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Maya Rudolph: The unstoppable force of the Emmy nominations
Is there anything Maya Rudolph can’t do? It’s a serious question, as the comedy superstar reigns as this year’s Emmy nominations MVP. Rudolph earned four nominations — a stunning achievement in itself, but made even more impressive because those nods come from three different programs. She’s nominated in comedy lead actress for Apple TV+’s “Loot” (just renewed for a third season), in character voice-over for her role as Connie the Hormone Monstress in Netflix’s animated “Big Mouth,” and in comedy guest actress for her hosting stint on “Saturday Night Live” (which also got her an original music and lyrics nod for her monologue tune).
A year of Emmy overachievers
It’s quite a year for Emmy overachievers. Several acting stars also landed writing noms, like Quinta Brunson (“Abbott Elementary”), Richard Gadd (“Baby Reindeer”) and Donald Glover (“Mr. & Mrs. Smith”). Others nominated thesps are also producers on their nominated best series. And then, besides Rudolph, there are the folks who had a busy year updating their IMDb: Jon Hamm scoring limited/anthology lead actor (“Fargo”) and drama supporting actor (“The Morning Show”) nods; Kristen Wiig, nominated for comedy lead actress (“Palm Royale”) and guest comedy actress (“SNL”); Jonathan Pryce, up for drama supporting actor (“The Crown”) and drama guest actor (“Slow Horses”); and Paul Rudd, recognized in the comedy supporting actor (“Only Murders in the Building”) and narrator (“Secrets of the Octopus”) categories.
The Bear sets a new record
The key record set this year was FX’s “The Bear” taking over as the new most-nommed comedy series in history (at 23). It’s also a groundbreaking year for Indigenous representation (Lily Gladstone, Kali Reis, D’Pharoah Woon-A-Tai). And for anyone keeping score, the new “Shogun” has surpassed the original NBC “Shogun” in number of Emmy nominations (at 25, vs. 14 in 1981).
Odd, unusual, and unique takeaways
YES, CHEF: What, 23 nominations isn’t enough for “The Bear”? Then let’s look at the halo effect as well. Fox’s “The Simpsons” picked up an animated program nomination this year for the episode “Night of the Living Wage,” which was a parody of the FX series — complete with Marge Simpson struggling in a loud restaurant kitchen like that other show. Also, by total coincidence, one of the most groundbreaking nominations of the year is in comedy lead actor for “Reservation Dogs” star Woon-A-Tai — who plays a character named, you guessed it, “Bear.”
ONE FOR THE AGES: When it comes to institutions, Dick Van Dyke blows them all out of the water. In categories including variety/reality choreography, variety special directing and variety production design, the “Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic” special is facing off with the 86th Oscars, the 76th Tonys and the 66th Grammys. Whippersnappers. As an entertainment icon, Van Dyke has ‘em all beat by a decade or more.
CREDIT CONFUSION: Showtime landed just three nominations this year (all for “Fellow Travelers”), while AMC was completely shut out for the first time in recent memory. Those two networks were once Emmy titans — but at least they still had additional reason to crow, albeit for other networks. AMC Studios is a producer on Apple TV+’s “Silo,” which earned two nominations, while Showtime is behind “Ripley,” which landed 13 nods for Netflix — including limited/anthology series.
EXTRA APPLE BITES: No, 70 nominations apparently isn’t enough for Apple TV+. Once again, parent Apple also scored two nominations in the commercial category — for the iPhone/Mac ad “Fuzzy Feelings” and the iPhone 15 spot “Album Cover.” Those are listed as “no network affiliation” by the TV Academy, but Apple notes that the in-house commercial team it uses falls under the domain of Apple TV+. So, as it wants everyone to know with their tallies, that number should be 72.
STAR POWER: Apple TV+ faces some tough competition in that commercial category, however, as the nominated spots are filled with stars. The Uber One/Uber Eats spot “Best Friends” features Robert DeNiro and Asa Butterfield; State Farm’s “Like a Good Neighbaaa” includes the “Twins” duo of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito; and CeraVe Moisturizing Cream’s “Michael CeraVe” naturally includes spokesperson Michael Cera.
HOW META: Apparently we know what TV Academy members consider to be emerging media: Meta is a part of four of the five nominees in the emerging media program category, including Meta Quest’s “Emperor,” Meta’s “The Pirate Queen With Lucy Liu,” Meta/Facebook’s “Red Rocks Live in VR” and Meta’s “Wallace & Gromit In the Grand Getaway.” (Only Prime Video’s “Fallout: Vault 33” is the non-Meta nominee in that field).
SECOND ACTS: Perhaps the secret to landing a nomination in the documentary/nonfiction directing field is to be an actor-turned-filmmaker directing a documentary about a superstar. That counts for three of the five nominees in that category this year: Rob Reiner, for “Albert Brooks: Defending My Life,” Fisher Stevens for “Beckham” and Ron Howard for “Jim Henson Idea Man.”
