The 2021 Primetime Emmy Award nominations are a grab bag of surprise trends (lots of genre fare), foregone conclusions (Ted Lasso and I May Destroy You are finally getting their respective dues, a year after airing) and a couple of incredibly competitive races (see: the murderers’ row up for lead actress in a limited series.)
Following a year — say it with me — unlike any other, the relative absence of carryover from the previous Emmy cycle leaves the race wide open for new blood. Most past nominees are absent, and 2020 victors (late comedy Schitt’s Creek and COVID-delayed drama Succession) were both ineligible. So we’re left with dominant nominees driven by prestige (The Crown) and technical feat (The Mandalorian). Both dramas lead all other projects with 24 mentions apiece. Ted Lasso tops the comedies with 20 nominations, followed most closely by HBO Max’s Hacks. In limited series, WandaVision emerged as the most prevailing in the field with a stunning 23 nominations.
Related Stories
Show for show, drama may boast the most eclectic mix of series. Joining expected nominees The Crown and The Mandalorian are Netflix regency drama Bridgerton, 2017 winner The Handmaid’s Tale (truly resurgent with 21 nominations), exiting FX drama Pose, NBC’s still-in-the-mix This Is Us, HBO’s just-canceled Lovecraft Country and, most left field of all, Amazon Studios’ dark superhero satire The Boys. The acting field in drama is naturally very Crown-heavy, with Olivia Colman, Emma Corrin, Josh O’Connor, Gillian Anderson, Helena Bonham Carter, Emerald Fennell, Tobas Menzies, Claire Foy and Charles Dance all making the cut in various categories. First-time nominees in drama include Lovecraft’s Jurnee Smollett and Jonathan Majors and Bridgerton breakout Regé-Jean Page.
The comedy pack is, frankly, almost as weird. Detractors who mocked Emily in Paris’ conspicuous showing at the Golden Globes will likely be somewhat silenced by its appearance in the top comedy race. It joins Ted Lasso, frequent nominee Black-ish, Kaley Cuoco breakout The Flight Attendant, past entrant The Kominsky Method, Hulu darling PEN15, Jean Smart vehicle Hacks and, also out of left field, Karate Kid-verse comedy Cobra Kai. The most impressive showing among actors in this race goes to Ted Lasso, which sees titular star Jason Sudeikis joined by Juno Temple, Hannah Waddingham, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt, Nick Mohammed and Jeremy Swift.
I May Destroy You, easily the most celebrated 2020 series premiere, nabbed nine nominations total — one for star Michaela Coel and one in the top race. The primary limited category also includes the exceptionally strong WandaVision, prestige TV catnip Mare of Easttown, breakout The Queen’s Gambit and late entry Amazon Studios’ The Underground Railroad.
This brings us to truly the most competitive category in the big night. When The Queen’s Gambit dropped on Netflix, seemingly out of the blue, in late 2020, star Anya Taylor-Joy seemed to be a lock for lead actress in a limited series. Then it was announced Coel’s magnum opus would compete in limited series, not comedy. And then Oscar winner Kate Winslet (Mare of Easttown) delivered one of the most talked-about series of 2021. Any one of the three could easily dominated in this category — and that’s if it were just the three of them, which it’s not. They’re joined by Cynthia Erivo (Genius: Aretha) and, in a career-defining role, WandaVision star Elizabeth Olsen.
Sifting through the rest of the many long documents that the TV Academy sent along with Tuesday morning’s nominations, there’s no shortage of compelling anomalies and feats. Conan O’Brien, who just wrapped his TBS series, scored his first nomination in the variety talk race after a decade out of the Emmy conversation. Saturday Night Live scored 11 nominations in various comedy acting races, stealing a bit of thunder from scripted comedies. Oddly, voters only nominated two series (SNL and A Black Lady Sketch Show) in the main sketch category — despite a few new entrants, like Showtime’s critically favored Ziwe.
