Emmy 2020: The main talking points as Watchmen leads nominations and Normal People snubbed
Jennifer Aniston is up for her first dramatic Emmy – and 10 other talking points
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Your support makes all the difference.The Emmy nominations for 2020 have been announced, with Watchmen, Succession and The Mandalorian all scoring prime spots in this year's list of contenders.
Leslie Jones hosted the announcement on Tuesday. Laverne Cox, Josh Gad, and Orphan Black star Tatiana Maslaney joined as presenters via a virtual weblink.
This year’s ceremony was thrown into question following the coronavirus pandemic, but events went back into motion with Tuesday's broadcast.
The 2020 Emmy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will take place on 2 September.
Here are the main talking points from the 2020 Emmys nominations:
Watchmen
In a better world, Watchmen’s incredible success at this year’s Emmys wouldn’t be such a surprise. But considering the Emmys’ history with anything particularly difficult or ambitious (or even their history with sci-fi alone), the show’s stunning 26 nods feel groundbreaking. It couldn’t have happened to a more special programme. Adam White
Better Call Saul
The Breaking Bad prequel may have a nomination in the main Drama category, but that voters didn't consider its lead stars worthy of acting nods is rather hard to comprehend. Bob Odenkirk and, in particular, Rhea Seehorn turned in their best work for the show's fifth season. But, with new blood such as The Morning Show and Succession, they've been criminally pushed down the list. Jacob Stolworthy
Elisabeth Moss
The Handmaid’s Tale star is a household name at the Emmys, having scored many nominations for both the dystopian show and Mad Men. She took home the trophy for Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2017, and her continued portrayal of June in the HBO show could have resulted in another nomination this year. Alas, it wasn’t to be. Clémence Michallon
Normal People
Normal People was the most talked-about series of the early summer, but only took home one solitary nomination for its male lead, Paul Mescal. It’s a testament to his star-is-born charisma on the show, but disappointing overall considering the Sally Rooney adaptation was such a lightning rod for discussion just a few months ago. Adam White
The Mandalorian
The inclusion of the Disney+ show on the list of nominees for Outstanding Drama Series is a considerable mark of prestige for the Star Wars series, which debuted in November last year to great acclaim. It also positions Disney+ as a serious contender in future awards races, alongside the likes of Netflix, Hulu, HBO, and Amazon Studios. Clémence Michallon
Zendaya/Euphoria
While Zendaya is a major star, it still feels quietly radical that her provocative drama series Euphoria scored her a Best Drama Actress nomination. With its sex and drugs and wall-to-wall nudity, the HBO series is sort of the antithesis of everything the Emmys historically like to spotlight. Adam White
Tiger King
Netflix’s true-crime series, which became a must-watch as many viewers around the world entered coronavirus lockdown, was always a bit of a “love it or hate it” programme. Clearly, the Emmys fall in the former camp: Tiger King is up for six awards, including Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. Clémence Michallon
Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon’s absence from the nominees came as a surprise, particularly as she has become enmeshed in television over the last two years. Despite her Apple TV+ series The Morning Show scoring a Best Drama Series nomination, and her co-stars Jennifer Aniston and Steve Carell receiving their own acting nods, Witherspoon went away empty-handed. The same thing occurred with Little Fires Everywhere, the limited series Witherspoon starred in and co-produced (her co-star Kerry Washington received a well-deserved nod instead), and even the second, polarising season of Big Little Lies. That appeared to be slightly forgotten altogether, with only nods for Meryl Streep and Laura Dern in the Supporting Actress category. Considering how the show’s first season dominated the limited-series awards in 2018, it feels like a statement on its lesser quality. Adam White
What We Do in the Shadows
What We Do in the Shadows may be one of the funniest shows on TV, but with no acting nominations, it seemed unlikely to be recognised in the main Comedy category. Colour us surprised, then, to see it rear its head, and while it's unlikely to win, it's reassuring to know that voters have been glamoured by its vampire characters' antics. Jacob Stolworthy
Jennifer Aniston
Eighteen years after winning Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Friends, Aniston scores her first nomination for a dramatic Emmy thanks to her performance on The Morning Show. She’s up for Lead Actress in a Drama Series alongside Olivia Colman, Zendaya, Jodie Comer, Sandra Oh, and Laura Linney. Clémence Michallon
Claire Danes
Claire Danes has had her fair share of Emmy love in the past; with three nominations and one win since 2011, she certainly made her mark as Homeland character Carrie Mathison. However, considering voters have a history of nominating awarding winners for their final seasons (see: Jon Hamm for Mad Men, Bryan Cranston for Breaking Bad), a final nod for Danes wasn't entirely unexpected. Sadly, it wasn't to be. Jacob Stolworthy
Follow the live updates as they happened during this year’s nominations with our live blog below:
Please allow a moment for the live blog to load...
Expect nominations for *takes deep breath* Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin and Matthew Macfadyen – and, with any luck, Nicholas Braun and J Smith Cameron.
Then, there are some of the old regulars: The Crown, Better Call Saul, Ozark, Pose and This Is Us
A nod for The Handmaid's Tale wouldn't come as too much of a surprise, but the same cannot be said for Westworld, whose third season was... not as good as what's come before.
One shows that should never be ruled out is Homeland. As we mentioned before, the Emmys love awarding previous nominees following their final season, and Homeland had a thrilling swansong.
Who will join the Succession boys in the main acting category? Expect to see Jason Bateman (Ozark), Billy Porter (Pose) and Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul).
Sterling K Brown is a dead cert for This Is Us, although new competition could rear its head in the form of Tobias Menzies for his role as Prince Phillip in The Crown. There's also Al Pacino for Hunters, which Amazon Prime Video has been trying to make happen for a while now, and Ben Mendelsohn for cult HBO show The Outsider.
Let's stick with The Outsider. It didn't set the world alight, but Cynthia Erivo's performance was one of the year's best. Julianne Nicholson's too. A nomination for either would be a very good thing.
Then there's also a chance for Reese Witherspoon in The Morning Show, too (could she get two nominations this year? Little Fires Everywhere is a big contender in the Limited Series category).
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