Overview
This isn't new news to anyone, but 2020 has been a big year for television. With everyone spending more time indoors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, TV has been a trusty go-to to help while away the hours, days and months — whether it's beamed into your home the old-fashioned way or streamed to your chosen device.
If you've spent the past few months bingeing your way through a dark superhero tale, stepping back to 50s and 60s-era New York and watching a media mogul's personal and professional dramas, it seems that this year's Emmy Awards are on the same wavelength. Announcing the nominees for the 2020 ceremony, the Television Academy showered plenty of love on Watchmen, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel and Succession, which notched up 26, 20 and 18 nods respectively.
Also doing well was Ozark, which scored 18 nominations — while The Mandalorian, Saturday Night Live and Schitt's Creek all earned 15 nods apiece. From there, everything from The Crown, Westworld and The Handmaid's Tale to Unorthodox, What We Do in the Shadows and even Tiger King earned a mention. It's worth noting that the Emmys hand out a hefty number of awards, with its full nominee list spanning 61 pages — and Netflix picking up a huge 160 nominations across the entire spectrum — so odds are that your favourite show popped up somewhere.
Notably for talent from Down Under, Hugh Jackman was recognised for Outstanding Actor in a Limited Series or Television Movie, for Bad Education; Cate Blanchett received a nomination for Outstanding Actress in the same category for Mrs America; and Toni Collette nabbed a Outstanding Supporting Actress nod, also in the same field, for Unbelievable. Plus, Succession's Sarah Snook earned a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, Hannah Gadsby's Douglas picked up noms for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) and Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special, and Taika Waititi scored an Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance nod for The Mandalorian.
Both on the local front and in general, there were snubs, too. It wouldn't be a list of newly revealed award nominees without them. Russell Crowe's performance in last year's The Loudest Voice went unrewarded — and the fact that Better Call Saul's Bob Odenkirk, Rhea Seehorn and Jonathan Banks were ignored for their exceptional work isn't just surprising, but astonishing.
This year's nominations did recognise The Good Place's Ted Danson and William Jackson Harper, though, as well as Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Andre Braugher. So, like all awards nominations from all awards bodies every single time they're announced, it's a mixed bag.
Succession
The 72nd Emmy Awards will take place on Monday, September 20, Australian time. Here's a rundown of the major nominations — and you can check out the full 61-page list of nominees on the Emmys' website:
EMMY NOMINEES 2020
OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
- Better Call Saul
- The Crown
- The Handmaid's Tale
- Killing Eve
- The Mandalorian
- Ozark
- Stranger Things
- Succession
OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
- 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
OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES
- Little Fires Everywhere
- Mrs America
- Unbelievable
- Unorthodox
- Watchmen
OUTSTANDING TELEVISION MOVIE
- American Son
- Bad Education
- Dolly Parton's Heartstrings: These Old Bones
- El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
- Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs The Reverend
OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
- Jason Bateman, Ozark
- Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
- Steve Carell, The Morning Show
- Brian Cox, Succession
- Billy Porter, Pose
- Jeremy Strong, Succession
OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
- Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show
- Olivia Colman, The Crown
- Jodie Comer, Killing Eve
- Laura Linney, Ozark
- Sandra Oh, Killing Eve
- Zendaya, Euphoria
OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
- 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
OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
- 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
OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE
- Jeremy Irons, Watchmen
- Hugh Jackman, Bad Education
- Paul Mescal, Normal People
- Jeremy Pope, Hollywood
- Mark Ruffalo, I Know This Much Is True
OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE
- Cate Blanchett, Mrs America
- Shira Haas, Unorthodox
- Regina King, Watchmen
- Octavia Spencer, Self Made
- Kerry Washington, Little Fires Everywhere
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
- Giancarlo Esposito, Better Call Saul
- Bradley Whitford, The Handmaid's Tale
- Billy Crudup, The Morning Show
- Mark Duplass, The Morning Show
- Nicholas Braun, Succession
- Kieran Culkin, Succession
- Matthew Macfadyen, Succession
- Jeffrey Wright, Westworld
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
- Laura Dern, Big Little Lies
- Meryl Streep, Big Little Lies
- Helena Bonham Carter, The Crown
- Samira Wiley, The Handmaid's Tale
- Fiona Shaw, Killing Eve
- Julia Garner, Ozark
- Sarah Snook, Succession
- Thandie Newton, Westworld
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
- Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
- William Jackson Harper, The Good Place
- Alan Arkin, The Kominsky Method
- Sterling K. Brown, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel
- Tony Shalhoub, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel
- Mahershala Ali, Ramy
- Kenan Thompson, Saturday Night Live
- Daniel Levy, Schitt's Creek
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
- Betty Gilpin, GLOW
- D'Arcy Carden, The Good Place
- Yvonne Orji, Insecure
- Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel
- Marin Hinkle, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel
- Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
- Cecily Strong, Saturday Night Live
- Annie Murphy, Schitt's Creek
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE
- Dylan McDermott, Hollywood
- Jim Parsons, Hollywood
- Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs The Reverend
- Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Watchmen
- Jovan Adepo, Watchmen
- Louis Gossett Jr, Watchmen
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE
- Holland Taylor, Hollywood
- Uzo Aduba, Mrs America
- Margo Martindale, Mrs America
- Tracey Ullman, Mrs America
- Toni Collette, Unbelievable
- Jean Smart, Watchmen
Top image: Watchmen, Mark Hill/HBO