In reality, the competition program category stayed the same, year over year, but Top Chef notably saw longtime judge Gail Simmons finally join perennial nominees Tom Colicchio and Padma Lakshmi in the host race. (They will again compete with juggernaut RuPaul, who is going for his sixth consecutive win as host and fourth consecutive win in series for RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Hosted nonfiction series or special also deserves a special shout-out for sheer wackiness. Oprah With Megan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special is now an Emmy nominee, alongside David Letterman’s Netflix interview series, Stanley Tucci’s CNN Italian travelogue, United Shades of America With W. Kamau Bell and Vice.
The 73rd Emmy Awards will be broadcast Sunday, Sept. 19, in a live telecast starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. It will air on CBS and will be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+. Cedric the Entertainer will host.
A partial list of nominees follows. The full list can be found on the Emmys’ website.
Drama Series
The Boys (Amazon)
Bridgerton (Netflix)
The Crown (Netflix)
The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Lovecraft Country (HBO)
The Mandalorian (Disney+)
Pose (FX)
This Is Us (NBC)
Lead Actress, Drama
Uzo Aduba, In Treatment (HBO)
Olivia Colman, The Crown (Netflix)
Emma Corrin, The Crown (Netflix)
Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Mj Rodriguez, Pose (FX)
Jurnee Smollett, Lovecraft Country (HBO)
Lead Actor, Drama
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us (NBC)
Jonathan Majors, Lovecraft Country (HBO)
Josh O’Connor, The Crown (Netflix)
Rege-Jean Page, Bridgerton (Netflix)
Billy Porter, Pose (FX)
Matthew Rhys, Perry Mason (HBO)
Supporting Actress, Drama
Gillian Anderson, The Crown (Netflix)
Helena Bonham Carter, The Crown (Netflix)
Emerald Fennell, The Crown (Netflix)
Madeline Brewer, The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Ann Dowd, The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Yvonne Strahovski, The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Samira Wiley, The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Aunjanue Ellis, Lovecraft Country (HBO)
Supporting Actor, Drama
Tobias Menzies, The Crown (Netflix)
O-T Fagbenle, The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Max Minghella, The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Bradley Whitford, The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Michael K. Williams, Lovecraft Country (HBO)
Giancarlo Esposito, The Mandalorian (Disney+)
John Lithgow, Perry Mason (HBO)
Chris Sullivan, This Is Us (NBC)
Comedy Series
Black-ish (ABC)
Cobra Kai (Netflix)
Emily in Paris (Netflix)
Hacks (HBO Max)
The Flight Attendant (HBO Max)
The Kominsky Method (Netflix)
Pen15 (Hulu)
Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)
Lead Actress, Comedy
Aidy Bryant, Shrill
Kaley Cuoco, The Flight Attendant (HBO Max)
Allison Janney, Mom (CBS)
Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish (ABC)
Jean Smart, Hacks (HBO Max)
Lead Actor, Comedy
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish (ABC)
Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method (Netflix)
William H. Macy, Shameless (Showtime)
Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)
Kenan Thompson, Kenan (NBC)
Supporting Actress, Comedy
Rosie Perez, The Flight Attendant (HBO Max)
Hannah Einbinder, Hacks (HBO Max)
Aidy Bryant, Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Cecily Strong, Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Juno Temple, Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)
Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)
Supporting Actor, Comedy
Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Hacks (HBO Max)
Paul Reiser, The Kominsky Method (Netflix)
Kenan Thompson, Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Bowen Yang, Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Brett Goldstein, Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)
Brendan Hunt, Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)
Nick Mohammed, Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)
Jeremy Swift, Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)
Limited Series
I May Destroy You (HBO)
Mare of Easttown (HBO)
The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)
The Underground Railroad (Amazon)
WandaVision (Disney+)
Lead Actress, Limited Series, Movie or Anthology
Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You)
Cynthia Erivo (Genius: Aretha)
Elizabeth Olsen (WandaVision)
Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit)
