‘The Crown’ leads Emmy noms, Thuso Mbedu snubbed for lead actress

Disney+’s “Star Wars” series “The Mandalorian” on Tuesday tied for the most Emmy nominations with Netflix royal drama “The Crown” at 24, as the Mouse House stormed television’s version of the Oscars.

Disney’s new streaming service, in only its second year, also topped the prestigious limited series category, where Marvel superhero spin-off “WandaVision” earned 23 nominations.

Apple TV+, another streamer in its sophomore year, topped the comedy categories with “Ted Lasso” on 20, while NBC sketch comedy series “Saturday Night Live”, a perennial Emmys favourite, extended its all-time record number of nominations to 306 with 21 new nods.

The 73rd Emmy Awards will be handed out at a live, in-person ceremony in Los Angeles broadcast by CBS on September 19.

The show — set to feature a “limited audience of nominees and their guests” — will mark a welcome return to some normality. Last year’s edition was broadcast from an empty theatre, with winners beaming in via video call.  

Hosted by US actor-comedian Cedric the Entertainer, the gala will honour the best in television from a unique, pandemic-plagued year in which producers struggled to film under tight Covid restrictions.

Like the rest of us, the Television Academy’s 25,000 voters spent several months stuck at home, leaving them ample time to sift through a stripped-down selection of series from their sofas.

Superheroes and ‘Star Wars’

Disney+ increased its share of Emmy nominations from 19 in its debut year to a whopping 71 this time.

Combined with the parent company’s other platforms such as ABC and Hulu, Disney topped the overall nominations with 146.

HBO and its own streamer HBO Max managed 130, just pipping last year’s record-breaking leader Netflix on 129.

“The Mandalorian” and “The Crown” will compete for best drama against Hulu’s dystopian drama “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which scored 21 nods, and the likes of Netflix’s buzzy period rom-com “Bridgerton.”

Season two of “The Mandalorian,” a space-set neo-Western spun off from the wildly popular sci-fi “Star Wars” films, scored strongly across technical categories, in addition to multiple acting nominations for the likes of Giancarlo Esposito — though sadly Baby Yoda was not eligible.

All three previous seasons of monarchy saga “The Crown” have been nominated for best drama series, but the show — like all other Netflix dramas — has never won the top prize.

The show also boasts leading contenders in the drama acting categories, including Emma Corrin as Princess Diana, Josh O’Connor as Prince Charles, and Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher.

‘Best Parisian Travelogue’

“Ted Lasso” — about a hapless American football coach thrust into English soccer — is the hot favourite to win best comedy series, where Michael Douglas’s “The Kominsky Method” is the sole comedy nominee from last year again in the running.

The Academy sprung a surprise by nominating “Emily in Paris” for best comedy, just five months after Golden Globes voters were ridiculed for recognizing the cliche-ridden Netflix comedy.

“‘Emily in Paris’ is barely a comedy and barely a TV show and ‘Best Parisian Travelogue’ isn’t even an Emmy category,” wrote The Hollywood Reporter’s Daniel Feinberg, as the nomination spawned incredulous memes on social media.

Elsewhere, the limited series field has arguably the most competitive and prestigious lineup of all, making the success of Disney+’s Marvel series “WandaVision” all the more impressive.

It will compete with shows including Kate Winslet’s small-town murder mystery “Mare of Easttown,” and the Barry Jenkins-directed slavery tale “The Underground Railroad.”

ALSO READ:

There however was no place for Steve McQueen’s acclaimed immigrant anthology “Small Axe,” or A-listers Nicole Kidman and Ethan Hawke for their roles in “The Undoing” and “The Good Lord Bird,” respectively.

“WandaVision” — which features popular characters from Marvel’s record-breaking films, including Elizabeth Olsen’s magical witch Wanda Maximoff — won legions of fans and critical praise for its quirky send-up of classic TV sitcoms.

And it is not the only superhero show gatecrashing the Emmys — fellow Marvel series “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” bagged five nominations, including for guest star Don Cheadle, as did Amazon Prime Video’s “The Boy.

Here is a list of the nominees in key categories for the 73rd Emmy Awards, which will be handed out in Los Angeles on September 19.

Netflix’s latest season of British royal drama “The Crown” and Star Wars television series “The Mandalorian” on Disney+ topped the list with 24 nods each.

“WandaVision” came in a close third with 23 nominations. 

