HBO dominates the 2023 Emmy nominations amid a writers’ strike

LOS ANGELES — HBO dominated the Emmy nominations Wednesday morning, with the elite trio of “Succession,” “The White Lotus” and “The Last of Us” combining for a whopping 74, but the dominant theme darkening the scene was the ongoing writers’ strike and the likelihood that actors can join them in just a day.

“Succession” and its wildly dysfunctional one percent dynasty led all Emmy nominations in its fourth and final season with 27, including best drama, which it has won twice in the last three years. It earned three nominations for best actor in a play, with Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong and Kieran Culkin all receiving nods for playing the man from the Roy clan, and Sarah Snook earning a best actress nomination. It also got four nominations for best supporting actor in a drama.

The cursed traveler in the Sicilian resort from the second season of “The White Lotus” absolutely dominated the supporting category, however, earning five nominations for best supporting actress in a drama – including nods to Jennifer Coolidge and Aubrey Plaza – and another four for best. Supporting actor.

Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal, the duo on a mushroom-filled quest in “The Last of Us,” each received major acting nominations. The show, based on the popular Playstation video game, came in second to “Succession” with 24 nominations. “The White Lotus” has 23.

“Ted Lasso” topped the list among comedies with 21 nominations, including best comedy series and best actor for Jason Sudeikis. The Apple TV+ series won both awards for each of its first two seasons, and was perhaps the favorite three times with the third and final.

“The Bear” stars Ayo Edebiri (left) and Jeremy Allen White are nominated for their performance in Season 1 of the Chicago-based series.

Also making a strong showing on the comedic side of things is “The Bear,” a culinary series created and created in Chicago. Created by FX but featured on Hulu, it was nominated in 12 categories including best comedy series, with stars Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri and Ebon Moss-Bachrach in the acting Emmy nominations.

The awards eligibility calendar meant “The Bear” earned a nomination for its first season, even after many viewers saw – and most loved – its second, bringing buzz that might have helped it.

The nominations show that HBO — which has the most nominations overall so far with 127 — can still dominate even though streaming-only outlets have taken over so much elite TV. However, the distinctions are increasingly blurring, with most viewers watching “Succession” and the other cable channel’s offerings on the streaming service now known as Max.

Cox, 77, earned his best actor in a drama award despite appearing in less than half of this season’s “Succession,” though as patriarch of the Roy family he seems just as big in the episodes he wasn’t in. being the first for the role, although he did win an Emmy for best supporting actor in a TV movie in 2001.

Sarah Snook (from left), Kieran Culkin and Jeremy Strong are up for Emmys for their “Succession” acting.

Strong won in 2020 for playing Kendall Roy’s “eldest son”. Culkin earned his first best actor nomination after his previous two nominations in the supporting category.

Actors joining film and television writers in striking will further shut down the industry and be the first time since 1960 that two Hollywood unions have gone on strike simultaneously. While the show and film releases will continue, work on upcoming projects will be halted – as will actor interviews and appearances to promote the project.

The prospect of an industry being weakened by a strike could dampen the excitement for new recruits, and could put a damper on the ceremony scheduled for September 18 on the Fox network.

It wasn’t a strong year for the diversity of the Emmys, with major categories dominated by shows with mostly white ensembles. Chilean-born Pascal is the only minority nominee in any of the drama series categories.

Representation was stronger in the comedy category, where the black actor from ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” once again scored high points for a diversity Emmy, and for the largely absent broadcast network. Creator Quinta Brunson is nominated for best actress, while Sheryl Lee Ralph and Janelle James are nominated for best supporting actress.

The genre-defying “Jury Duty” raised its cult status to four nominations for streamer Amazon Freevee. A fake reality show for most of its cast and a reality show for one, it was nominated for best comedy series and best supporting actor in a comedy for James Marsden.

Netflix leads the streamer with 103 nominations, but has very few views in many of the top categories. “The Crown” received its nearly annual award for best drama, and Jenna Ortega received the best actress in comedy nomination for “Wednesday”. Christina Applegate is nominated for the third and final season of Netflix’s “Dead to Me” in the same category. Applegate, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2021, said the role may be his last.

Netflix fared better in the limited series category, where “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” and “Beef” earned 13 nominations each.

The “Star Wars” galaxy made a very strong showing for Disney+, with three television adaptations – “Andor,” “The Mandalorian” and “Obi-Wan Kenobi” – earning a combined 22 nominations. “The Mandalorian” received the most recognition with nine nominations in crafting categories such as acrobatics and costumes, but a series based on Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi’s exile years will compete for best limited series and “Andor” is one of the series nominees. drama.

However, the most famous “Star Wars” alum was among those snubbed, as Harrison Ford failed to earn his first Emmy nomination. Few expected his name to be called out for his acting in the “Yellowstone” prequel “1923” or the Apple TV+ comedy “Shrinking.”