The Television Academy pulled a rarity this year: They got the Emmys nominations right.
Well, mostly — and, let’s face it, even that doesn’t happen very often.
The Tuesday morning nominations were announced, virtually, by father-daughter Emmy winners Ron Cephas Jones (“This Is Us”) and Jasmine Cephas Jones (“#FreeRayshawn”), with Ron in New York and Jasmine in LA. They started with the usual scripted banter, punctuated by awkward secondslong delays, and Jasmine stumbled over the name of “Ted Lasso” nominee Jason Sudeikis. It happens. And, those glitches aside, it was a big improvement on last year’s over-the-top nom announcements, presented (loudly) by Leslie Jones.
But all eyes were on the nominees this time, and those who deserved to be singled out were recognized for their efforts, among them Sudeikis for the heartwarming “Ted Lasso,” Jean Smart for her career-renaissance role in “Hacks,” Anya Taylor-Joy for “The Queen’s Gambit” and Kate Winslet for “Mare of Easttown,” plus the talents behind Amazon’s wickedly smart “The Boys.” Smart also received a nomination for her supporting role on “Mare of Easttown,” upping her odds for walking away with a statuette when the Emmys air live Sept. 19 on CBS.
As usual, there were the “enough already” nods — among them “The Kominsky Method” (sans Alan Arkin in its final season), Elisabeth Moss (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) and “This Is Us” — but they were kept to a minimum. They were joined by many newcomers, including Elizabeth Olsen (“WandaVision”), Michaela Coel (“I May Destroy You”), Josh O’Connor and Emma Corin (Charles and Diana on “The Crown”), Regé-Jean Page (“Bridgerton”) and Jonathan Majors (“Lovecraft Country”).
Production delays caused by the pandemic, referenced by academy president and CEO Frank Scherma in his opening remarks, meant several of the usual contenders, including “Better Call Saul,” “Ozark” and “Stranger Things,” were not eligible this year. Thankfully that also applied to the overrated and over-nominated “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”
What virtually all of this year’s nominees have in common is that they don’t air on broadcast TV. I sound like a broken record in these annual columns, but there’s no denying the dearth of candidates from ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, etc., since “prime time” now takes a backseat to streaming (and cable, to a lesser extent).
Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross (ABC’s “Black-ish”), Kenan Thompson (NBC’s “Kenan”), Sterling K. Brown (“This Is Us,” also NBC) and Allison Janney (“Mom” on CBS) were the lone broadcast nominees in the lead acting categories. “Black-ish” and the hoary “This Is Us” snared nominations for Best Comedy and Best Drama.
The late-night nominees were as expected — they’re the same every year, and only “Conan,” now a memory after slipping away in June, was a surprise. Perhaps it was the academy’s way of thanking Conan O’Brien for his many years of talk-show service. (And, let’s face it, his viewership on TBS was, to put it politely, “a challenge” over the years.)
It was surprising that “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” wasn’t nominated in any of the major categories (it received five nods, mostly in technical categories); it was a big hit for Disney+ with a rabid fan base. That said, Disney+ cleaned up for “The Mandalorian” (24 nominations) and the aforementioned “WandaVision” (23 nominations), balancing the Marvel scales of TV justice.
And how about “Cobra Kai” being nominated for Best Comedy Series? Heady stuff for a series that premiered on YouTube before moving to Netflix. It probably won’t win in a tough field — it’s up against “Ted Lasso,” “Hacks” and “The Flight Attendant” — but, as they say, it’s nice just to be nominated.