The reveal on Tuesday was hosted by father-daughter duo Ron Cephas Jones and Jasmine Cephas Jones, who have both won Emmys themselves for respective shows This Is Us and #FreeRayShawn.
Leading the nominations with no less than 24 nods each were Netflix's The Crown and Disney+'s The Mandalorian. Despite having just been cancelled by HBO, Lovecraft Country racked up 18 nominations. Also scoring heavily were The Handmaid's Tale, Ted Lasso and Wandavision.
The Crown, the hugely popular Netflix show which charts the ups and downs of the British Royal Family, was nominated for Best Drama Series. Its stars Olivia Colman, Emma Corrin, Josh O’Connor, Gillian Anderson, Helena Bonham Carter, Tobias Menzies and Emerald Fennell all received acting nominations. The series has won three Emmys to date, with John Lithgow winning Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama series in 2017; Claire Foy winning Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2018; and Stephen Daldry recognised for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series the same year.
Star Wars spinoff The Mandalorian has been the flagship show for the Disney+ streaming service. While most of its 24 nominations are in technical categories, it's also up for Oustanding Drama Series, with acting nods for Giancarlo Esposito, Carl Weathers and Timothy Olyphant. Showrunner Jon Favreau is recognized with nominations for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series along with co-writer Dave Filoni. Last year the show scooped seven Emmys, including the music and special visual effects categories.
Disney+ can celebrate further with 23 nominations for Wandavision, a small screen spinoff from the blockbusting Marvel Cinematic Universe. Along with a host of technical nominations, actors Paul Bettany, Elisabneth Olsen and Kathryn Hahn have been recognised. Another of Disney+'s MCU shows, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, received five nominations, including one for actor Don Cheadle.
Nine nominations were hand to British show I May Destroy You, with the show's star and creator Michael Coel recognised in both the acting and writing categories. Earlier this year Coel picked up two BAFTAs for Best Mini-Series and Best Leading Actress.
Football comedy Ted Lasso was nominated in 20 categories. The surprise hit for Apple TV+ garnered nominations in such categories as Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding lead Actor in a Comedy Series (Jason Sudeikis), Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series and Supporting Actor/Actress nods for Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt, Nick Mohammed, Jeremy Swift, Juno Temple and Hannah Waddingham.
Mystery thriller Mare of Easttown landed 16 nominations including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series and acting nods for Kate Winslet, Julianne Nicholson, Jean Smart and Evan Peters.
Now in its fourth season, feminist series The Handmaid's Tale saw its lead Elisabeth Moss once again recognized in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, along with nominations for supporting cast members Yvonne Strahovski, Bradley Whitford, Max Minghella, O-T Fagbenle, Ann Dowd, Samira Wiley and Madeline Brewer. The show will also compete in the Outstanding Drama Series category.
The biggest surprise snubs this year were the failure to recognize Nicole Kidman's performance in The Undoing and zero nominations for Steve McQueen's widely acclaimed anthology series Small Axe.
History was made with MJ Rodriguez becoming the first transgender actor to receive a Best Actress nomination. Recognised for her work on show The Pose, Rodriguez is the third trans performer to receive an acting nomination, following Rain Valdez and Laverne Cox. This year the Emmys are introducing a rule change to allow for inclusivity of gender-noncomforming talent. Nominees or winners of acting categories can now request that "actor" or "actress" be replaced with the gender-neutral "performer" on their nomination certificate or award statuette.
This year's Emmy awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, September 19th and will be hosted by Cedric the Entertainer. After last year's virtual show, this year's edition will feature a limited live audience.
