The 2016 Primetime Emmy Award nominations were revealed Thursday morning with Anthony Anderson (Black-ish) and Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls) announcing the nominees at Hollywood’s Saban Media Center.
As always, there was plenty of drama and surprises with the nominees for TV’s best. Here’s a rundown of notable surprises, snubs and new blood from this year’s crop:
Surprises
The good: It’s rare that longtime snubbed shows and actors get their due in later seasons, but the cast and crew of FX’s The Americans finally got much-deserved recognition. The Americans scored its first ever Outstanding Drama Series, while Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys picked up Outstanding Lead Actress and Actor nominees for their outstanding performances.
Tatiana Maslany earned her second straight Emmy nomination for her multi-role performance on the uneven Orphan Black. Game of Thrones picked up 23 total nominations including well-deserved nods for Lena Headey, Maisie Williams, and Kit Harrington. Fargo continued to get love, as season two standouts Bokeem Woodbine and Jesse Plemons rightfully were nominated in the Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie category. The People v O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story racked up an impressive 22 nominations. Laurie Metcalf earned the rare triple nomination, getting nominated as Outstanding Guest in both Drama and Comedy (Big Bang Theory and Horace and Pete) and earned a lead actress nom for Getting On.
The Emmy voters did a mostly good job recognizing the best of the best.
The Bad: The Emmy nominees continued to nominate based on prestige.
House of Cards continued its overrated ascent to earn nominations for Oustanding Drama Series, Lead Actor (Kevin Spacey), Lead Actress (Robin Wright) and Supporting Actor (Michael Kelly). There were much more deserving candidates (which I’ll mention below). The same reasoning applies to Modern Family, which has become tiring at this point, but still picked up an Outstanding Comey Series nomination. It’s still weird to see Transparent nominated as a Comedy, as there are funny moments, but the show should be classified as a Drama.
New Nominees
Emmy voters did a solid job nominating a handful of newcomers in multiple categories.
I am happy to see both Rami Malek (Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama) and Mr. Robot (Drama Series) get some love for their outstanding season. It’s nice to see Thomas Middleditch get some love for his anxious, layered performance on Silicon Valley.
As mentioned above, it’s about time The Americans received respect, even if it comes late in the game for the show. Masters of None (Comedy Series) and Aziz Ansari (Lead Actor in a Comedy Series) were nominated for the surprisingly great and bingable show. Constance Zimmer (Supporting Actress in a Drama) and Kirsten Dunst (Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie) were also recognized for unique roles.
Snubs:
I get that everyone can’t be nominated, but there are a few snubs that I still am having trouble comprehending.
The Leftovers was the best show on TV this season and didn’t receive a single nomination. Justin Theroux, Carrie Coon and the writing staff made an incredible, weird, unique show that blossomed in its second season. It’s a massive oversight.
While Fargo got love, it’s a surprise to see the show totally shutout in the Lead Actor category. Patrick Wilson gave the best performance of his career in the show. Ted Danson was also a joy to watch as the alien-believing Sheriff Hank Larsson.
On the comedy side, I’m surprised to see The Late Show with Stephen Colbert not nominated for Variety Talk Series. Also, nothing for Orange is the New Black? The biggest snubs in the Comedy categories is the complete disregard for FX’s You’re The Worst. Chris Geere, Desmin Borges, Kether Donohue and especially Aya Cash all deserved nominations for the show’s outstanding second season. Rarely does a comedy operate at such dramatic levels and still remain funny.
This season’s Golden Globe winners also were hit hard. There were no nominees for the convivial Mozart in the Jungle. Lead actress winner Rachel Bloom wasn’t nominated for her manic performance in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Christian Slater was passed over for his career comeback in Mr. Robot. Heck, somehow HBO’s Show Me a Hero was shut out entirely.
All-in-all, I have to give credit to Emmy voters for expanding beyond their usual reach to nominated some fine new performances and recognizing long-snubbed favorites. The nominations won’t please everyone, but I’m confident things could have been much worse.
Here’s the list of the nominees in major categories. (H/T TV Line)
OUTSTANDING DRAMA
The Americans
Better Call Saul
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland
House of Cards
Mr Robot
LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA
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
LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
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
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Lena Headey, Game of Thrones
Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones
Maisie Williams, Game of Thrones
Maura Tierney, The Affair
Constance Zimmer, UnREAL
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul
Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Kit Harington, Game of Thrones
Michael Kelly, House of Cards
Jon Voight, Ray Donovan
Matt Walsh, Veep
GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Laurie Metcalf, Horace and Pete
Molly Parker, House of Cards
Ellen Burstyn, House of Cards
Allison Janney, Masters of Sex
Margo Martindale, The Americans
Carrie Preston, The Good Wife
GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Max von Sydow, Game of Thrones
Reg E. Cathey, House of Cards
Mahershala Ali, House of Cards
Paul Sparks, House of Cards
Hank Azaria, Ray Donovan
Michael J. Fox, The Good Wife
OUTSTANDING COMEDY
black-ish
Master of None
Modern Family
Silicon Valley
Transparent
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Veep
LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Laurie Metcalfe, Getting On
Tracee Ellis Ross, black-ish
Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer
Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie
LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Anthony Anderson, black-ish
Aziz Ansari, Masters of None
Will Forte, The Last Man on Earth
William H Macy, Shameless
Thomas Middleditch, Silicon Valley
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Niecy Nash, Getting On
Kate McKinnon, SNL
Gaby Hoffmann, Transparent
Allison Janney, Mom
Judith Light, Transparent
Anna Chlumsky, Veep
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Louie Anderson, Baskets
Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Keegan-Michael Key, Key & Peele
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Tony Hale, Veep
GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Tina Fey & Amy Poehler, Saturday Night Live
Melissa McCarthy, Saturday Night Live
Amy Schumer, Saturday Night Live
Christine Baranski, The Big Bang Theory
Laurie Metcalf, The Big Bang Theory
Melora Hardin, Transparent
GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Bob Newhart, The Big Bang Theory
Tracy Morgan, Saturday Night Live
Larry David, Saturday Night Live
Bradley Whitford, Transparent
Martin Mull, Veep
Peter MacNicol, Veep
TV MOVIE
A Very Murray Christmas
All the Way
Confirmation
Luther
Sherlock: The Abominable Bride
LIMITED SERIES
American Crime
Fargo
The Night Manager
The People v. OJ Simpson
Roots
LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
Kirsten Dunst, Fargo
Felicity Huffman, American Crime
Audra McDonald, Billie Holiday: Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill
Sarah Paulson, The People v. O.J. Simpson
Lili Taylor, American Crime
Kerry Washington, Confirmation
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, The People v. O.J. Simpson
Tom Hiddleston, The Night Manager
Courtney B. Vance, The People v. O.J. Simpson
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
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
Jesse Plemons, Fargo
Bokeem Woodbine, Fargo
Hugh Laurie, The Night Manager
Sterling K. Brown, The People v. O.J. Simpson
David Schwimmer, The People v. O.J. Simpson
John Travolta, The People v. O.J. Simpson
REALITY SHOW HOST
Ryan Seacrest, American Idol
Tom Bergeron, Dancing With the Stars
Jane Lynch, Hollywood Game Night
Steve Harvey, Little Big Shots
Heidi Klum & Tim Gunn, Project Runway
RuPaul Charles, RuPaul’s Drag Race
REALITY SHOW COMPETITION
The Amazing Race
American Ninja Warrior
Dancing With the Stars
Project Runway
Top Chef
The Voice
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 With Jimmy Fallon
You can read the list of full Emmy nominees here. The ceremony will be held Sept. 18 on ABC.
