Shōgun and The Bear are leading the way in this year’s Emmys race with the Netflix breakout Baby Reindeer also making a strong impression.
The nominations, announced on Wednesday, saw FX’s historical Japan-set epic drama lead with 25, including for best drama series.
That category also includes the final season of The Crown, Amazon’s breakout video game adaptation Fallout, the period drama The Gilded Age, the third season of The Morning Show, Amazon’s acclaimed remake of Mr and Mrs Smith, the spy drama Slow Horses and Netflix’s 3 Body Problem.
FX also led the comedy categories with The Bear breaking the record for the most nominations for a comedy in a single year with 23 nods, including for best comedy series.
That category also included ABC’s hit sitcom Abbott Elementary, the final season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, the third season of Hacks, Apple’s starry new series Palm Royale, long-awaited recognition for Reservation Dogs, FX’s cult favourite What We Do in the Shadows and Only Murders in the Building.
The latter murder mystery series was the third most nominated show of the day with 21 nominations, including first-time recognition for star Selena Gomez, who is nominated for best actress in a comedy series. She will compete alongside Abbott Elementary’s Quinta Brunson, The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri, Loot’s Maya Rudolph, Hacks’ Jean Smart and Palm Royale’s Kristen Wiig.
Her co-stars Steve Martin and Martin Short lead the comedy actor category and will compete alongside What We Do in the Shadows’ Matt Berry, Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Larry David, The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White, and Reservation Dogs’ D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai.
Netflix breakout Baby Reindeer also picked up 11 nominations after becoming a surprise hit for the streamer. The fact-based drama series, about a comedian dealing with a stalker, picked up nominations for star Richard Gadd as well as co-star Jessica Gunning.
In the category of limited or anthology series, it will face off against Fargo, Lessons in Chemistry, Ripley and True Detective: Night Country, which picked up an impressive 19 nominations including for star Jodie Foster.
Foster’s co-star Kali Reis and recent Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone also made history as the first Indigenous women nominated for acting Emmys. Gladstone was nominated for her role in the true crime series Under the Bridge.
The category for lead actor in drama sees the British actors Idris Elba, Gary Oldman and Dominic West face off against Walter Goggins, Donald Glover and Hiroyuki Sanada while lead actress in a drama has the British actor Imelda Staunton compete against Jennifer Aniston, Carrie Coon, Maya Erskine, Anna Sawai and Reese Witherspoon.
Recent Oscar winners Robert Downey Jr and Da’Vine Joy Randolph also picked up nominations for roles in The Sympathiser and Only Murders in the Building, respectively. Randolph faces competition from Olivia Colman and Jamie Lee Curtis in the category of comedy guest actress.
Notable snubs include the acclaimed surreal drama series The Curse which starred recent Oscar winner Emma Stone, Kate Winslet’s HBO satire The Regime and Apple’s big-budget drama Masters of the Air, which scored just three technical nominations.
Eligible shows had to air between June 2023 and May 2024.
The awards will be given out in September just eight months after the previous ceremony after it was delayed as a result of the dual Hollywood strikes. “While this year has been marked by significant challenges for our industry and its workforce, there has been an abundance of remarkable programs, extraordinary performances and impactful storytelling,” the television academy chair, Cris Abrego, said in a statement.
The 76th Emmy awards will take place on 15 September.