“SNL,” “Westworld” top field with 22 Emmy nominations
LOS ANGELES» “Saturday Night Live,” powered by madcap skits skewering the Trump administration, earned 22 Emmy Award nominations, including bids for Alec Baldwin’s florid portrayal of the president and Melissa McCarthy’s manic, genderbusting take on press secretary Sean Spicer.
The long-running NBC variety show tied with HBO’s sci-fi drama “Westworld,” which also earned 22 bids Thursday, to jointly top the field for the 69th Primetime Emmys to be presented in September.
Netflix big-shouldered the best drama category with three contenders, “The Crown, “House of Cards” and “Stranger Things,” a best-ever total for streaming as its platforms grow in strength and compete with broadcast and cable.
Emmy voters showed their willingness to recognize new comic voices as well as diversity. Donald Glover’s freshman “Atlanta” earned a best comedy bid, as did “Master of None,” starring its nominated co-creator, Aziz Ansari, and “black-ish.” The TV academy noted that the majority of nominated writers are people of color.
The drama field opened up with the absence of HBO’s dominant “Game of Thrones,” which aired outside the eligibility window for Emmy consideration.
The nominees
Partial list of nominees for the annual Primetime Emmy Awards, announced Thursday by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. For the complete list, visit DenverPost.com: Comedy Series: “Atlanta,” “black-ish,” “Master Of None,” “Modern Family,” “Silicon Valley,” “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” “Veep.”
Drama Series: “Better Call Saul,” “The Crown,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “House Of Cards,” “Stranger Things,” “This Is Us,” “Westworld.”
Actor, Drama Series: Matthew Rhys, “The Americans”; Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul”; Kevin Spacey, “House Of Cards”; Liev Schreiber, “Ray Donovan”; Sterling K. Brown, “This Is Us”; Milo Ventimiglia, “This Is Us”; Anthony Hopkins, “Westworld.”
Supporting Actor, Drama Series: Jonathan Banks, “Better Call Saul”; John Lithgow, “The Crown”; Mandy Patinkin, “Homeland”; Michael Kelly, “House of Cards”; David Harbour, “Stranger Things”; Ron Cephas Jones, “This Is Us”; Jeffrey Wright, “Westworld.”
Actress, Drama Series: Keri Russell, “The Americans”; Claire Foy, “The Crown”; Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale”; Robin Wright, “House of Cards”; Viola Davis, “How to Get Away With Murder”; Evan Rachel Wood, “Westworld.”
Supporting Actress, Drama Series: Ann Dowd, “The Handmaid’s Tale”; Samira Wiley, “The Handmaid’s Tale”; Uzo Aduba, “Orange Is The New Black”; Millie Bobby Brown, “Stranger Things”; Chrissy Metz, “This Is Us”; Thandie Newton, “Westworld.”
Actor, Comedy Series: Donald Glover, “Atlanta”; Zach Galifianakis, “Baskets”; Anthony Anderson, “black-ish”; Aziz Ansari, “Master of None”; William H. Macy, “Shameless”; Jeffrey Tambor, “Transparent.”
Supporting Actor, Comedy Series: Louie Anderson, “Baskets”; Ty Burrell, “Modern Family”; Alec Baldwin, “Saturday Night Live”; Tituss Burgess, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”; Tony Hale, “Veep”; Matt Walsh, “Veep.”
Actress, Comedy Series: Pamela Adlon, “Better Things”; Tracee Ellis Ross, “black-ish”; Jane Fonda, “Grace and Frankie”; Lily Tomlin, “Grace And Frankie”; Allison Janney, “Mom”; Ellie Kemper, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”; Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Veep.”
Supporting Actress, Comedy Series: Vanessa Bayer, “Saturday Night Live”; Leslie Jones, “Saturday Night Live”; Kate McKinnon, “Saturday Night Live”; Kathryn Hahn, “Transparent”; Judith Light, “Transparent”; Anna Chlumsky, “Veep.”