Royals, superheroes and Baby Yoda lead streaming-heavy Emmy nominations

The Crown and The Mandalorian led nominations on Tuesday for the Emmy Awards in a field packed with newcomers and feel-good TV shows that reflected the surge in streaming during the coronavirus pandemic.

HBO and its new HBO Max streaming platform led all networks with 130 nominations, followed by Netflix with 129. The Apple TV+ streaming service scored 35 nods – its best-ever showing – mostly for the heartwarming comedy Ted Lasso.

Best drama series contenders include Netflix’s British royal series The Crown for a season that focused on the early years of the disastrous marriage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

The Crown nabbed a leading 24 nods, including nine for actors such as Josh O’Connor and newcomer Emma Corrin as the royal newlyweds and Olivia Colman as a middle-aged Queen Elizabeth.

“We are all pinching ourselves that after four series, The Crown is still being embraced and enjoyed in this way,” creator Peter Morgan said in a statement.

The Emmy Awards will be handed out at a ceremony in Los Angeles on Sept. 19, hosted by actor Cedric the Entertainer. While they are awarded by the Los Angeles-based Television Academy, they are considered the highest TV honours in the world.

Star Wars spinoff drama The Mandalorian, a Disney+ series that features the beloved Baby Yoda character, tied The Crown with 24 nominations, including best drama series and others for writing and special effects.

Bridgerton, Netflix’s modern twist on 19th-century British romance, won a best drama series nod as well as an acting nomination for breakout British star Regé-Jean Page.

Bridgerton creator Chris Van Dusen said the show offered a respite during the grim days of COVID-19 lockdowns and sickness.

“At the end of the day, Bridgerton is a beautiful, escapist world that you get to enter in. It’s a show about romance and love and joy,” Van Dusen said in a phone interview on Tuesday.

NEW SHOWS ON NEW PLATFORMS

TV viewing exploded during the pandemic, sending viewers to the vast libraries of programming on streaming platforms. The health crisis also disrupted production, leaving previous winners like Succession and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel out of the Emmy running this year.

The production lull opened the way for new shows and stars.

In the comedy field, 75 per cent of the nominees were new to the field, led by Ted Lasso, about an underdog English soccer team coached by an American, which scored 20 nods, including for its star and co-writer Jason Sudeikis, and six other actors.

Its competitors for best comedy series include the HBO Max streaming shows The Flight Attendant, with Kaley Cuoco, and Hacks, about a veteran female comic played by Jean Smart.

Other notable nods went to a documentary about Britney Spears and to Oprah Winfrey’s explosive interview in March with Prince Harry and his wife Meghan in their first major TV sit-down since quitting the royal family in early 2020.

The much-anticipated Friends reunion show in May also got a nomination.

Pose star Mj Rodriguez became the first transgender performer to pick up a lead Emmy acting nomination, for her role in the drama series about the LGBTQ underground ballroom scene. Laverne Cox was the first transgender actress to be nominated for an acting Emmy for her guest role in Orange Is the New Black.

LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD called the Rodriguez nomination “a breakthrough for transgender women in Hollywood”.

Crime story Mare of Easttown, starring Kate Winslet, and British rape drama I May Destroy You, starring and created by Michaela Coel, will face off in a strong field for best limited series that includes chess drama The Queen’s Gambit and harrowing slavery tale The Underground Railroad.

Walt Disney Co led all media companies with 146 nominations combined across all of its platforms, including the Disney+ and Hulu streaming services and traditional networks including ABC.

Innovative Disney+ superhero dramedy WandaVision scored 23 nominations, including for stars Paul Bettany and Elizabeth Olsen. Creator Jac Schaeffer called the show a love letter to television that explores a woman’s grief.

“I think people had spent the previous year retreating into their content because we were all trapped at home and we were all afraid and angry and grieving, and the sort of balm to those wounds was oftentimes TV,” she said by phone on Tuesday.

Read the full list of nominations below:

Outstanding Drama Series

Outstanding Comedy Series

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Outstanding Limited Series

Outstanding Television Movie

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series

Outstanding Variety Sketch Series

Outstanding Variety Talk Series

Outstanding Competition Program

Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program