In fact, nominations for the 76th Emmy Awards, announced Wednesday morning, were so thoroughly unsurprising they may as well have been scripted. “Shogun,” an obvious favorite for best drama, got 25 nominations, including lead actress for Anna Sawai and lead actor for Hiroyuki Sanada. “The Crown” (which sometimes felt custom-made for these awards, and has indeed won 21) received a healthy send-off with 18. And “The Bear,” which cleaned up at the delayed 75th Emmy Awards show back in January, broke the record this time — beating “30 Rock” for most nominations for a comedy series in a single year, with a whopping 23 nominations.
Of course Andrew Scott got nominated for his work in “Ripley.” Of course Richard Gadd got nominated for the runaway Netflix hit “Baby Reindeer.” (The limited series, which has courted controversy — and a lawsuit — received 11 nominations.) It was practically a given that Jean Smart would be nominated for “Hacks,” Juno Temple for “Fargo,” and Jodie Foster and Kali Reis for “True Detective: Night Country.”
But there were a few twists. Gratifying developments included a nod to “Reservation Dogs” for best comedy (and wholly appropriate snubs for “The Regime” and the lackluster “Frasier” reboot), as well as nominations for Jonathan Bailey and Matt Bomer for their exceptional work in “Fellow Travelers.” “The Gilded Age,” which I think of as shameless and mediocre Emmy bait, got only six nominations. That feels low. (Sadly, “The Morning Show,” which occupies a similar category, to my mind, collected an absurd 16 nominations.)
That comedies such as “Hacks,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Only Murders in the Building” did very well is a comfort to those of us who feel as if high-quality programs such as “The Bear” have no business competing in the comedy category, and might be disincentivizing actual, well, jokes. (More on this in a moment!)
Series that overperformed expectations include Apple TV Plus’s “Lessons in Chemistry” and Donald Glover’s “Mr. & Mrs. Smith.” (He and co-star Maya Erskine were both nominated, and the show is up for best drama.) Then there’s “Feud: Capote vs. the Swans.” Tom Hollander deserves recognition for his portrayal of the embattled author as he struggled with his demons, but it’s slightly surprising that the Ryan Murphy series did as well as it did, garnering nominations for Naomi Watts and Diane Lane, as well as a posthumous nod to Treat Williams. (This was FX’s year; the network won the most nominations in its history. And, relatedly, Hulu’s — which can boast that it had the Top 3 most-nominated shows between “Shogun,” “The Bear” and “Only Murders in the Building.”)
It’s tradition at this point to niggle at the Emmy nominations, so, sure, there were glaring omissions. It’s particularly astonishing that Robert Downey Jr. — who plays every major White role in the show as a joke! That is the joke! — was the only actor to receive an Emmy nod for HBO’s “The Sympathizer.” Justice for Hoa Xuande!
It’s tradition, too, to complain about the categories. There have been some improvements: Ayo Edebiri, for instance, was nominated in the “lead” rather than “supporting” category for her work on “The Bear” this time. That feels right.
But then, well, there’s “Fishes.” That mesmerizing, agonizing episode of “The Bear” that landed no fewer than three of its guest stars Emmy nominations this week. It’s a truism by now that the series about traumatized chefs is a “comedy” in name only. The show is so anxiety-inducing, so stuffed with pain, that it has more or less made a punchline out of the category. Look: “Fishes” is amazing. A triumphant, thoroughly believable, nightmare episode of television. Jamie Lee Curtis deserves that award. Her work as Donna Berzatto, as volatile and dysfunctional a mother as Hollywood’s ever seen, is indelible. So does Jon Bernthal for the confidence and charm and edge with which he portrays the missing figure at the heart of “The Bear.” But Bob Odenkirk? Bob Odenkirk! I will maintain to my dying day that Rhea Seehorn deserved not one but several Emmys for her bravura performance as Kim Wexler. And if the guy who turned Jimmy McGill into the slimeball we know as Saul Goodman finally wins an Emmy for his acting — not for “Better Call Saul,” but for guest-starring as an evil-stepdad-type in “The Bear” — well, that’ll be a better joke than any we’ve actually seen in the series.