The nominees for the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards were just announced by Black-ish star Anthony Anderson and once and forever Lorelai Gilmore Lauren Graham in Los Angeles, the second year in a row when the Television Academy showed pity on pop-culture writers by holding the announcement ceremony at a decent time. In the wake of last year’s #OscarsSoWhite controversy, there was pressure on Emmys voters to increase racial diversity in the nominations this year, as well as to acknowledge the excellent work being done by women in front of and behind the camera.
Multiple nominations for Black-ish, Master Of None, and American Crime Story: The People Vs. O.J. Simpson showed some movement towards the former, as well as acting nominations for Viola Davis, Taraji P. Henson, Kerry Washington, Audra McDonald, Rami Malek, and Idris Elba in the major drama categories and Roots for Outstanding Limited Series. Meanwhile, the Outstanding Comedy and Variety categories failed to nominate the female-led Full Frontal With Samantha Bee, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, or Lady Dynamite, missed opportunities all around. (UnREAL picked up a couple of drama nominations further down the list, though, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend did pick up a couple of music nominations waaay down the list.)
On the upside, Mr. Robot got six nominations, and Emmys underdog The Americans got five. Overall, HBO dominated as usual with 94 total nominations, even with more competition from streaming services—like Netflix, which snagged 54 nominations—and basic cable networks like FX, which received a record 56 nominations. In the big awards, Game Of Thrones was the only HBO series nominated for Outstanding Drama, but the network fared better in comedy, with Outstanding Comedy Series nominations for Veep and Silicon Valley. One former Emmys giant fell and fell hard, though: For the first time since 2000, The Daily Show was nominated for zero awards.
Outstanding Drama Series
The Americans
Better Call Saul
Downton Abbey
Game Of Thrones
Homeland
House Of Cards
Mr. Robot
Outstanding Comedy Series
Black-ish
Master Of None
Modern Family
Silicon Valley
Transparent
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Veep
Outstanding Limited Series
American Crime
Fargo
The Night Manager
American Crime Story: The People Vs. O.J. Simpson
Roots
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series
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
Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series
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
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series
Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul
Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline
Peter Dinklage, Game Of Thrones
Michael Kelly, House Of Cards
Kit Harington, Game Of Thrones
Jon Voight, Ray Donovan
Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Emilia Clarke, Game Of Thrones
Lena Headey, Game Of Thrones
Maura Tierney, The Affair
Maisie Williams, Game Of Thrones
Constance Zimmer, UnREAL
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series
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
Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series
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
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series
Louie Anderson, Baskets
Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Tony Hale, Veep
Keegan Michael-Key, Key & Peele
Matt Walsh, Veep
Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series
Anna Chlumsky, Veep
Gaby Hoffmann, Transparent
Allison Janney, Mom
Judith Light, Transparent
Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
Niecy Nash, Getting On
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie
Bryan Cranston, All The Way
Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock: The Abominable Bride
Idris Elba, Luther
Cuba Gooding Jr., American Crime Story: The People V. O.J. Simpson
Tom Hiddleston, The Night Manager
Courtney B. Vance, American Crime Story: The People V. O.J. Simpson
Outstanding Lead Actress In A Limited Series Or Movie
Kirsten Dunst, Fargo
Felicity Huffman, American Crime
Audra McDonald, Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar And Grill
Sarah Paulson, American Crime Story: The People V. O.J. Simpson
Lili Taylor, American Crime
Kerry Washington, Confirmation
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie
Jesse Plemons, Fargo
Bokeem Woodbine, Fargo
Sterling K. Brown, American Crime Story: The People V. O.J. Simpson
Hugh Laurie, The Night Manager
David Schwimmer, American Crime Story: The People V. O.J. Simpson
John Travolta, American Crime Story: The People V. O.J. Simpson
Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Limited Series Or Movie
Melissa Leo, All The Way
Regina King, American Crime
Sarah Paulson, American Horror Story: Hotel
Kathy Bates, American Horror Story: Hotel
Jean Smart, Fargo
Olivia Colman, The Night Manager
Outstanding Variety Talk Series
Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
The Late Late Show With James Corden
Real Time With Bill Maher
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Outstanding Variety Sketch Series
Documentary Now!
Drunk History
Inside Amy Schumer
Key & Peele
Portlandia
Saturday Night Live
Outstanding Reality-Competition Program
The Amazing Race
American Ninja Warrior
Dancing With The Stars
Project Runway
Top Chef
The Voice
Outstanding TV Movie
A Very Murray Christmas
All The Way
Confirmation
Luther
Sherlock: The Abominable Bride
Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series
Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan, Catastrophe (“Episode 1”)
Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, Master Of None (“Parents”)
Dan O’Keefe, Silicon Valley (“Founder Friendly”)
Alec Berg, Silicon Valley (“The Uptick”)
David Mandel, Veep (“The Morning After”)
Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck, Veep (“Mother”)
Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series
Julian Fellowes, Downton Abbey (“Episode 8”)
David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, Game Of Thrones (“Battle Of The Bastards”)
Sam Esmail, Mr. Robot (“eps1.0_hellofriend.mov (Pilot)”)
Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg, The Americans (“Persona Non Grata”)
Robert King and Michelle King, The Good Wife (“End”)
Marti Noxon and Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, UnREAL (“Return”)