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.
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Viola Davis, who also made history in 2015 by becoming the first black woman to win the best lead actress prize, has once again been nominated for her role in “How to Get Away with Murder”. There were also nominations for its stars Anthony Anderson – who announced the awards Thursday and read his own name with glee – and his co-star Tracee Ellis Ross.
With three open slots in comedy lead actress, it’s not a complete shocker that the Black-ish star earned a nod.
The Kenya Barris-created show should get a shot at the best comedy trophy for its sophomore season, with its competitors likely to include last year’s victor, the political satire “Veep”, five-time champ “Modern Family”, transgender-themed “Transparent” and Aziz Ansari’s “Master of None“.
FX’s hotly-tipped The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story scored the second highest tally with 22 nods.
It’s a nominee for best limited series and earned six lead and supporting acting bids for its cast’s portrayal of real-life figures, including Courtney B. Vance as Johnnie Cochran, Sarah Paulson as Marcia Clark and Sterling K. Brown as prosecutor Christopher Darden.
Hiddleston is nominated for his role in the popular BBC series The Night Manager, while his co-stars Hugh Laurie and Olivia Colman earned nods in the supporting role categories.
“I’m traveling right now and there are a few shows I would love to be watching, but I don’t have cable, but I do have access to YouTube”, she said after the Emmy nominations were announced.
A handful of new Game of Thrones faces have been added into the nomination pool this year. “I think [this nomination] shows that it’s not only about the folks in those decision-making rooms about what gets on TV, but an audience that is not being recognized”. This year’s Drama and Comedy Series nominees include first-timers as well as returning programmes to the Emmy competition: “Black-ish” and “Master of None” are new in the Outstanding Comedy Series category, and “Mr. Robot” and “The Americans” in the Outstanding Drama Series competition. “I owe my performance whatever it is to him”.
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The 68 annual Emmy Awards will air live on Sunday, September 18, 2016 at 7 p.m. ET.
