Emmy Nominations 2020
Tuesday, July 28, 2020 at 1:45PM
Abe Friedtanzer in Emmys, TV, streaming

 

By Abe Fried-Tanzer

William Jackson Harper is finally nominated for The Good Place. The show received 6 nominations including 4 for acting.

Every year when Emmy nominations are announced, there are at least a few surprise snubs and inclusions. One or two inconsistencies are expected, but usually, when a series does well, it brings along its most talented performers with it. This year, it feels like that isn’t true in so many different cases in what may well be the messiest list of nominees we’ve ever seen. But let’s start with the good.

From this truly baffling announcement, there are a few very positive takeaways. Every single acting category listed below includes at least one person of color, and there’s a real diversity to the nominees. Underdogs like Yvonne Orji (Insecure) and William Jackson Harper (The Good Place) made the cut for the fourth seasons of their shows, which is wonderful (and not common). Unorthodox managed eight nominations, including for Best Limited Series and lead actress Shira Haas. Though it didn’t crack its top category, Normal People did score a nomination for Paul Mescal and for writing (we cheered on Nathaniel’s behalf). A lot of people were surely ecstatic that Zendaya (Euphoria) managed a nomination in an insanely crowded field, too.

Unfortunately, that’s about the extent of the entirely positive...

I'd probably be more thrilled for surprise inclusions The Mandalorian (Best Drama Series) and What We Do in the Shadows (Best Comedy Series) if I loved those shows (many do). The latter probably also meant the snub of Ramy, which only ended up with three bids and should NOT have been snubbed --why is The Kominsky Method there?. Both Curb Your Enthusiasm and Stranger Things were nominated for the top prizes, but earned no acting, directing, or writing nominations to go with them, which make you wonder if they really were among the best shows of the year or the voters are just on autopilot for the top categories. I kicked myself for taking both Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh out of the predictions for Killing Eve since they did both manage to get in.

And then we get to the truly egregious. This could have been Bob Odenkirk’s year to finally win an Emmy for Better Call Saul. But somehow, he wasn’t even nominated. The same goes for Rhea Seehorn, who couldn’t crack an expanded supporting actress field. One of those nominations went to Samira Wiley (The Handmaid’s Tale), whose work in this season of her show wasn’t nearly as strong as in past years. Though that show made the Best Drama Series list, past winner Elisabeth Moss wasn’t nominated. We’ve seen this kind of thing before, but can anyone honestly say that Giancarlo Esposito was the best part of this particular season of Better Call Saul (over past nominees Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks, and the still-never-nominated Seehorn), or that Jeffrey Wright was the standout of Westworld’s third season alongside Thandie Newton? And how could Watchmen and Hollywood do so well with acting nominations and not include Tim Blake Nelson and Joe Mantello?

Aside from Odenkirk, the most glaring snub of a sure thing comes in the form of Merritt Wever, who we already thought would miss for Run and somehow ended up left out for Unbelievable as well. Her costar Kaitlyn Dever was a longer shot given her youth, but we never thought that Wever, who really was incredible, was vulnerable. The lineup in her category, which includes Haas and Spencer, isn’t at all lamentable, but it’s hard to believe that Wever could be overlooked (only costar Toni Collette made it from that much-discussed show). 

Have a look for yourself at this wild list of nominees below and check out TEAM EXPERIENCE REACTIONS, as well. You’ll notice Maya Rudolph scored two nominations for comedy guest acting, and that, despite our concerns, Succession and Schitt’s Creek both performed formidably. For those interested in exactly who did and didn’t get nominated in every race, I’ll be doing a deep dive into each of these categories over at TVwithAbe.com, where I’m sure I’ll continue to notice startling inclusions and omissions. What surprises or excites you most about the list below?

 

 

 

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Article originally appeared on The Film Experience (http://thefilmexperience.net/).
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