The writing and directing races at the Emmys are often seen as a crystal ball that foretells what’ll win Best Drama Series and Best Comedy Series.
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(Ray Mickshaw/FX via AP).
Prominent on the Emmy diversity front is the FX miniseries The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, a critically acclaimed docudrama recreating the murder trial of former American football legend O.J. Simpson.
FX is the network behind “American Crime Story” (not the TV show “American Crime”, which airs on ABC – yes, it’s confusing). “The Television Academy is thrilled to once again honour the very best that television has to offer”.
Thursday’s Emmy nominees showcased a more diverse crop of talent in television than in Hollywood’s film industry, which drew sharp criticism this year when all 20 performers nominated for Oscars were white for a second consecutive year.
(HBO via AP). In this image released by HBO, Lena Headey appears in a scene from “Game of Thrones”.
The 68th Primetime Emmys award ceremony shall be simulcast LIVE on Star World, Star World HD and Star World Premiere HD in India.
Liev Schreiber, best actor nominee for Showtime drama “Ray Donovan”, said in an Instagram post: “Big love to the academy and my awesome cast and crew”.
The show, which received only one major nomination past year in its first season, landed in the best comedy category. Still, if voters were going to grow exhausted of a Netflix show, most would have expected it to be House of Cards, which did well, instead of Orange Is the New Black – which really, really didn’t. “OITNB did not get Drama”.
Also in the best comedy category is Master of None, starring Aziz Ansari as a struggling NY actor coping with personal and professional woes.
Broadcast and cable are far from irrelevant.
In the comedy series category, HBO’s political satire Veep, led with 17 nominations, including a nod for best actress for Julia Louis-Dreyfus. He helped announce the awards live and read his show’s name with relish. Anderson’s work on this series has been rightly lauded as one of the most understated, complex, and vulnerable performances of the year. “When hope becomes reality, that’s what it is”.
Black-ish, which tested the Emmy waters last year with a nomination for male lead Anthony Anderson, has been shortlisted in all three top comedy categories this year including best comedy series, lead actor and lead actress for Tracee Ellis Ross.
The Emmy Awards, voted for by the 20,000-plus members of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, are the top honors for US prime-time television.
Nominations for the awards, announced on Thursday, went to racially charged dramas such as The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, Roots, American Crime and the movies Confirmation and All The Way.
Maggie Smith earns her last nomination as Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey on PBS. “I could not be more humbled”, Harrington said in a statement.
The show, which raked in a record-breaking 12 awards past year, faces competition from “House of Cards“, “Better Call Saul”, “Mr. Robot”, “Downton Abbey”, “The Americans” and “Homeland”. But the final season of “The Good Wife” was not recognized, and star Julianna Margulies also was snubbed.
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It’s certainly a welcome one, but it’s still a surprise nonetheless that Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell have both finally been given some recognition after four seasons on The Americans. The nominees for Supporting Actor nominees include Jonathan Banks as Mike Erhmantraut in Better Call Saul on AMC, Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister and Kit Harington as Jon Snow in Game of Thrones on HBO.
