It’s been a great year for television, and the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards are celebrating a number of fan favourites, including HBO’s Succession and The Last of Us. Actor Yvette Nicole Brown and Television Academy chairman Frank Scherma announced the Emmy nominations on Wednesday, though the mood was more sombre than usual amid the ongoing writers strike. An actors strike may also be looming, with Hollywood’s largest union representing about 160,000 actors currently demanding better compensation for streaming productions and protections from the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
Succession, a satirical dramedy about a family of one-percenters fighting to control a media conglomerate, walked away with the most nominations for the show’s highly anticipated final season. Stars Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong and Kieran Culkin scored Best Actor nods. Sarah Snook, who plays Shiv Roy, is already a well-positioned frontrunner to score the Best Actress win.
The show leads all nominees with a whopping 27 in total. The Last of Us was close behind with 24, while The White Lotus received 23.
The Last of Us and The White Lotus, two additional HBO productions, received several nominations, proving once again that streaming remains king in the television space.
Popular duo Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey of The Last of Us received Best Actor and Actress nominations for their emotional portrayal of trauma-bonded apocalypse survivors. (Ramsey identifies as nonbinary and uses any pronouns)
Jennifer Coolidge, who won the Emmy last year for Outstanding Actress in a Limited or Series or Movie, is nominated alongside The White Lotus co-stars Aubrey Plaza and Meghann Fahy.
Christina Applegate, who in February hinted she would retire from acting as a result of her multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis, received a nomination for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy for Dead to Me.
Barry, The Bear, Ted Lasso, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Abbott Elementary all earned several nominations as well.
The 75th Primetime Emmy Awards will be held in Los Angeles on Sept. 18, starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
For a complete list of nominees, please visit the official Emmys site.