‘Watchmen’ leads 2020 Emmy nominations; ‘Mrs. Maisel,’ ‘Ozark’ also score big
The wait is over! The nominations for the 2020 Emmys were announced Tuesday morning by actress Leslie Jones (alone on a stage representing a cosmic void), joined virtually by fellow presenters Laverne Cox, Josh Gad and Tatiana Maslany. How did your predictions do? Did you beat the experts? Did your favorite shows and performers get their due?
The 2020 Emmy nominations had plenty of unexpected choices in store. And our awards columnist is here to break it all down.
HBO’s “Watchmen†led all shows with 26 nominations. Netflix set a record with 160, smashing the previous mark (HBO with 137 last year, largely due to the final season of “Game of Thrones.†HBO had 107 this year). See the list of Emmy nominees announced live today below, along with several other categories. The complete list of all categories can be viewed at Emmys.com.
The 72nd Emmy ceremony is scheduled to air Sunday, Sept. 20, on ABC, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel (his third time around).
The George Floyd protests led to a new round of soul-searching about diversity in Hollywood. Our analysis of recent Emmy nominees shows several problem areas.
Drama series
“Better Call Saulâ€
“The Crownâ€
“The Handmaid’s Taleâ€
“Killing Eveâ€
“The Mandalorianâ€
“Ozarkâ€
“Stranger Thingsâ€
“Successionâ€
Drama lead actress
Jennifer Aniston, “The Morning Showâ€
Olivia Colman, “The Crownâ€
Jodie Comer, “Killing Eveâ€
Laura Linney, “Ozarkâ€
Sandra Oh, “Killing Eveâ€
Zendaya, “Euphoriaâ€
Drama lead actor
Jason Bateman, “Ozarkâ€
Sterling K. Brown, “This Is Usâ€
Steve Carell, “The Morning Showâ€
Brian Cox, “Successionâ€
Billy Porter, “Poseâ€
Jeremy Strong, “Successionâ€
Drama supporting actress
Helena Bonham Carter, “The Crownâ€
Laura Dern, “Big Little Liesâ€
Julia Garner, “Ozarkâ€
Thandie Newton, “Westworldâ€
Fiona Shaw, “Killing Eveâ€
Sarah Snook, “Successionâ€
Meryl Streep, “Big Little Liesâ€
Samira Wiley, “The Handmaid’s Taleâ€
Drama supporting actor
Nicholas Braun, “Successionâ€
Billy Crudup, “The Morning Showâ€
Kieran Culkin, “Successionâ€
Mark Duplass, “The Morning Showâ€
Giancarlo Esposito, “Better Call Saulâ€
Matthew Macfadyen, “Successionâ€
Bradley Whitford, “The Handmaid’s Taleâ€
Jeffrey Wright, “Westworldâ€
Drama guest actress
Alexis Bledel, “The Handmaid’s Taleâ€
Laverne Cox, “Orange Is the New Blackâ€
Cherry Jones, “Successionâ€
Phylicia Rashad, “This Is Usâ€
Cicely Tyson, “how to Get Away with Murderâ€
Harriet Walter, “Successionâ€
Drama guest actor
Jason Bateman, “The Outsiderâ€
Ron Cephas Jones, “This Is Usâ€
James Cromwell, “Successionâ€
Giancarlo Esposito, “The Mandalorianâ€
Andrew Scott, “Black Mirrorâ€
Martin Short, “The Morning Showâ€
Emmys 2020: ‘Big Little Lies,’ but not ‘I May Destroy You’? The Emmys calendar means some nominations feel kind of dated.
Comedy series
“Curb Your Enthusiasmâ€
“Dead to Meâ€
“The Good Placeâ€
“Insecureâ€
“The Kominsky Methodâ€
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maiselâ€
“Schitt’s Creekâ€
“What We Do in the Shadowsâ€
Comedy lead actress
Christina Applegate, “Dead to Meâ€
Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maiselâ€
Linda Cardellini, “Dead to Meâ€
Catherine O’Hara, “Schitt’s Creekâ€
Issa Rae, “Insecureâ€
Tracee Ellis Ross, “Black-ishâ€
‘Schitt’s Creek’ star and comedy veteran Catherine O’Hara finds the subtleties in the seemingly outrageous Moira Rose. That deserves an Emmy.
Comedy lead actor
Anthony Anderson, “Black-ishâ€
Don Cheadle, “Black Mondayâ€
Ted Danson, “The Good Placeâ€
Michael Douglas, “The Kominsky Methodâ€
Eugene Levy, “Schitt’s Creekâ€
Ramy Youssef, “Ramyâ€
“Ramy,†TV’s first Muslim American sitcom, has scored a 2020 Emmys nomination.
