Lovecraft Country

HBO’s horror series boasts incredible talent in front of and behind the camera, garnering 18 Emmy nominations for its first — and only — season

HBO’s horror series boasts incredible talent in front of and behind the camera, garnering 18 Emmy nominations for its first — and final — season.

For the five Emmy acting nominees in Lovecraft Country’s cast — Jonathan Majors, Jurnee Smollett, Michael K. Williams, Aunjanue Ellis and Courtney B. Vance — the TV Academy’s honors must have been bittersweet, as they came on the heels of HBO’s announcement that it had canceled the series. That surely was true for creator and showrunner Misha Green, also an Emmy nominee for adapting Matt Ruff’s 2016 novel for the screen. Using the supernatural aesthetic of H.P. Lovecraft as the springboard for an examination of America’s white supremacist history, Lovecraft Country was a handsomely shot period piece that delivered plenty of scares and gore. Throughout the 10-part series, one had to wonder what was more dangerous: the monsters its heroes must battle, or their fellow humans. Its premature cancellation might leave that question unanswered — but the show makes the case that monsters and men are on equal footing.

Above: Emmy nominees Courtney B. Vance, Jurnee Smollett and Jonathan Majors on HBO’s Lovecraft Country. Right: Wunmi Mosaku and Smollett.