Emmy nominations are revealed! What a fantastic slate! Diversity was key. I’m thrilled The Americans finally entered the Outstanding Drama category since Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell should have been nominated years ago for Brothers & Sisters and Felicity. Hopefully, the Academy will add The Walking Dead to the Drama race one of these days. Also thrilled to see strong showings for the extraordinary People vs. O.J. Simpson as well as American Crime and Fargo (despite Connor Jessup being overlooked for his marvelous work on AC).
Game of Thrones did very well as expected with a surprising nod for Kit Harington and well-deserved nods for the “Battle of the Bastards” episode as I recently predicted. It’s a shock but not a surprise that Orange is the New Black was ignored across the board for its weak third season from last summer, but hopefully, the Academy will find the excellent fourth season a worthy comeback when marking ballots next year.
On the comedy side, Blackish did very well with Tracee Ellis Ross deservedly receiving a nod for Outstanding Comedy Actress, a category rare for black actresses to squeeze into. The final season of The Good Wife was overlooked for Outstanding Drama and major acting nods which was a bit of a surprise, but at least Downton Abbey & Maggie Smith wasn’t forgotten. Unfortunate Regina King wasn’t nominated for The Leftovers and Ben Whishaw wasn’t nominated for London Spy, but it’s wonderful that Ellen Burstyn received a guest actress nod for House of Cards (HOC did very well in the guest acting field).
RuPaul nominated as Outstanding Reality Host for Drag Race was a pleasant, overdue surprise, and it’s also nice to see Jesse Plemons (Fargo), Tracy Morgan (Saturday Night Live) and Constance Zimmer (UnReal) remembered. And what an awkward twist of fate that James Corden and not Stephen Colbert received a nod for Outstanding Talk Show. Even though The Wiz Live was overlooked in favor of Grease Live for Outstanding Special Class Program, Beyonce’s Lemonade competing against The Kennedy Center Honors for Outstanding Variety Special certainly speaks to the spectrum of variety. So, hold up! On Sunday, Sept. 18, find out if the Emmy voters love your favorite shows like you love them.
COMEDY
BEST COMEDY SERIES
“Black-ish”
“Master of None”
“Modern Family”
“Silicon Valley”
“Transparent”
“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”
“Veep”
BEST COMEDY ACTOR
Anthony Anderson (“Black-ish”)
Aziz Ansari (“Master of None”)
Will Forte (“The Last Man on Earth”)
William H. Macy (“Shameless”)
Thomas Middleditch (“Silicon Valley”)
Jeffrey Tambor (“Transparent”)
BEST COMEDY ACTRESS
Ellie Kemper (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“Veep”)
Laurie Metcalf (“Getting On”)
Tracee Ellis Ross (“Black-ish”)
Amy Schumer (“Inside Amy Schumer”)
Lily Tomlin (“Grace and Frankie”)
BEST COMEDY SUPPORTING ACTOR
Louie Anderson (“Baskets”)
Andre Braugher (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”)
Tituss Burgess (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”)
Ty Burrell (“Modern Family”)
Tony Hale (“Veep”)
Keegan-Michael Key (“Key and Peele”)
Matt Walsh (“Veep”)
BEST COMEDY SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Anna Chlumsky (“Veep”)
Gaby Hoffmann (“Transparent”)
Allison Janney (“Mom”)
Judith Light (“Transparent”)
Kate McKinnon (“Saturday Night Live”)
Niecy Nash (“Getting On”)
BEST COMEDY GUEST ACTOR
Larry David (“Saturday Night Live”)
Peter MacNicol (“Veep”)
Tracy Morgan (“Saturday Night Live”)
Martin Mull (“Veep”)
Bob Newhart (“The Big Bang Theory”)
Bradley Whitford (“Transparent”)
BEST COMEDY GUEST ACTRESS
Christine Baranski (“The Big Bang Theory”)
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler (“Saturday Night Live”)
Melora Hardin (“Transparent”)
Melissa McCarthy (“Saturday Night Live”)
Laurie Metcalf (“The Big Bang Theory”)
Amy Schumer (“Saturday Night Live”)
BEST COMEDY DIRECTING
“Master Of None,” “Parents”
“Silicon Valley,” “Daily Active Users”
“Silicon Valley,” “Founder Friendly”
“Transparent,” “Man On The Land”
“Veep,” “Kissing Your Sister”
“Veep,” “Morning After”
“Veep,” “Mother”
BEST COMEDY WRITING
“Catastrophe,” “Episode 1”
“Master Of None,” “Parents”
“Silicon Valley,” “Founder Friendly”
“Silicon Valley,” “The Uptick”
“Veep,” “Morning After”
“Veep,” “Mother”
DRAMA
BEST DRAMA SERIES
“The Americans”
“Better Call Saul”
“Downton Abbey”
“Game of Thrones”
“Homeland”
“House of Cards”
“Mr. Robot”
BEST DRAMA ACTOR
Kyle Chandler (“Bloodline”)
Rami Malek (“Mr. Robot”)
Bob Odenkirk (“Better Call Saul”)
Matthew Rhys (“The Americans”)
Liev Schreiber (“Ray Donovan”)
Kevin Spacey (“House of Cards”)
BEST DRAMA ACTRESS
Claire Danes (“Homeland”)
Viola Davis (“How to Get Away with Murder”)
