Emmy nominations 2021: A fact list for most nods, first timers, surprises and snubs, and diversity

The nominations for Disney+ ’s Star Wars series The Mandalorian has tied for the most nominations with Netflix royal drama The Crown at 24 at the for the 73rd Emmy Awards, which will be handed out at a live, in-person ceremony in Los Angeles broadcast by CBS on19 September. Hosted by US actor-comedian Cedric the Entertainer, the gala will honour the best in television from a unique, pandemic-plagued year in which producers struggled to film under tight COVID-19 restrictions.

With the nominations now out, here is a breakdown of all that you need to know about them, from snubs and surprises, to other records made.

The year of the pandemic/ the year of the streaming platforms

• During an oppressive pandemic in which housebound Americans relied more than ever on television for distraction, TV academy voters recognised a varied mix of storytelling and a diverse group of actors and creators.

• The bounty reinforced the rapid rise of streaming, with most of the top-nominated scripted shows on services that emerged in the past two years. In the top three categories — drama, comedy and limited series — broadcast networks scored only two nominations, for the NBC drama This Is Us and the ABC comedy black-ish.

• Disney+, in only its second year, also topped the prestigious limited series category, where Marvel superhero spin-off WandaVision earned 23 nominations.

• Apple TV+, another streamer in its sophomore year, topped the comedy categories with Ted Lasso on 20, while NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, a perennial Emmys favourite, extended its all-time record number of nominations to 306 with 21 new nods.

• However, despite its dominant performance in the sheer number of nominations in recent years, Netflix has never taken home the Emmys top prize, best drama series. It has a very strong chance this year to finally win the coveted award with top nominee The Crown.

Which streaming platforms earned how many nods? 

• Disney+ increased its share of Emmy nominations from 19 in its debut year to a whopping 71 this time. Combined with the parent company’s other platforms such as ABC and Hulu, Disney topped the overall nominations with 146.
• HBO and its own streamer HBO Max managed 130, just pipping last year s record-breaking leader Netflix on 129.
• The Mandalorian and The Crown will compete for best drama against Hulu’s dystopian drama The Handmaid s Tale, which scored 21 nods, and the likes of Netflix s buzzy period rom-com Bridgerton.
• All three previous seasons of monarchy saga The Crown have been nominated for best drama series, but the show — like all other Netflix dramas — has never won the top prize.
• The show also boasts leading contenders in the drama acting categories, including Emma Corrin as Princess Diana, Josh O Connor as Prince Charles, and Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher.

The most prestigious line-up? Limited series

• The limited series field has arguably the most competitive and prestigious lineup of all, making the success of Disney+ s Marvel series WandaVision all the more impressive. And it is not the only superhero show gatecrashing the Emmys — fellow Marvel series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier bagged five nominations, including for guest star Don Cheadle, as did Amazon Prime Video’s The Boys.
• Wandavision will compete with shows including Kate Winslet s small-town murder mystery Mare of Easttown, and the Barry Jenkins-directed slavery tale The Underground Railroad.

Award favourites

• Ted Lasso — about a hapless American football coach thrust into English soccer — is the hot favourite to win best comedy series, where Michael Douglas s The Kominsky Method is the sole comedy nominee from last year again in the running.

Surprises and first-timers

• The Academy sprung a surprise by nominating Emily in Paris for best comedy, just five months after Golden Globes voters were ridiculed for recognising the cliche-ridden Netflix comedy.
• At age 73, Carl Weathers has earned his first nomination for a major acting award with a nod for best guest actor in a drama series for The Mandalorian. Best known for playing Apollo Creed in four Rocky films, the former NFL player has been acting since the mid-1970s in movies including Predator, Action Jackson and Happy Gilmore.
• First-time nominations for cast members of Ted Lasso. Most of the half-dozen performers were virtually unknown in the U.S. before the upstart soccer comedy. They include star Jason Sudeikis along with Brett Goldstein, Nick Mohammed, Hannah Waddingham, Jeremy Swift and Juno Temple.
• This will also be the first time nominations for cast members of Hamilton. There are few things Hamilton hasn’t done, few awards it hasn’t won, but the Broadway show’s television version on Disney+ Hotstar brought the first career Emmy nods to Renée Elise Goldsberry, Jonathan Groff, Anthony Ramos, Phillipa Soo and Daveed Diggs.
• Rosie Perez scored her first acting nomination this year, for best supporting actress in a comedy series in The Flight Attendant. Her Emmy noms resume is deep and diversified, though. She was nominated three times for her choreography on In Living Color and once as a host on The View.

Snubs

• There however was no place for Steve McQueen s acclaimed immigrant anthology Small Axe, or A-listers Nicole Kidman and Ethan Hawke for their roles in The Undoing and The Good Lord Bird, respectively.
• Although Regé-Jean Page received a nod in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama category, his co-star on Bridgerton Phoebe Dynevor_’_didn’t bag a single nomination.

Diversity firsts

• Mj Rodriguez of Pose, nominated for best actress in a drama, breaks ground as the first trans woman to be nominated in a lead acting category. She’s the third trans person overall to be nominated, after Laverne Cox’s 2014 guest drama actress nod for Orange Is the New Black and Rain Valdez’s 2020 nomination for short-form comedy or drama actress for Razor Tongue.
• Jonathan Majors and Jurnee Smollett, of the cancelled HBO sci-fi drama Lovecraft Country are the first Black actors to be nominated in the lead acting category for the same drama series. They’re among 46 people of colour nominated across all acting categories.

 Actors nominated for two different shows

• Jean Smart is up for best actress in a comedy series for Hacks and best supporting actress in a limited series or TV movie for Mare of Easttown. Aidy Bryant was nominated for best actress in a comedy for Shrill and best supporting actress in a comedy for Saturday Night Live. Her SNL castmate Kenan Thompson was nominated for best supporting actor in a comedy for that show and best actor in a comedy for Kenan.

(With inputs from agencies)