Kicking off awards season: Leslie Jones unveiled the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards nominations in a live-stream on Tuesday
Dystopian drama Watchmen and comedy The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel led nominations on Tuesday for the Emmy Awards, the highest awards in television.
Watchmen is the leading contender with 26 nominations. The HBO series stars Regina King and is a superhero drama dealing with race, police and white supremacy based on a 1980s graphic novel.
The Amazon comedy The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is the second most-nominated series with 20, followed by Netflix’s Ozark with 18.
Former Saturday Night Live star Leslie Jones unveiled the nominations in a live-stream, kicking off an unusual awards season clouded by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Emmy Awards are set to take place September 20 and will likely also be a virtual event because of the pandemic.
In terms of streaming wars, HBO and Amazon got impressive numbers this year, but it was Netflix that garnered the most recognition with a staggering 160 nominations, up from 118 the year prior.
The nominees for outstanding drama series included HBO’s darkly humorous Succession, which centers on a powerful media family’s wrangling for control of its company, as well as dark crime thriller Ozark.
Better Call Saul, The Crown, The Handmaid’s Tale, Killing Eve, The Mandalorian, and Stranger Things were also nominated in the category.
Leading contender: HBO’s Watchmen, a superhero tale that tackled racism in America, stars Regina King. It received 26 nominations
Mazel tov: Emmy favourite The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel got a crowd-pleasing 20 nominations
Cheers! HBO’s flagship drama got a very wealthy 18 nominations
Hard-hitting: Both Laura Linney and Jason Bateman were nominated for the respective roles in the hit Netflix drama Ozark, and the show got a high of 18 nominations (tied with Succession)
On the comedy side, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel – Amazon’s story of a 1950s housewife-turned-stand-up comic – was nominated for outstanding comedy series, along with offbeat hit Schitt’s Creek, which just wrapped its six-season run.
Catherine O’Hara has been nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Moira Rose.
Curb Your Enthusiasm, Dead To Me, The Good Place, Insecure, The Kominsky Method and What We Do In The Shadows also received nods.
Will she kill again? Jodie Comer has been nominated once more for her role in Killing Eve (pictured left with the Best Actress trophy from last year’s Emmy Awards)
Dead funny: Christina Applegate and co-star Linda Cardellii will compete against one another in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series category
In the limited series race, HBO’s Watchmen, a superhero tale that tackled racism in America, was nominated, along with Little Fires Everywhere, Mrs. America, Unbelievable and Unorthodox.
The nominees for drama series actress are: Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show; Olivia Colman, The Crown; Jodie Comer, Killing Eve; Laura Linney, Ozark; Sandra Oh, Killing Eve; Zendaya, Euphoria.
Friends star Aniston has received high praise for her performance as Alexy Levy in her TV news drama, and already took home the Female Actor in a Drama Series Award at the Screen Actors Guild Awards earlier this year in January.
However, her co-star Reese Witherspoon did not receive a nomination, nor did she get a nod for her role in Hulu’s Little Fires Everywhere.
Can she do it again? Jennifer Aniston won big this year already at the SAG Awards for her performance as Alex Levy in Apple TV’s The Morning Show
Fiery performance: Kerry Washington has been nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie, for Little Fires Everywhere
Funny girl: Issa Rae has bagged a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in her HBO show Insecure
Outstanding: Shira Haas has been rightly recognized for her role as Esty in Unorthordox, in the category Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Meanwhile, Sandra Oh’s nod marked her third straight Lead Actress Emmy Nomination. She became the first woman of Asian descent to be nominated in a lead actress category.
Her co-star Jodie Comer won last year’s Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, and is nominated again this year.
Shira Haas has been rightly recognized for her role as Esty in Unorthordox, in the category Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie.
Shantay, you stay: RuPaul’s Drag Race has once again been nominated for Outstanding Competition Program, and has won the award for the last two years
Comedy icons: Both Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara have been nominated for their work in Schitt’s Creek which finished its run recently after six seasons
The Israeli actress missed out at the German Television Awards where she was nominated for Best Actress, for her role that was inspired by Deborah Feldman’s 2012 autobiography, Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots.
The nominees for drama series actor are: Jason Bateman, Ozark; Sterling K. Brown, This is Us; Billy Porter, Pose; Jeremy Strong, Succession; Brian Cox, Succession; Steve Carell, The Morning Show.
Porter won last year for his role as Pray Tell, emcee of the balls in New York, in the FX show Pose.
Objection! Bob Odenkirk, who plays Saul Goodman, on the hit show Better Call Saul, was snubbed in the drama series category, prompting an outcry from fans
Historic: Billy Porter won last year for his role as Pray Tell, emcee of the balls in New York, in the FX show Pose
Noticeably absent from this list was Bob Odenkirk, who plays Saul Goodman, on the hit show Better Call Saul, which prompted an outcry from fans on Twitter following the news.
The nominees for lead actor in a comedy series are: Anthony Anderson, black-ish; Don Cheadle, Black Monday; Ted Danson, The Good Place; Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method; Eugene Levy, Schitt’s Creek; Ramy Youssef, Ramy.
The Good Place received an impressive six nomination in total for its final season, after being overlooked in previous years.
