Netflix Nabs 160 Nominations, Most Ever, In Slightly More Diverse Emmys

A lot of people being stuck at home during the pandemic hasn't exactly hurt Netflix. The streaming giant has added more than 26 million subscribers so far this year, and on Tuesday it took home a record 160 Emmy nominations.

That was more than enough to unseat HBO, which (now without Game of Thrones) missed clinching the top spot for only the second time in 21 years. And even though many of the top nominations went to white actors or series led by them, members of the Television Academy did recognize a diverse slate of performers and shows, especially Watchmen.

The HBO series, which opened with 1921’s Tulsa race massacre and continued with a disquieting investigation of American racism, was nominated 26 times, the most of any series or movie. A number of its Black actors, including Regina King and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, also were nominated, helping bring HBO 107 nominations overall.

But it was Netflix’s morning, as its total nominations were more than the four major broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox) combined. Netflix was nominated in all but one of the 11 major categories, with its productions Ozark, The Crown and Hollywood each scoring more than 10 nominations apiece. Its 160 nominations came from 52 different programs.

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Unlike the Academy Awards, which have struggled to nominate more than one or two non-white actors in any recent year, the Emmys have a marginally better recent track record for diversity.

While many of the nominated television performers were white (including Emmy veterans such as Laura Linney, Ted Danson and Meryl Streep), a number weren’t: Zendaya from Euphoria, Issa Rae from Insecure, Thandie Newton from Westworld, and Billy Porter from Pose.

Even though it’s unclear how the actual Emmy ceremony will be staged and who will attend, trophies are still set to be handed out (or mailed?) on Sept. 20.

See the full list of nominees here.

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