Disney+, Apple TV+ Score First Emmy Nominations

Three brand new streaming services have picked up Emmy nominations in their first year of eligibility. 

Disney+ leads the pack of first-time nominees with 19 total nominations, followed by Apple TV+ with 18 nominations and Quibi with 10 nominations. The new players are part of a larger streaming sweep at the Emmys that saw Netflix lead the nominations with 160 nods. Hulu and Amazon’s Prime Video also picked up a number of nominations. 

The nominations are a show of support for these new services from an industry that has been roiled by changes to its business model as more Americans cut the cord in favor of on-demand video offerings. 

Eight-month-old Disney+ had a strong showing thanks to The Mandalorian, the Jon Favreau drama set in the Star Wars universe. The show picked up 11 nominations, including one for outstanding drama series. Most of its nods came in the technical categories but Taika Waititi grabbed one for his voice work as the droid IG-11 and Giancarlo Esposito was recognized for his guest actor work as Moff Gideon. 

Other Disney+ titles that picked up nominations include hosted nonfiction series The World According to Jeff Goldblum and shortform series Forky Asks A Question. 

Apple TV+, which launched just days ahead of Disney+, scored eight nominations for drama series The Morning Show, including Steve Carell and Jennifer Aniston in the drama series lead acting categories. Billy Crudup and Mark Duplass also picked up nominations in the drama series supporting actor category, and Martin Short got a nod for his guest actor work. Mimi Leader was nominated for outstanding directing in a drama series for her work on season one finale “The Interview.” 

Apple TV+’s Central Park also scored a nomination, for Leslie Odom Jr.’s voice work as Owen. Other projects that picked up nominations include Chris Evans drama Defending Jacob and documentary Beastie Boys Story. 

Apple has been in the Emmy race before, via music streaming service Apple Music, which is the home of Emmy winning shortform variety series Carpool Karaoke. 

Quibi, the mobile-first streaming service launched by Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman in April, has struggled to attract subscribers but seems to have caught the attention of Emmy voters. All of its nominations came in the shortform categories, where shows including Antoine Fuqua-produced drama #FreeRayshawn, Anna Kendrick comedy Dummy and comedy reboot Reno 911! all scored nods.