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES

“The Boys” (Prime Video)

“Bridgerton” (Netflix)

“The Crown” (Netflix)

“The Handmaid’s Tale” (Hulu)

“Lovecraft Country” (HBO)

“The Mandalorian” (Disney +)

“Pose” (FX Networks)

“This is Us” (NBC)

OUTSTANDING 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 ACTOR, DRAMA

Sterling K. Brown, “This is Us”

Jonathan Majors, “Lovecraft Country”

Josh O’Connor, “The Crown”

Rege-Jean Page, “Bridgerton”

Billy Porter, “Pose”

Matthew Rhys, “Perry Mason”

LEAD ACTRESS, DRAMA

Uzo Aduba, “In Treatment”

Olivia Colman, “The Crown”

Emma Corrin, “The Crown”

Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale”

Mj Rodriguez, “Pose”

Jurnee Smollett, “Lovecraft Country”

LEAD ACTOR, COMEDY

Anthony Anderson, “black-ish”

Michael Douglas, “The Kominsky Method”

William H. Macy, “Shameless”

Jason Sudeikis, “Ted Lasso”

Kenan Thompson, “Kenan”

LEAD ACTRESS, COMEDY

Aidy Bryant, “Shrill”

Kaley Cuoco, “The Flight Attendant”

Tracee Ellis Ross, “black-ish”

Jean Smart, “Hacks”

Allison Janney, “Mom”

SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA

Giancarlo Esposito, “The Mandalorian”

O-T Fagbenle, “The Handmaid’s Tale”

John Lithgow, “Perry Mason”

Tobias Menzies, “The Crown”

Max Minghella, “The Handmaid’s Tale”

Chris Sullivan, “This Is Us”

Bradley Whitford, “The Handmaid’s Tale”

Michael K. Williams, “Lovecraft Country”

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA

Gillian Anderson, “The Crown”

Helena Bonham Carter, “The Crown”

Madeline Brewer, “The Handmaid’s Tale”

Ann Dowd, “The Handmaid’s Tale”

Aunjanue Ellis, “Lovecraft Country”

Emerald Fennell, “The Crown”

Yvonne Strahovski, “The Handmaid’s Tale”

Samira Wiley, “The Handmaid’s Tale”

SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY

Carl Clemons-Hopkins, “Hacks”

Brett Goldstein, “Ted Lasso”

Brendan Hunt, “Ted Lasso”

Nick Mohammed, “Ted Lasso”

Paul Reiser, “The Kominsky Method”

Jeremy Swift, “Ted Lasso”

Kenan Thompson, “Saturday Night Live”

Bowen Yang, “Saturday Night Live”

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY

Aidy Bryant, “Saturday Night Live”

Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks”

Kate McKinnon, “Saturday Night Live”

Rosie Perez, “The Flight Attendant”

Cecily Strong, “Saturday Night Live”

Juno Temple, “Ted Lasso”

Hannah Waddingham, “Ted Lasso”

OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES

“I May Destroy You” (HBO)

“Mare of Easttown” (HBO)

“The Queen’s Gambit” (Netflix)

“The Underground Railroad” (Prime Video)

“WandaVision” (Disney+)

OUTSTANDING TELEVISION 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)

LEAD ACTOR, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

Paul Bettany, “WandaVision”

Hugh Grant, “The Undoing”

Ewan McGregor, “Halston”

Lin-Manuel Miranda, “Hamilton”

Leslie Odom, Jr, “Hamilton”

LEAD ACTRESS, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

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”

SUPPORTING ACTOR, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

Thomas Brodie-Sangster, “The Queen’s Gambit”

Daveed Diggs, “Hamilton”

Paapa Essiedu, “I May Destroy You”

Jonathan Groff, “Hamilton”

Evan Peters, “Mare Of Easttown”

Anthony Ramos, “Hamilton”

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

Renee Elise Goldsberry, “Hamilton”

Kathryn Hahn, “WandaVision”

Moses Ingram, “The Queen’s Gambit”

Julianne Nicholson, “Mare Of Easttown”

Jean Smart, “Mare Of Easttown”

Phillipa Soo, “Hamilton”

Top five programs with most overall nominations:

“The Crown” – 24

“The Mandalorian” – 24

“WandaVision” – 23 

“The Handmaid’s Tale” – 21

“Saturday Night Live” – 21

“Ted Lasso” – 20