Issa Rae, John Legend, Donald Glover, and more snag Emmy nominations
It's a big year for Black folks and Netflix.
The nominees for the 2018 Emmys have been announced and it looks like it has been a big year for Black folks on television.
There’s a lot more melanin than usual in the long list of actors and personalities in the running for a trophy and we couldn’t be happier about it.
Colin Jost and Michael Che are set to host the 70th annual Primetime Emmys on September 17 and we can’t wait to see what kind of shenanigans they’ll be serving up as they honor television’s biggest stars.
Donald Glover‘s Atlanta earned more Emmys nominations than any other comedy series with 16 nods, and Game of Thrones led the pack once again with 22 nominations.
Netflix made big moves this year, particularly when it comes to their African American-facing content, and it seems their #StrongBlackLead campaign has paid off in a big way. This year, the streaming service beat out HBO for most nominated network or platform with a grand total of 112.
Another Emmys standout comes from NBC’s Jesus Christ Superstar, which earned John Legend a nomination for Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. If he wins, he would join the prestigious EGOT club of entertainers who have scored an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award.
Several Black actors will go head to head in their respective categories which is not something we usually see at the annual award show.
Zazie Beets and Leslie Jones are both up for best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Tituss Burgess, Brian Tyree Henry, and Kenan Thompson are all nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and Issa Rae and Tracee Ellis Ross will battle it out for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.
Other noteworthy nominees include Black Panther star, Letitia Wright, who is nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for her role in Black Mirror. Oddly enough, Viola Davis received a nod for playing Analise Keating not he crossover episode of Scandal, but not for playing the same character on How To Get Away With Murder. Tiffany Haddish is int he running for a trophy thanks to her hilarious hosting stint on Saturday Night Live.
Check out the full list of nominees:
Drama Series
“The Handmaid’s Tale”
“Game of Thrones”
“This Is Us”
“The Crown”
“The Americans”
“Stranger Things”
“Westworld”
Comedy Series
“Atlanta” (FX)
“Barry” (HBO)
“Black-ish” (ABC)
“Curb Your Enthusiasm” (HBO)
“GLOW” (Netflix)
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon)
“Silicon Valley” (HBO)
“The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” (Netflix)
Limited Series
“The Alienist”
“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”
“Genius: Picasso”
“Godless”
“Patrick Melrose”
Lead Actor in a Drama Series:
Jason Bateman (“Ozark”)
Sterling K. Brown (“This Is Us”)
Ed Harris (“Westworld”)
Matthew Rhys (“The Americans”)
Milo Ventimiglia (“This Is Us”)
Jeffrey Wright (“Westworld”)
Lead Actress in a Drama Series:
Claire Foy (“The Crown”)
Tatiana Maslany (“Orphan Black”)
Elisabeth Moss (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
Sandra Oh (“Killing Eve”)
Keri Russell (“The Americans”)
Evan Rachel Wood (“Westworld”)
Lead Actor in a Comedy Series:
Donald Glover (“Atlanta”)
Bill Hader (“Barry”)
Anthony Anderson (“Black-ish”)
William H. Macy (“Shameless”)
Larry David (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”)
Ted Danson (“The Good Place”)
Lead Actress in a Comedy Series:
Pamela Adlon (“Better Things”)
Rachel Brosnahan (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)
Tracee Ellis Ross (“Black-ish”)
Allison Janney (“Mom”)
Lily Tomlin (“Grace and Frankie”)
Issa Rae (“Insecure”)
Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie:
Antonio Banderas (“Genius: Picasso”)
Darren Criss (“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”)
Benedict Cumberbatch (“Patrick Melrose”)
Jeff Daniels (“The Looming Tower”)
John Legend (“Jesus Christ Superstar”)
Jesse Plemons (“USS Callister”)
Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie:
Laura Dern (“The Tale”)
Jessica Biel (“The Sinner”)
Michelle Dockery (“Godless”)
Edie Falco (“The Menendez Murders”)
Regina King (“Seven Seconds”)
Sarah Paulson (“American Horror Story: Cult”)
Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (“Game of Thrones”)
Peter Dinklage (“Game of Thrones”)
Joseph Fiennes (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
David Harbour (“Stranger Things”)
Mandy Patinkin (“Homeland”)
Matt Smith (“The Crown”)
Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Alexis Bledel (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
Millie Bobby Brown (“Stranger Things”)
Ann Dowd (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
Lena Headey (“Game of Thrones”)
Vanessa Kirby (“The Crown”)
Thandie Newton (“Westworld”)
Yvonne Strahovski (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Louie Anderson (“Baskets”)
Alec Baldwin (“Saturday Night Live”)
Tituss Burgess (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”)
Brian Tyree Henry (“Atlanta”)
Tony Shalhoub (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)
Kenan Thompson (“Saturday Night Live”)
Henry Winkler (“Barry”)
Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Zazie Beetz (“Atlanta”)
Alex Borstein (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)
Aidy Bryant (“Saturday Night Live”)
Betty Gilpin (“GLOW”)
Leslie Jones (“Saturday Night Live”)
Kate McKinnon (“Saturday Night Live”)
Laurie Metcalf (“Roseanne”)
Megan Mullally (“Will & Grace”)
Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Jeff Daniels (“Godless”)
Brandon Victor Dixon (“Jesus Christ Superstar”)
John Leguizamo (“Waco”)
Ricky Martin (“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”)
Edgar Ramirez (“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”)
Michael Stuhlbarg (“The Looming Tower”)
Finn Wittrock (“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”)
Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Sara Bareilles (“Jesus Christ Superstar Live In Concert”)
Penelope Cruz (“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”)
Judith Light (“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”)
Adina Porter (“American Horror Story: Cult”)
Merritt Wever (“Godless”)
Letitia Wright (“Black Museum” (Black Mirror))
Guest Actor in a Drama Series
F. Murray Abraham (“Homeland”)
Cameron Britton (“Mindhunter”)
Matthew Goode (“The Crown”)
Ron Cephas Jones (“This Is Us”)
Gerald McRaney (“This Is Us”)
Jimmi Simpson (“Westworld”)
The 70th annual Primetime Emmys air September 17 on NBC.
