'Watchmen' Leads All Emmy Nominees with 26

Desk Report

Published: 29 Jul 2020, 03:12 pm

HBO's "Watchmen" dystopian series won a record 26 nods Tuesday for the Emmy Awards.

The series, which depicted America's intense unease in the face of social and political tensions in the wake of a pandemic, was honored as the best limited series and won offers for cast members, including Regina King and Jeremy Irons.

King was part of the vanguard of colored performers that proved that the members of the TV academy take control of the social climate.

“Zendaya!” exclaimed Emmy announcement host Leslie Jones, her gleeful reaction to the “Euphoria” star’s nomination as best actress in a drama. “This is a great day,” Jones added.

She was part of a socially isolated, interactive announcement of candidates that was online, not on television as normal. Yet little is normal in the coronavirus age that took Hollywood development to a near standstill and made awards like Emmy's understanding of alternatives.

The strong showing by Netflix's “Ozark” helped the streamer to a record-setting 160 nominations that bested onetime perennial leader HBO, which earned 107 nods.

Streaming newcomer Apple TV+ earned attention in its first season with Jennifer Aniston’s best drama actress bid for “The Morning Show.” Another streaming newbie, Disney+, saw its Star Wars franchise spinoff, “The Mandalorian,” claim a best drama nomination among its hefty 15 total nods.

The Amazon comedy “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” is the second most-nominated series with 20, followed by Netflix's “Ozark” with 18.

“This year, we are also bearing witness to one of the greatest fights for social justice in history. And it is our duty to use this medium for change,” Frank Scherma, chairman and CEO of the Television Academy said at the outset of the presentation.

Joining Jones on Tuesday were presenters Laverne Cox (“Orange is the New Black”), Josh Gad (“Frozen”) and Tatiana Maslany (“Orphan Black”). Cox, Gad and Maslany appeared on by video feeds.

Among the honorees whose nomination collided with current events: Brad Pitt earned a nod for a guest appearance playing Dr. Anthony Fauci on “Saturday Night Live.”

The nominees for best comedy series are: “Curb Your Enthusiasm”; Dead to Me”; “The Good Place”; “Insecure”; “The Kominsky Method”; “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”; “Schitt’s Creek"; “What We Do in the Shadows.”

The nominees for best drama series are: “Better Call Saul”; “The Crown”; “Killing Eve”; “The Handmaid’s Tale”; “The Mandalorian”; “Ozark”; “Stranger Things”; “Succession.”

In addition to “Watchmen,” the nominees for best limited series are: “Little Fires Everywhere”; “Mrs. America”; “Unbelievable”; ”Unorthodox."

The nominees for drama series actress are: Jennifer Aniston, “The Morning Show”; Olivia Colman, “The Crown”; Jodie Comer, “Killing Eve”; Laura Linney, “Ozark”; Sandra Oh, “Killing Eve”; Zendaya “Euphoria.”

The nominees for drama series actor are: Jason Bateman, “Ozark”; Sterling K. Brown, “This is Us”; Billy Porter, “Pose”; Jeremy Strong, “Succession”; Brian Cox, “Succession”; Steve Carell, “The Morning Show.”

The nominees for lead actor in a comedy series are: Anthony Anderson, “black-ish”; Don Cheadle, “Black Monday”; Ted Danson, “The Good Place”; Michael Douglas, “The Kominsky Method”; Eugene Levy, “Schitt’s Creek”; Ramy Youssef, “Ramy

The nominees for lead actress in a comedy series are: Christina Applegate, “Dead to Me”; Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”; Linda Cardellini, “Dead to Me”; Catherine O’Hara, “Schitt’s Creek”; Issa Rae, “Insecure”; Tracee Ellis Ross, “black-ish.”

The nominees for best TV movie are: “American Son”; “Bad Education”; “Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings: These Old Bones”; “El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie”; “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend.”

A high energy Jones kicked off Tuesday's announcement by appearing on a virtual set and joking that she was told there would be many others on set to announce the nominees, but instead she was locked in a studio with only a cameraman.


Editor & Publisher: Eliash Uddin Palash

Address: 10/22 Iqbal Road, Block A, Mohammadpur, Dhaka-1207

Design & Developed By Root Soft Bangladesh