Kate Winslet (Mare of Easttown)
Lead Actor, Limited Series, Movie or Anthology
Paul Bettany (WandaVision)
Hugh Grant (The Undoing)
Ewan McGregor (Halston)
Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton)
Leslie Odom, Jr. (Hamilton)
Supporting Actress, Limited Series, Movie or Anthology
Renée Elise Goldsberry, Hamilton (Disney+)
Phillipa Soo, Hamilton (Disney+)
Julianne Nicholson, Mare of Easttown (HBO)
Jean Smart, Mare of Easttown (HBO)
Moses Ingram, The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)
Kathryn Hahn, WandaVision (Disney+)
Supporting Actor, Limited Series, Movie or Anthology
Daveed Diggs, Hamilton (Disney+)
Jonathan Groff, Hamilton (Disney+)
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton (Disney+)
Anthony Ramos, Hamilton (Disney+)
Paapa Essiedu, I May Destroy You (HBO)
Evan Peters, Mare of Easttown (HBO)
Thomas Brodie-Sangster, The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)
TV Movie
Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square (Netflix)
Oslo (HBO)
Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia (Lifetime)
Sylvie’s Love (Prime Video)
Uncle Frank (Prime Video)
Guest Actor, Comedy
Morgan Freeman, The Kominsky Method (Netflix)
Daniel Kaluuya, Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Alec Baldwin, Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Dave Chappelle, Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Dan Levy, Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Guest Actor, Drama
Charles Dance, The Crown (Netflix)
Don Cheadle, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Disney+)
Courtney B. Vance, Lovecraft Country (HBO)
Carl Weathers, The Mandalorian (Disney+)
Timothy Olyphant, The Mandalorian (Disney+)
Guest Actress, Comedy
Yvette Nicole Brown, A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO)
Issa Rae, A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO)
Jane Adams, Hacks (HBO Max)
Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Maya Rudolph, Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Bernadette Peters, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (NBC)
Guest Actress, Drama
Claire Foy, The Crown (Netflix)
McKenna Grace, The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Alexis Bledel, The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Sophie Okonedo, Ratched (Netflix)
Phylicia Rashad, This Is Us (NBC)
Variety Talk Series
Conan (TBS)
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (Comedy Central)
Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS)
Variety Special (Live)
Celebrating America — An Inauguration Night Special (Multiple Platforms)
The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards (CBS)
The Oscars (ABC)
The Pepsi Super Bowl LV Halftime Show Starring The Weeknd (CBS)
Stephen Colbert’s Election Night 2020: Democracy’s Last Stand Building Back America Great Again Better 2020 (Showtime)
Variety Sketch Series
A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO)
Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Competition Series
The Amazing Race (CBS)
Nailed It! (Netflix)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
Top Chef (Bravo)
The Voice (NBC)
Host, Reality or Competition Program
Nicole Byer, Nailed It! (Netflix)
Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski, Jonathan Van Ness, Queer Eye (Netflix)
RuPaul, RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John, Kevin O’Leary, Shark Tank (ABC)
Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons, Top Chef (Bravo)
Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman (Netflix)
Oprah With Meghan And Harry: A CBS Primetime Special (CBS)
Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy (CNN)
United Shades of America With W. Kamau Bell (CNN)
Vice (Showtime)
Documentary or Nonfiction Special
The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend A Broken Heart (HBO)
Boys State (Apple TV+)
Framing Britney Spears, The New York Times Presents (FX Networks)
The Social Dilemma (Netflix)
Tina (HBO)
Documentary Or Nonfiction Series
Allen v. Farrow (HBO)
American Masters (PBS)
City So Real (National Geographic)
Pretend It’s A City (Netflix)
Secrets Of The Whales (Disney+)
Exceptional Merit In Documentary Filmmaking
Dick Johnson Is Dead (Netflix)
76 Days (Pluto)
Welcome To Chechnya (HBO)
Structured Reality Program
Antiques Roadshow (PBS)
Property Brothers: Forever Home (HGTV)
Queer Eye (Netflix)
Running Wild With Bear Grylls (National Geographic)
Shark Tank (ABC)
Unstructured Reality Program
Becoming (Disney+)
Below Deck (Bravo)
Indian Matchmaking (Netflix)
RuPaul’s Drag Race Untucked (VH1)
Selling Sunset (Netflix)