MUSICAL MOONLIGHTING: They don’t just star on their shows, they make music for their shows! In the original music and lyrics category, besides the aforementioned Maya Rudolph for “SNL,” nominees include “Girls5eva” star Sara Bareilles (for her track “The Medium Time”) and “True Detective: Night Country” star John Hawkes (also nommed in supporting limited/anthology actor) for his tune “No Use.”
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN: Justice for HBO’s “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.” That critically acclaimed series was canceled after just two seasons — and TV Academy voters aren’t happy, giving the show five nominations (including guest comedy actor, for Tracy Letts). Besides retiring shows that ended on their own accord (like “Reservation Dogs,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “The Crown,” “How To With John Wilson” and “The Other Two”), other series that ended their run with some Emmy attention include “Bob Hearts Abishola,” “The Brothers Sun,” “How I Met Your Father,” “The Idol” and “Warrior.”
NOT SO BASIC: MTV was never a major Emmy nominee, especially during its days focused on live music programming. But it’s still stunning to realize that in this late stage of MTV’s evolution (when it mostly serves as a non-stop marathon of “Ridiculousness”) that in 2024 it has garnered 10 nominations — the channel’s most, ever. Those 10, of course, all come from “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” the reality competition juggernaut that moved to MTV in 2023. it was a rough year for basic cable — particularly if you note that FX isn’t really basic cable anymore, given that most of its fare is Hulu-exclusive. Besides MTV, only Adult Swim (2), BBC America (5), Bravo (6), Comedy Central (5), Food Network (1), Investigation Discovery (3) and Nat Geo (3) landed nods.
FIRST TIMERS: Those three nominations for Investigation Discovery were the first nominations ever for the Warner Bros. Discovery cabler, and came via doc/nonfiction series nominee “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” (which earned two) and for Octavia Spencer as narrator on “Lost Women of Highway 20.” Meanwhile, although AMC didn’t land a nomination, AMC Networks’ horror-themed Shudder streamer picked up its first-ever nods, thanks to “The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula,” which received two.
BROADCAST’S LAST REFUGE: Once upon a time, the Emmys were all about broadcast network vs. broadcast network. ABC, NBC, CBS and sometimes Fox would compete for all of the major prizes. And then HBO joined the party. And basic cable. Then the streamers took over. Broadcast still makes a dent in certain categories like talk and specials. But we could only locate three categories where the nominees are still ALL broadcast: music direction, lighting design/lighting direction for a variety series and lighting design/lighting direction for a variety special. Congrats to the music and lighting communities for keeping the broadcast dream alive.
LIFE AFTER TALK: They’re not in the late-night chat business anymore, but former “The Daily Show” host Trevor Noah (for the 66th Grammy Awards and his Netflix special “Trevor Noah: Where Was I”), former “The Late Late Show” host James Corden (Apple TV+’s “Carpool Karaoke: The Series”) and “Conan” host Conan O’Brien (Max’s “Conan O’Brien Must Go”) all received nominations. Also receiving a nod was “My Next Guest With David Letterman and John Mulaney” — but Letterman declines taking an executive producer credit, so he’s not actually nominated even though his show is.
TWO FACES OF STEVE: Not only is Steve Martin nominated in lead comedy actor for Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building,” but Apple TV+’s “Steve! (Martin): A Documentary In 2 Pieces” (for which Martin is not nominated, as he’s not a producer on it) picked up five nominations.
OUTSTANDING EPK: The Emmy category for short form nonfiction/reality series may have outlived its purpose, as all nominees are now promo pieces for regular TV shows: “After the Cut — The Daily Show,” “The Crown: Farewell to a Royal Epic,” “Hacks: Bit By Bit,” “Saturday Night Live Presents: Behind the Sketch” and “Shogun — The Making of Shogun.”
GAME THE EMMYS: In year two of game shows in the Primetime Emmys (instead of their previous Daytime Emmys home), there’s still a bit of confusion over how shows are submitted. This year, “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune” are nominated with joint daytime/night editions, which is why both ABC and syndication are credited. But “Family Feud” was only nominated as the primetime “Celebrity Family Feud,” with ABC getting sole credit. CBS’ “The Price Is Right At Night” was also nominated, instead of jointly with the daytime “The Price Is Right,” but since CBS airs both, the network credit doesn’t matter as much. So why the lack of consistency? It turns out, it has to do with what episodes are submitted for Emmy consideration. In the case of “The Price Is Right At Night” and “Celebrity Family Feud,” episodes from those nighttime editions were submitted — hence those specific titles were nominated. For “Jeopardy” and “Wheel,” daytime episodes were submitted — which is why those noms are for the entire franchise, day and night. Yes, there will be a quiz.
Reflecting on the Emmy landscape
The Emmy nominations this year have brought to light a fascinating array of trends, surprises, and milestones. From Maya Rudolph’s impressive versatility to the record-breaking achievements of “The Bear,” the landscape of television continues to evolve in unexpected ways. As we look forward to the awards ceremony, it’s clear that the Emmys remain a dynamic and ever-changing reflection of the industry’s best and brightest.
