Selena Gomez’s ‘Murders in the Building’ acting-producer roles and more Latinos break Emmy barriers

The 2024 Emmy nominations rolled out early Wednesday with several Latino actors breaking personal and industrywide barriers.

Selena Gomez locked in two Emmy nominations for her work in the Hulu series “Only Murders in the Building.”

She received her first acting nomination as lead actress in a comedy series for her performance as Mabel Mora. She is only the fourth Latina actress ever nominated in the category and could become only the second winner in history, according to Variety.

Her second nomination was for comedy series, as she’s an executive producer for “Murders.”

Nava Mau, who plays Teri in Netflix’s dark thriller “Baby Reindeer,” is the first trans Latina to be nominated for supporting actress in a limited series. The honor left the Mexican actress speechless, she told The Times shortly after getting word of the Emmy nomination.

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“I know how much this means to me and to the trans community,” Mau said. “We have had to fight so hard, are fighting and will continue to fight.”

Sofía Vergara received her fifth Emmy nomination as lead actress in a limited series for her performance as Griselda Blanco, the real-life Colombian druglord in Netflix’s “Griselda.”

Vergara is only the second Latina to receive a nomination in the category. It’s the first nod for the Colombian-born actress since “Modern Family,” for which she was nominated in four consecutive years, from 2010 to 2013, for supporting actress in a comedy series.

It’s Liza Colón-Zayas’ first Emmy nomination as supporting actress in a comedy series for her performance as Tina Marrero in Season 2 of the hit FX series “The Bear.” Just like her character in the show, the 52-year-old Afro-Latina actress worked relentlessly to prepare for her role as a chef. “I had no idea how sharp those knives were,” Colón-Zayas said in an interview with The Times. “Day 1, I must have had maybe four or five bandages on my finger because the blades are so sharp you don’t feel it. I’m no pro at home, but I’m better.”

After receiving news of her nomination, Colón-Zayas took to Instagram to thank fans and congratulate her co-stars and the team behind “The Bear” for the show’s record-setting 23 nominations.

“Thank you for the love, the recognition and the support,” she said in the video.

Director Issa López’s “True Detective: Night Country” also is up for limited series. Under her direction, the show, which highlights murdered and missing Indigenous women, was the most-watched season of the “True Detective” franchise.

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“I decided to tackle a challenge I thought was impossible,” López told The Times back in January.

The queer royale romantic comedy “Red, White and Royal Blue,” which features Taylor Zakhar Perez, is nominated for best television movie.

Earlier this month, he told Forbes that Latino talent is underrepresented in the mainstream media.

“The Latin moviegoer is 25% of the United States and them not being able to see themselves on-screen, I think, is detrimental for their mental health. You need to see positive representations of yourself on-screen,” Zakhar Perez said.

The National Hispanic Media Coalition believes the Emmy nominations are an important step toward closing a gap in representation as Latinos have won only 10 Emmy awards across the organization’s 76 years.

“While we celebrate these nominations, our work is far from over,” the organization told The Times in an email. “Latinos were less than 6% of the submitted candidates for the Emmys this year, and while our stories are resonating with more and more audiences around the world, we see this progress as a piecemeal at best.”