Taraji P. Henson (“Empire”)
Tatiana Maslany (“Orphan Black”)
Keri Russell (“The Americans”)
Robin Wright (“House of Cards”)
BEST DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jonathan Banks (“Better Call Saul”)
Peter Dinklage (“Game of Thrones”)
Kit Harington (“Game of Thrones”)
Michael Kelly (“House of Cards”)
Ben Mendelsohn (“Bloodline”)
Jon Voight (“Ray Donovan”)
BEST DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Emilia Clarke (“Game of Thrones”)
Lena Headey (“Game of Thrones”)
Maggie Smith (“Downton Abbey”)
Maura Tierney (“The Affair”)
Maisie Williams (“Game of Thrones”)
Constance Zimmer (“UnReal”)
BEST DRAMA GUEST ACTOR
Mahershala Ali (“House of Cards”)
Hank Azaria (“Ray Donovan”)
Reg E. Cathey (“House of Cards”)
Michael J. Fox (“The Good Wife”)
Paul Sparks (“House of Cards”)
Max Von Sydow (“Game of Thrones”)
BEST DRAMA GUEST ACTRESS
Ellen Burstyn (“House of Cards”)
Allison Janney (“Masters of Sex”)
Margo Martindale (“The Americans”)
Laurie Metcalf (“Horace and Pete”)
Molly Parker (“House of Cards”)
Carrie Preston (“The Good Wife”)
BEST DRAMA DIRECTING
“Downton Abbey,” “Episode 9”
“Game Of Thrones,” “Battle Of The Bastards”
“Game Of Thrones,” “The Door”
“Homeland,” “The Tradition Of Hospitality”
“The Knick,” “This Is All We Are”
“Ray Donovan,” “Exsuscito”
BEST DRAMA WRITING
“The Americans,” “Persona Non Grata”
“Downton Abbey,” “Episode 8”
“Game Of Thrones,” “Battle Of The Bastards”
“The Good Wife,” “End”
“Mr. Robot,” “eps1.0_hellofriend.mov”
“UnREAL,” “Return”
TV MOVIE/LIMITED SERIES
BEST LIMITED SERIES
“American Crime”
“Fargo”
“The Night Manager”
“The People v. O.J. Simpson”
“Roots”
BEST TV MOVIE
“A Very Murray Christmas”
“All the Way”
“Confirmation”
“Luther”
“Sherlock: The Abominable Bride”
BEST MOVIE/MINI ACTOR
Bryan Cranston (“All the Way”)
Benedict Cumberbatch (“Sherlock: The Abominable Bride”)
Idris Elba (“Luther”)
Cuba Gooding Jr. (“The People v. O.J. Simpson”)
Tom Hiddleston (“The Night Manager”)
Courtney B. Vance (“The People v. O.J. Simpson”)
BEST MOVIE/MINI ACTRESS
Kirsten Dunst (“Fargo”)
Felicity Huffman (“American Crime”)
Audra McDonald (“Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill”)
Sarah Paulson (“The People v. O.J. Simpson”)
Lili Taylor (“American Crime”)
Kerry Washington (“Confirmation”)
BEST MOVIE/MINI SUPPORTING ACTOR
Sterling K. Brown (“The People v. O.J. Simpson”)
Hugh Laurie (“The Night Manager”)
Jesse Plemons (“Fargo”)
David Schwimmer (“The People v. O.J. Simpson”)
John Travolta (“The People v. O.J. Simpson”)
Bokeem Woodbine (“Fargo”)
BEST MOVIE/MINI SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Kathy Bates (“American Horror Story: Hotel”)
Olivia Colman (“The Night Manager”)
Regina King (“American Crime”)
Melissa Leo (“All the Way”)
Sarah Paulson (“American Horror Story: Hotel”)
Jean Smart (“Fargo”)
BEST MOVIE/MINI DIRECTING
“All The Way”
“Fargo,” “Before The Law”
“The Night Manager”
“The People v. O.J. Simpson,” “From The Ashes Of Tragedy”
“The People v. O.J. Simpson,” “Manna From Heaven”
“The People v. O.J. Simpson,” “The Race Card”
BEST MOVIE/MINI WRITING
“Fargo,” “Loplop”
“Fargo,” “Palindrome”
“The Night Manager”
“The People v. O.J. Simpson,” “From The Ashes Of Tragedy”
“The People v. O.J. Simpson,” “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia”
“The People v. O.J. Simpson,” “The Race Card”
REALITY/VARIETY
BEST REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM
“The Amazing Race”
“American Ninja Warrior”
“Dancing with the Stars”
“Project Runway”
“Top Chef”
“The Voice”
BEST REALITY HOST
Tom Bergeron (“Dancing With the Stars”)
RuPaul Charles (“RuPaul’s Drag Race”)
Steve Harvey (“Little Big Shots”)
Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn (“Project Runway”)
Jane Lynch (“Hollywood Game Night”)
Ryan Seacrest (“American Idol”)
BEST STRUCTURED REALITY PROGRAM
“Antiques Roadshow”
“Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives”
“Lip Sync Battle”
“MythBusters”
“Shark Tank”
“Undercover Boss”
BEST UNSTRUCTURED REALITY PROGRAM
“Born This Way”
“Deadliest Catch”
“Gaycation With Ellen Page”
“Intervention”
“Project Greenlight”
“United Shades Of America”
BEST VARIETY TALK SERIES
“Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee”
“Jimmy Kimmel Live”
“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”
“Late Late Show with James Corden”
“Real Time with Bill Maher”
“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”
BEST VARIETY SKETCH SERIES
“Documentary Now”
“Drunk History”
“Inside Amy Schumer”
“Key and Peele”
“Portlandia”
“Saturday Night Live”
BEST VARIETY SPECIAL
“Adele Live In New York City”
“Amy Schumer: Live At The Apollo”
“The Kennedy Center Honors”
“The Late Late Show Carpool Karaoke Prime Time Special”
“Lemonade”
For more Creative Arts categories, visit the Emmys website.
