show should eventually move to an anthology format as well.
Then there’s the matter of Netflix’s highly touted “3 Body Problem,” which was renewed in May for what the streamer would at that time term only as “additional episodes” that would bring the show to its conclusion. That seems since to have been revised to be two more seasons, as reported by Netflix’s in-house publication, Tudum. But still: just an odd group of nominees!
Paul W. Downs’ first acting nomination
Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder couldn’t have been stronger locks for their respective nominations, but Paul W. Downs — one of the trio of creators of “Hacks” — comes as a pleasant surprise. As talent manager Jimmy LuSaque, Downs had for the show’s first two seasons been a straight man absorbing the high drama that comedians can stir up; in the show’s third, he increasingly became a part of the action, with his interplay with assistant Kayla (Megan Stalter) part of the fun. The third season of “Hacks” was its strongest creatively; Downs, with co-creators Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky, also gave himself his strongest material yet.
Apple TV+’s “Slow Horses” and “Loot” storm the Emmys with first-time nominations
Perhaps “storm” is overstating it, but “Slow Horses,” Apple TV+’s delightful slow-burn spy thriller on has been recognized in both the drama category and for Gary Oldman as lead actor in a drama. “Slow Horses” premiered with little fanfare in April 2022, but has slowly developed a cult following — and perhaps now more viewers will discover the series. Fun fact: Oscar-winner Oldman received a guest actor Emmy nomination in 2001 for his role as Richard Crosby, who bonds with Joey over acting in “The One with Monica and Chandler’s Wedding.”
As for “Loot,” the Maya Rudolph-led comedy built buzz and goodwill in its second season, and consequently, the show has now gotten a nomination for Rudolph. Already a five-time Emmy winner, for voice acting in “Big Mouth,” and for “Saturday Night Live,” Rudolph also got a lead actress nomination. Apple clearly sees a future in “Loot,” which it just renewed for a third season this week.
Overall, it was a great morning for Apple TV+, with 70 nominations that placed them behind only Netfix, FX, and HBO/Max; these nominations are a part of the story, and so is the relative overperformance of the Kristen Wiig vehicle “Palm Royale” in the comedy categories.
Imelda Staunton in for “The Crown”
For “The Crown’s” fifth season, Imelda Staunton broke a longstanding streak: It was the first time that the actress playing Queen Elizabeth II on the Netflix series was not Emmy nominated. (In fact, both of her predecessors in the role, Claire Foy and Olivia Colman, won for lead actress in a drama.) For the show’s sixth and final season, Staunton — a legendary thespian, and an Oscar nominee for the film “Vera Drake” — got a valedictory nomination. Even still: The series’ best prospect for a win likely lies with its Diana, Elizabeth Debicki, who is a strong contender in supporting actress.
“Unfrosted” gets a TV movie nomination
“Unfrosted,” Jerry Seinfeld’s Netflix film about the fictional, and farcical, invention of the Pop-Tart, was widely derided upon its release. Its 42%-fresh Rotten Tomatoes rating may actually understate the vitriol many critics expressed — and doesn’t take into account Seinfeld’s dour, unpleasant media tour, in which he spent more time complaining about the state of comedy than contributing to it (by being funny). Call it a sign of residual affection for one of the defining comedy stars of the 1990s, an indication of just how few films were eligible for this honor, or a sign that the critics were out of step, but “Unfrosted” made it into the race. Hopefully, this cheers Seinfeld up!
Bowen Yang re-establishes the Emmys’ “SNL” actor streak
The last Emmys cycle was the first one since 2008 that saw no cast members from the venerable sketch show nominated. (Pedro Pascal and Quinta Brunson both earned guest-acting nominations for their hosting stints, but the cast — including past nominees Bowen Yang and Kenan Thompson — got blanked.) It’s certainly a more open field this cycle — last year’s supporting-acting nominees came from series including “Barry,” “Jury Duty,” and “Ted Lasso,” all ineligible this time around. But returning acting nominee Yang is surely happy this morning, as must be Lorne Michaels, who heads into the show’s 50th season knowing his show hasn’t hit an ongoing Emmy cold streak.
Kristen Kish nominated for reality host
Kristen Kish’s predecessor as “Top Chef” emcee, Padma Lakshmi, was nominated for this prize five times. Given that, Kish — a past winner who was hired to host the show after Lakshmi chose to move on — counts as something of a surprise nominee, if only because she follows a widely loved and much-decorated host. She’s also the newest face (at least in her capacity as a host) among the slate of nominees, which also includes veterans like RuPaul, Jeff Probst, the sharks of “Shark Tank,” and — in his second season — “The Traitors” host Alan Cumming, whose presence makes for another happy surprise.
“The Idol” is an Emmy nominee?!
HBO can say that what was likely their most critically derided series in years did not go completely unrewarded. “The Idol” — last summer’s fatally flawed Svengali saga, in which The Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp played mind games while trying to convert her into the world’s most boundary-pushing pop star — received a nomination for its choreography. The honor places “The Idol” alongside “Physical” as well as two very widely nominated shows, “Only Murders in the Building” and “Palm Royale.” And for those who like chaos (which surely includes those hardy few who watched every episode of “The Idol”), the notion that this crash-and-burn series could take home an Emmy is delicious.
“Hot Ones” frozen out by TV Academy
It was always a longshot — but the Emmys dream for “Hot Ones” died today. The popular YouTube program — on which A-Listers eat increasingly spicy chicken wings, resulting in tears, screams and cries for mercy — as they’re asked intelligent, incisive questions by host Sean Evans, had successfully petitioned to be eligible for the Emmys’ talk series category. Somehow, though, the show didn’t get nominated: An outrage!
Perhaps next year, “Hot Ones” needs to make some threats that involve Da Bomb Beyond Insanity. Jennifer Lawrence will testify for the prosecution!
From Variety US