Related Articles
Nominations are now in the 73rd annual Emmy awards, which are set to air live on September 19 at 8 PM ET on CBS and Paramount Plus. The Neighborhood star Cedric the Entertainer will host the ceremony, which will feature a limited audience of nominees and their guests.
Arguably the most eyebrow-raising category is the comedy nominations, which somehow includes The Flight Attendant and Netflix’s Cobra Kai–shows whose fans likely don’t remember laughing much while watching in the last year. (Conan also got a nod as a Variety Talk Series after its recent late-night exit.) Meanwhile, it’s cool to see The Mandalorian and Prime Video’s The Boys get acknowledged as a drama in contention, though it’s up against some heavy hitters including The Crown and The Handmaid’s Tale.
Like many of the major award shows in entertainment after the pandemic, the nominees reflect a thinning herd of what actually wound up coming out–everything delayed into oblivion or later this year didn’t make the cut. For example, Variety crunched the numbers and tabulated that the total number of shows submitted took a sizable drop from the previous year: The drama series race dropped from 197 to 133 titles, the comedy series field plunged from 111 to 68 contenders, and the limited series/anthology category slipped from 41 to 37 entries. The only exception was the TV movie category, which increased from last year’s 28 to 41.
In the meantime, 2021 is far from over. You can check out our list of the biggest 2021 TV shows to watch (and watch out for) here.
You can check out the full list of nominations below.
2021 Emmy Nominations
Drama Series
The BoysBridgertonThe CrownThe Handmaid’s TaleLovecraft CountryThe MandalorianPoseThis Is Us
Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Sterling K Brown (This is Us)Jonathan Majors (Lovecraft Country)Josh O’Conner (The Crown)Rege-Jean Page (Bridgerton)Billy Porter (Pose)Matthew Rhys (Perry Mason)
Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Uzo Aduba (In Treatment)Olivia Colman (The Crown)Emma Corrin (The Crown)Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale)Mj Rodriguez (Pose)Surnee Smollett (Lovecraft Country)
Outstanding Limited/Anthology Series
I May Destroy YouMare of EasttownThe Queen’s GambitThe Underground RailroadWandaVision
Lead Actress in a Limited/Anthology/Movie
Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You)Cynthia Erivo (Genius: Aretha)Elizabeth Olsen (WandaVision)Anya Taylor Joy (The Queen’s Gambit)Kate Winslett (Mare of Easttown)
Lead Actor in a Limited/Anthology/Movie
Paul Bettany (WandaVision)Hugh Grant (The Undoing)Ewan McGregor (Halston)Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton)Leslie Odom Jr (Hamilton)
Comedy Series
Black-ishCobra KaiEmily In ParisHacksThe Flight AttendantThe Kominsky MethodPen15Ted Lasso
Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson (Black-ish)Michael Douglas (The Kominsky Method)William H. Macy (Shameless)Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso)Kenan Thompson (Kenan)
Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Aidy Bryant (Shrill)Kaley Cuoco (The Flight Attendant)Allison Janney (Mom)Tracee Ellis Ross (Black-ish)Jean Smart (Hacks)
Competition Program
The Amazing RaceNailed It!RuPaul’s Drag RaceTop ChefThe Voice
Variety Talk Series
ConanThe Daily Show With Trevor NoahJimmy Kimmel Live!Last Week Tonight With John OliverThe Late Show With Stephen Colbert
