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The Television Academy announced this year’s Emmy nominees on Tuesday, July 12, and as usual, we had thoughts to share on the matter.
TV is having a moment, and there was a mountain of shows across various channels, networks, and platforms that viewers were able to dive into this past year, also giving Emmy voters plenty to choose from. The list of nominees this year features the usual and expected, some surprises, newcomers, blatant snubs, as well as nominees that finally got their overdue recognition.
Shows like Euphoria, Succession, and Abbott Elementary impressed their respective audiences and critics this year, so hearing those names announced in various categories was no surprise. Streaming services like Netflix, Apple TV+ and Hulu continued to provide incredible content, adding shows like Squid Game and Only Murders in the Building to the Emmys mix.
Check out our biggest takeaways for the nominations for the upcoming 74th Emmy Awards, taking place on Monday, Sept. 12.
Zendaya is a star
Complex was always on the right side of the Zendaya conversation, going so far as to say the actor had the win for Euphoria’s first season in the bag after she was nominated for her first Emmy award. We recently called our shot again earlier this year off the strength of her magnetic (yet tough to watch) performance in the fifth episode of season 2, “Stand Still Like the Hummingbird,” and were proven correct today when she was nominated again in the Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series. The second nomination makes the 25-year-old the youngest star to receive two acting Emmy nominations, as well as being one of the youngest producers to be nominated.
This feels like Zendaya’s award to lose; we’d be shocked if she’s not rewarded for how she buoyed an uneven Euphoria season in how she found new depths to Rue in that fifth episode in particular. As one of this generation’s finest and most captivating talents, it’s right for the Emmys to give Zendaya her flowers when and wherever they can. — William Goodman
'Abbott Elementary' got the recognition it deserved
If you were surprised by Abbott Elementary getting seven nominations, you must have not been paying attention. According to Variety, Quinta Brunson made Emmy history by becoming the first Black woman to earn three nominations in the comedy categories in the same year. The 32-year-old is also now the youngest Black woman ever nominated in the comedy acting category thanks to her breakthrough show.
The ABC workplace sitcom received nominations for Outstanding Casting For A Comedy Series category, the Lead Actress In A Comedy Series category for Brunson’s role as Janine Teagues, twice in the Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series nominations for Janelle James nominee for her role as Ava Coleman and Sheryl Lee Ralph for her role as Barbara Howard, Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series category for Tyler James Williams for his role as Gregory Eddie, as well as the Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series categories.
There was no denying that this show would win over Emmy voters just as it did viewers throughout its first season. Now we will have to wait and see how the sitcom holds out against the established Academy favorites like Ted Lasso and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. From where we’re standing, Brunson and crew have nothing to worry about. —Karla Rodriguez
Sydney Sweeney is a double nominee
There is no way anyone watched Season 2 of Euphoria and didn’t think Sydney Sweeney deserved an Emmy nomination. Sweeney put on one of the best performances of the year as Cassie Howard so it was not a shock to hear her name during the announcements. Sweeney brought so much drama, intensity, and emotion to this season of the HBO hit series—she was crying or yelling in damn near every scene—and delivered some of the show’s most memorable moments. The bathtub scene? Cassie’s yelling match with Nate Jacobs? That explosive monologue she delivered in the girl’s bathroom? There was no way she would be left out of this category after that, or the Emmys would’ve upset a whole lot of people.
She also received a nomination in the Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie category for her role as Olivia Mossbacher in HBO’s The White Lotus. She may have some strong competition on both sides but it doesn’t take away the fact that she is now a well-deserving two-time Emmy nominee. —Karla Rodriguez
'Squid Game' makes history, again
Despite not winning the overall nomination battle, Netflix made history—again—with Squid Game. The Korean mega-hit created by Hwang Dong-hyuk is the first non-English show ever to grab an Emmy nomination for Best Drama and earned an overall 14 nominations. Other notable award nods for Squid Game include Outstanding Directing, Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Park Hae-soo), Outstanding Supporting Actress (Jung Ho-yeon), and Outstanding Writing (creator Hwang Dong-hyuk). It’s sad it’s taken this long for a non-English series to get a nomination in Best Drama but it couldn’t have gone to a better show. — William Goodman
Superheroes take a step back
Marvel and Disney’s various Disney+ series provided the company with plenty of bites at the Emmy apple, but what initially seemed to be a splashy debut into awards fare was more of an exception than the rule. After making waves with WandaVision last year with a staggering 23 nominations, including acting considerations for Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, and Kathyrn Hahn, the MCU’s live-action offerings of Loki, Hawkeye, and Moon Knight were shut out from most of the major categories. All three series received below-the-line nominations, but after making a stunning superhero landing last time, the MCU looks to have stumbled.
However, the Emmys did have one big surprise for Marvel fans buried in the list of nods; Chadwick Boseman scored a well-deserved posthumous nod for What If…?’s best episode, “What If… T’Challa Became a Star-Lord?” That episode is a beautiful tribute to Boseman—and a win here would be a lovely and welcome way to honor one of our very best. — William Goodman
Justice for Rhea, FINALLY
Hell, it’s about time. After an extensive drought, Better Call Saul’s Rhea Seehorn finally clinched an Emmy nomination for her superlative work in the Breaking Bad prequel series. We’ve long wished for Seehorn to be recognized for her performance as Kim Wexler, and Emmy voters finally woke up and rewarded her accordingly—albeit amongst some tough competition, including Ozark’s Julia Garner, Squid Game’s Jung Ho-yeon, Succession’s Sarah Snook and J. Smith-Cameron, Yellowjackets’ Christina Ricci, and Euphoria’s Sydney Sweeney. Seehorn didn’t need the accolades—her performance continues to transcend awards and will go down as one of the finest of the last few years—but it’s nice to see the fruits of her labor finally—and deservedly—rewarded. Is it too much for us to hold out hope for a surprise win? — William Goodman
Reigning Champions
The Emmys have a bit of a history of rewarding past champions not only with nominations but with actual trophies, too. There’s a strong possibility that the reigning winners of the drama (Succession, which earned the most individual nominations out of any program with 25 overall) and comedy (Ted Lasso) categories will likely have the best odds to bring home the big awards this year, too. In Succession’s case, Season 3 continued the series’ outstanding run with a legitimately draw-dropping finale, while Ted Lasso’s sophomore effort managed to complicate the show’s “nice” tone in interesting and engaging ways. It will be tough for other series to beat out the stranglehold both appear to have on the awards. — William Goodman
Selena Gomez was snubbed
Hearing both Martin Short and Steve Martin get nominations in the Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series category for their Hulu show Only Murders in the Building felt rather disappointing after it was revealed that their counterpart and costar on the show, Selena Gomez, was left out of the Lead Actress category. She also did not get an acknowledgment in the Supporting Actress category, which leads me to believe the people who voted must not have watched the same show I did. Sure, Short and Martin have decades-long careers and are some of the best to ever do it, but Gomez holds her own on the series.
There is no Only Murders without her character Mabel’s sarcasm and wit that really balances out her costars’ performances. She did land a nomination as an executive producer on the show, but the last time a Latina won an acting Emmy it was America Ferrera for Ugly Betty in 2007. Not saying she wouldn’t have had some tough competition had she been nominated but the recognition would have sufficed. All in all, nominating two older white men, and not their Latina costar who contributes just as much to the show as they do, makes the optics of this snub downright awful. —Karla Rodriguez