Comedy supporting actress
Alex Borstein, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maiselâ€
D’Arcy Carden, “The Good Placeâ€
Betty Gilpin, “GLOWâ€
Marin Hinkle, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maiselâ€
Kate McKinnon, “Saturday Night Liveâ€
Annie Murphy, “Schitt’s Creekâ€
Yvonne Orji, “Insecureâ€
Cecily Strong, “Saturday Night Liveâ€
Comedy supporting actor
Mahershala Ali, “Ramyâ€
Alan Arkin, “The Kominsky Methodâ€
Andre Braugher, “Brooklyn Nine-Nineâ€
Sterling K. Brown, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maiselâ€
William Jackson Harper, “The Good Placeâ€
Daniel Levy, “Schitt’s Creekâ€
Tony Shalhoub, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maiselâ€
Kenan Thompson, “Saturday Night Liveâ€
Comedy guest actress
Angela Bassett, “A Black Lady Sketch Showâ€
Bette Midler, “The Politicianâ€
Maya Rudolph, “The Good Placeâ€
Maya Rudolph, “Saturday Night Liveâ€
Wanda Sykes, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maiselâ€
Phoebe Waller-Bridge, “Saturday Night Liveâ€
Comedy guest actor
Adam Driver, “Saturday Night Liveâ€
Luke Kirby, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maiselâ€
Eddie Murphy, “Saturday Night Liveâ€
Dev Patel, “Modern Loveâ€
Brad Pitt, “Saturday Night Liveâ€
Fred Willard, “Modern Familyâ€
What the Emmy-nominated miniseries gets wrong about feminism past and present.
Limited series
“Little Fires Everywhereâ€
“Mrs. Americaâ€
“Unbelievableâ€
“Unorthodoxâ€
“Watchmenâ€
TV movie
“American Sonâ€
“Bad Educationâ€
“Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings: These Old Bonesâ€
“El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movieâ€
“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverendâ€
Limited/TV lead actress
Cate Blanchett, “Mrs. Americaâ€
Shira Haas, “Unorthodoxâ€
Regina King, “Watchmenâ€
Octavia Spencer, “Self Madeâ€
Kerry Washington, “Little Fires Everywhereâ€
Limited/TV lead actor
Jeremy Irons, “Watchmenâ€
Hugh Jackman, “Bad Educationâ€
Paul Mescal, “Normal Peopleâ€
Jeremy Pope, “Hollywoodâ€
Mark Ruffalo, “I Know This Much Is Trueâ€
Limited/TV supporting actress
Uzo Aduba, “Mrs. Americaâ€
Toni Collette, “Unbelievableâ€
Margo Martindale, “Mrs. Americaâ€
Jean Smart, “Watchmenâ€
Holland Taylor, “Hollywoodâ€
Tracey Ullman, “Mrs. Americaâ€
Limited/TV supporting actor
Yahya Abdul-Mateen, “Watchmenâ€
Jovan Adepo, “Watchmenâ€
Tituss Burgess, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverendâ€
Louis Gossett Jr., “Watchmenâ€
Dylan McDermott, “Hollywoodâ€
Jim Parsons, “Hollywoodâ€
Variety talk series
“The Daily Show with Trevor Noahâ€
“Full Frontal with Samantha Beeâ€
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!â€
“Last Week Tonight with John Oliverâ€
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbertâ€
Variety sketch series
“A Black Lady Sketch Showâ€
“Drunk Historyâ€
“Saturday Night Liveâ€
“RuPaul’s Drag Race†and “The Masked Singer†earn nominations in the reality competition program category, while “The Amazing Race†is shut out.
Competition program
“The Masked Singerâ€
“Nailed It!â€
“RuPaul’s Drag Raceâ€
“Top Chefâ€
“The Voiceâ€
Structured reality program
“Antiques Roadshowâ€
“Love is Blindâ€
“Queer Eyeâ€
“Shark Tankâ€
“A Very Brady Renovationâ€
Docuseries like “The Last Dance†and “Tiger King†are a hit with viewers and critics, but the Primetime Emmys haven’t caught up to the zeitgeist.
Be sure to check in with our Buzzmeter panel of experts tomorrow for their predictions on the winners.
The full list of Emmy nominees in every single primetime category is available at Emmys.com.
Five seasoned entertainment journalists predict the shows and performances the Television Academy will honor with Emmys; do you agree with their picks?
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