With a staggering 27 nominations, Apple TV+’s gloomy sci-fi office drama “Severance” led the field for the Emmy Awards, which are television’s equivalent of the Oscars, on Tuesday. With 24, “The Penguin,” a Batman villain spinoff series on HBO Max, came in second.
With 23 nominations apiece, two satires tied for third place: Apple’s new Hollywood farce, “The Studio,” and HBO Max’s parody of the wealthy, “The White Lotus.” Two previous winners, “Hacks” at number 14 and “The Bear” at number 13, trailed “The Studio” in the comedy categories.
The race for the 77th Emmy Awards, which will take place in Los Angeles on September 14, officially begins with the Television Academy’s announcement.
This year’s drama competition appears to be more sophisticated following last year’s record-breaking 18 Emmy Awards for the historical epic set in Japan, “Shogun.”
The early favorite is undoubtedly “Severance,” in which the biotech company Lumon’s employees have their memories surgically divided between their “outie” personal lives and their “innie” work lives. Adam Scott, the film’s star, is nominated for best actor. However, he will face off against “ER” veteran Noah Wyle, who is the leader of “The Pitt,”
Disney+’s “Star Wars” spinoff “Andor,” Netflix’s “The Diplomat,” HBO’s post-apocalyptic video game adaptation “The Last of Us,” Hulu’s political thriller “Paradise,” Apple’s spy drama “Slow Horses,” and “The White Lotus” are also vying for best drama awards.
Oscar winner Gary Oldman from “Slow Horses,” Pedro Pascal from “The Last of Us,” and Sterling K. Brown from “Paradise” are fierce rivals of Scott and Wyle for best actor. Along with Keri Russell (“The Diplomat”) and Bella Ramsey (“The Last of Us”), Scott’s co-star Britt Lower is nominated for best drama actress.
In the supporting categories, “The White Lotus” received numerous acting nominations. Along with “Dying for Sex” (FX) and three Netflix productions—the popular teen murder drama “Adolescence,” “Black Mirror,” and the true-crime saga “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”—”The Penguin” is vying for best limited series awards.
Owen Cooper, the breakout star of “Adolescence,” received a nomination for supporting actor. Cooper plays a 13-year-old British boy who is accused of killing a female classmate. Cooper Koch, Javier Bardem, and Chloe Sevigny received acting nominations for the film Monsters, which tells the tale of two California brothers who are imprisoned for killing their parents after allegedly years of sexual and physical abuse.
Before the final round of voting starts in mid-August, voting members of the US-based Television Academy will have a month to catch up on their viewing. Comedian Nate Bargatze will host the gala on September 14.