The nominees for lead actress in a comedy series are: Christina Applegate, Dead to Me; Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel; Linda Cardellini, Dead to Me; Catherine O’Hara, Schit’s Creek; Issa Rae, Insecure; Tracee Ellis Ross, black-ish.
Getting a look in: Oscar-winner Olivia Colman has been nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for The Crown
This is the first year that reality series The Amazing Race did not get nominated in the reality competition program category, previously being nominated every year since it first started in 2003, and has won 10 awards.
However, CBS postponed the show’s 32nd season due to the coronavirus, meaning it was not eligible this year. Instead, the category this year includes The Masked Singer, Nailed It!, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Top Chef, and The Voice.
RuPaul’s hit show has won the last two years in the Competition Program category, but would need to win eight times more in a bid to break the current record held by The Amazing Race.
Unusual times: The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards nomination ceremony is taking place at a turbulent time for the industry, which has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak that derailed the TV calendar
A high energy Jones kicked off the announcement Tuesday morning by appearing on a virtual set and joking that she was told there would be many others on set to announce the nominees and that she was locked in a studio with only a camerman.
The ceremony is taking place at a turbulent time for the industry, which has been hit hard by the virus outbreak that derailed the TV calendar and prevented some shows from being considered for this year’s awards.
Still, the Television Academy’s 24,000 members were given a record number of entries to sift through this year, and presumably had plenty of free time to watch TV while cooped up at home due to the coronavirus lockdown.
72nd Primetime Emmy Awards: All the major nominations
The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards nominations honor the best and brightest in television. Here’s a list of all the major categories…
Outstanding Drama Series
Better Call Saul, AMC
The Crown, Netflix
The Handmaid’s Tale, Hulu
Killing Eve, BBC America
The Mandalorian, Disney+
Ozark, Netflix
Stranger Things, Netflix
Succession, HBO
Succession, HBO
Ozark, Netflix
The Handmaid’s Tale, Hulu
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show
Olivia Colman, The Crown
Jodie Comer, Killing Eve
Laura Linney, Ozark
Sandra Oh, Killing Eve
Zendaya, Euphoria
Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show
Zendaya, Euphoria
Olivia Colman, The Crown
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Jason Bateman, Ozark
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
Steve Carell, The Morning Show
Brian Cox, Succession
Billy Porter, Pose
Jeremy Strong, Succession
Jason Bateman, Ozark
Jeremy Strong, Succession
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
Outstanding Comedy Series
Curb Your Enthusiasm, HBO
Dead To Me, Netflix
The Good Place, NBC
Insecure, HBO
The Kominsky Method, Netflix
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Amazon
Schitt’s Creek, Pop
What We Do In The Shadows, FX
The Good Place, NBC
Curb Your Enthusiasm, HBO
What We Do In The Shadows, FX
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Christina Applegate, Dead to Me
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Linda Cardellini, Dead to Me
Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek
Issa Rae, Insecure
Tracy Ellis Ross, Black-ish
Linda Cardellini, Dead to Me
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Issa Rae, Insecure
Outstanding Lead Actor in Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
Don Cheadle, Black Monday
Ted Danson, The Good Place
Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Meathod
Eugene Levy, Schitt’s Creek
Ramy Youssef, Ramy
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
Eugene Levy, Schitt’s Creek
Ramy Youssef, Ramy
Outstanding Competition Program
The Masked Singer
Nailed It!
RuPaul’s Drag Race
Top Chef
The Voice
The Masked Singer
Top Chef
The Voice
Outstanding Variety Talk Series
The Daily Show With Trevor Noah
Full Frontal With Samantha Bee
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
The Daily Show With Trevor Noah
Full Frontal With Samantha Bee
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Jeremy Irons, Watchmen
Hugh Jackman, Bad Education
Paul Mescal, Normal People
Jeremy Pope, Hollywood
Mark Ruffalo, I Know This Much Is True
Paul Mescal, Normal People
Hugh Jackman, Bad Education
Mark Ruffalo, I Know This Much Is True
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Cate Blanchett, Mrs. America
Shira Haas, Unorthodox
Regina King, Watchmen
Octavia Spencer, Self Made
Kerry Washington, Little Fires Everywhere
Cate Blanchett, Mrs. America
Regina King, Watchmen
Kerry Washington, Little Fires Everywhere
Outstanding Limited Series
Little Fires Everywhere, Hulu
Mrs. America, FX on Hulu
Unbelievable, Netflix
Unorthodox, Netflix
Watchmen, HBO
Unorthodox, Netflix
Little Fires Everywhere, Hulu
Unbelievable, Netflix
Logan would be proud: HBO’s prestige drama Succession got 18 nominations in total
Dark crime thriller: Ozark stars Laura Linney and Jason Bateman, and also received an impressive 18 nominations
Frontrunner: Oscar-winner Olivia Coleman stars in Netflix’s flagship The Crown, which has been nominated in the Outstanding Drama category
Buzz: Jennifer Aniston bagged an award for her role as Alex Levy in The Morning Show, though Reese Witherspoon missed out
Dystopian drama: Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale was once again nominated in the Outstanding Drama category