Nominations for the 76th Emmy Awards were announced Wednesday, and in a milestone that reflected Hollywood’s turbulent year, FX (not HBO or Netflix) led the major categories, with a total of 93 nominations — the most in the network’s history. Netflix, however, led the pack with 107 nominations overall.
FX earned 23 nominations for the second season of “The Bear,” a new record for a comedy series, and 25 nominations for the historical epic “Shōgun,” the most for any show this year. The latest installment of the anthology series “Fargo,” starring Jon Hamm and Juno Temple, also fared well for the cable network, with 15 nominations. And in a surprise welcomed by many fans, “Reservation Dogs,” which was developed by FX and streams on Hulu, also earned its first comedy series nomination — a historic breakthrough for a series from an Indigenous creator — and an additional nomination for lead actor D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai.
D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai and Dallas Goldtooth in a scene from the final season of FX's “Reservation Dogs.”
(Shane Brown/Special Effects)
“True Detective: Night Country,” the latest incarnation of the anthology crime series, topped HBO’s nominations list with 19 nods, while “Hacks” received 16, “The Gilded Age” earned six and the final season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” earned four. Meanwhile, Netflix’s limited series “Baby Reindeer,” the haunting hit created by Richard Gadd about a struggling comedian and the woman who stalks him, received 11 nominations, and the final season of “The Crown,” which focused on Princess Diana’s final weeks and the aftermath of her death, received 18. The sci-fi series “3 Body Problem” and the psychological thriller “Ripley” were also nominated for drama and limited series, respectively.
Notably, this year’s nominations brought with them several breakthroughs for Asian and Indigenous actors in shows like “Shōgun,” which featured a mostly Japanese cast, Hulu’s true-crime drama “Under the Bridge” and the crime drama anthology “True Detective: Night Country.”
Richard Gadd and Jessica Gunn in Netflix's smash hit “Baby Reindeer.”
(Ed Miller / Netflix)
The nominations come at a time of uncertainty and transition in Hollywood. The 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes led to production delays for many potential Emmy contenders and fewer series eligible to submit, while the bursting of the streaming bubble has led to dramatic cost-cutting across the industry. This year’s class of contenders reflects the mood of unrest in the television industry, but also the medium’s enduring creative possibility.
The effect of double strikes on nominations
Emmy voters are often criticized for automatically approving the same names year after year, but not in 2024.
Strike-related delays and the end of several high-profile shows in 2023 created room for new and previously overlooked series to score nominations Wednesday, leading to one of the most unusual groups of Emmy contenders in recent memory.
The oddity of this year’s Emmys was perhaps most apparent in the drama series category. “The Crown” was the only returning nominated drama series; perennial nominees “Succession” and “Better Call Saul” ended last year and HBO’s “House of the Dragon,” which received eight nominations in 2023, returned too late to be eligible. Production on other series that typically earn nominations, including “Stranger Things,” “Yellowjackets” and “The White Lotus,” was delayed because of the strikes, resulting in an open field in which new series or series that had been sidelined in previous years were able to shine.
“Shōgun,” Netflix’s “3 Body Problem” and Prime Video’s “Fallout” all earned nominations for their first seasons, while HBO’s period series “The Gilded Age” earned a spot in the once fiercely competitive category for the first time.
Indigenous and other actors of color advance
Following historic wins for “Beef” stars Ali Wong and Steven Yeun at the January Emmys, this year marked another major step forward for Asian representation, thanks in large part to the huge box-office performance of “Shōgun,” a historical drama set in feudal Japan. Japanese actors Anna Sawai and Hiroyuki Sanada were nominated for their leading roles, as were Tadanobu Asano and Takehiro Hira for supporting roles, in the series based on James Clavell’s novel (which was also adapted into an Emmy-winning miniseries in 1980). Asian-American actress Maya Erskine was nominated for her performance as a stylish assassin in the Prime Video reimagining of “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.”
Kali Reis, left, and Jodie Foster in the HBO crime anthology “True Detective: Night Country.”
(Michele K. Short / HBO)
This year was also a milestone for Indigenous representation at the Emmys. In what appears to be a first, two Indigenous performers, Lily Gladstone and Kali Reis, were nominated for best supporting actress in a miniseries — Gladstone for her role as a police officer in “Under the Bridge” and Reis for her performance as an Alaska state trooper in “True Detective: Night Country.” This comes on the heels of Gladstone’s historic Oscar nomination for “Killers of the Flower Moon,” the first for an Indigenous woman. (Gladstone is of Blackfeet and Nez Perce descent and Reis is of Cape Verdean and Seaconke Wampanoag descent.) D’Pharoah Woon-A-Tai, who is of Oji-Cree, Chinese-Guyanese and German descent, also received a historic nomination for her performance in “Reservation Dogs.”
And while Latino representation still lags in film and television, there were several notable acting nominations this year. These included Colombian actress Sofia Vergara, nominated for her lead role in the miniseries “Griselda”; Puerto Rican actress Liza Colon-Zayas, nominated for her supporting role in “The Bear”; Mexican-American actress Selena Gomez as lead actress in “Only Murders in the Building”; and Mexican actress Nava Mau as supporting actress in “Baby Reindeer.”
Black actors also fared well, particularly in the comedy categories. Ayo Edebiri, who won best supporting actress in a comedy for the first season of “The Bear,” was nominated for best lead actress in a comedy this year. Her “Bear” co-star Lionel Boyce also earned his first nomination, for supporting actor in a comedy. The cast of “Abbott Elementary” was once again recognized in multiple categories. Quinta Brunson was nominated for best lead actress in a comedy, an award she won at the strike-delayed ceremony in January. Her co-stars Janelle James and Sheryl Lee Ralph were nominated for best supporting actress in a comedy series, while Tyler James Williams was nominated for best supporting actress in a comedy series. On the drama side, Idris Elba was nominated for his lead role in the Apple TV+ thriller “Hijack” and Donald Glover for his role in “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.”
