Emmy 2024: FX's 'Shogun,' 'The Bear' dominate; diverse talent get nods

A man in Japanese period dress sitting on a tatami mat floor.

July 17, 2024 9:48 AM PT

The nominations for the 76th Emmy Awards were announced Wednesday and in a milestone that reflected Hollywood’s topsy-turvy year, FX — not HBO or Netflix — led in the major categories, nabbing 93 in total, the most in the network’s history. Netflix, however, led the pack with 107 nominations overall.

FX picked up 23 nominations for Season 2 of “The Bear” — a new record tally for a comedy series — and 25 nominations for the historical epic “Shōgun,” the most for any program this year. The latest installment of the anthology series “Fargo,” which starred Jon Hamm and Juno Temple, also fared well for the cable network, with 15 nominations. And in a surprise welcomed by many fans, “Reservation Dogs,” a comedy about teenagers on an Oklahoma reservaton which was developed by FX and streams on Hulu, also picked up its first comedy series nomination, a historic breakthrough for a series from an Indigenous creator, Sterlin Harjo, and a nod for lead actor D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai.

A teenage boy walking next to a man in a Native American loincloth leading a brown horse.

Leading HBO’s haul was “True Detective: Night Country,” the latest incarnation of the crime anthology series, with 19 nominations, while the Max comedy “Hacks” received 17, “The Gilded Age” got six and the final season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” earned four. Meanwhile, Netflix‘s limited series “Baby Reindeer,” the unsettling hit created by Richard Gadd about a struggling comedian and the woman stalking him, received 11 nominations, and the final season of “The Crown,” which focused on Princess Diana’s final weeks and the aftermath of her death, received 18. Sci-fi series “3 Body Problem” and the psychological thriller “Ripley” also were nominated for drama and limited series, respectively.

Notably, this year’s nominations delivered several breakthroughs for Asian and Indigenous actors in shows like “Shōgun,” which featured a largely Japanese cast, Hulu’s true-crime drama “Under the Bridge” and the crime drama anthology “True Detective: Night Country.”

A seated woman in a pink sweater points playfully at a man standing behind the bar.

The nominations arrive at a moment of uncertainty and transition in Hollywood. Dual strikes by writers and actors in 2023 led to production delays for many potential Emmy contenders and to a lower number of series eligible for submission, while the burst streaming bubble has prompted dramatic cost-cutting across the industry. This year’s class of contenders reflects the mood of jittery unease in the TV business — but also the enduring creative possibility of the medium.

Indigenous and other actors of color make inroads

Building on the historic wins for “Beef” stars Ali Wong and Steven Yeun at the 2023 Emmys in January, this year marked another breakthrough for Asian representation, thanks largely to the massive haul for “Shōgun,” a historical drama set in feudal Japan. Japanese actors Anna Sawai and Hiroyuki Sanada were nominated for their starring roles, as were Tadanobu Asano and Takehiro Hira for supporting roles, in the series based on James Clavell’s novel (which previously was adapted into an Emmy-winning 1980 miniseries).

“To our entire cast, and crew, a special thanks for making this story and vision a reality. It was a great opportunity to share our culture with the world. I hope this will be a steppingstone for the next generation,” said Sanada in a statement.

Asian American actress Maya Erskine was nominated for her performance as a stylish assassin in the Prime Video reimagining of “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.”

Two women in parkas shining flashlights toward the camera.

This year also was a milestone for Indigenous representation at the Emmys. In what appears to be a first, two Indigenous women performers, Lily Gladstone and Kali Reis, were nominated for supporting actress in a limited series: Gladstone for her turn as a police officer in “Under the Bridge” and Reis for her performance as an Alaska state trooper in “True Detective: Night Country.” It comes on the heels of Gladstone’s historic Oscar nomination, for “Killers of the Flower Moon,” the first for an Indigenous woman. (Gladstone is of Blackfeet and Nez Perce descent and Reis is of Cape Verdean and Seaconke Wampanoag descent.) And history-making nominee D’Pharoah Woon-A-Tai has Oji-Cree, Chinese-Guyanese and German ancestry.

“To be a part of the conversation is special. We’ve always had to be the help [at] the table, or to be the people that they wanted to imitate, and not ask questions. Now we’re sitting at the head of the table. And it’s rightly so. We’ve been here, and we’re here to stay,” said Reis in an interview with the Times.

While Latino representation still lags across film and TV, this year brought several noteworthy acting nominations. Among them was Colombian actor Sofía Vergara, nominated for her lead role in the limited series “Griselda”; Puerto Rican actor Liza Colón-Zayas, nominated for her supporting role in “The Bear”; Mexican American actor Selena Gomez, up for lead actress in “Only Murders in the Building”; and Mexican actor Nava Mau, for supporting actress in “Baby Reindeer.” Mau is also the first trans performer to be nominated in an acting category in a limited series.

Black actors also fared well, particularly in the comedy categories. Ayo Edebiri, who won supporting actress in a comedy for Season 1 of “The Bear,” was nominated for lead actress in a comedy this year. Her “Bear” co-star Lionel Boyce also scored his first nomination, for supporting actor in a comedy. The cast of “Abbott Elementary” was once again recognized in multiple categories. Quinta Brunson was nominated for lead actress in a comedy — an award she won at January’s strike-delayed ceremony. Her co-stars Janelle James and Sheryl Lee Ralph were nominated for supporting actress in a comedy series, while Tyler James Williams was nominated for supporting actor in a comedy series. On the drama side, Idris Elba was nominated for his lead role in the Apple TV+ thriller “Hijack” and Donald Glover for his turn in “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.”

Dual strikes’ effect on nominations

Emmy voters often are criticized for rubber-stamping the same names year after year — but not in 2024.

Strike-related delays and the end of several high-profile shows in 2023 created space for new and previously overlooked series to earn nominations Wednesday, leading to one of the more unusual batches of Emmy contenders in recent memory.

The oddness of this year’s Emmys was perhaps most evident in the drama series category. “The Crown” was the sole drama series nominee to return — perennial nominees “Succession” and “Better Call Saul” both ended last year and HBO’s “House of the Dragon,” which received eight nominations in 2023, returned too late to be eligible. Production on other series that typically garner nominations, including “Stranger Things,” “Yellowjackets” and “The White Lotus,” was pushed because of the strikes, resulting in a wide open field where new series or series that had been sidelined in previous years were able to stand out.

“Shōgun,” Netflix’s “3 Body Problem” and Prime Video’s “Fallout” and “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” all earned nods for their first season, while HBO’s period piece “The Gilded Age” earned a slot in the once fiercely competitive category for the first time.

How the networks and streamers fared

With no dragons or Roy family members to sway Emmy voters, HBO slipped from the top of the network tally this year, earning 91 nominations overall and landing in third place behind Netflix and FX. The premium cable network still fared well, with recognition for “True Detective: Night Country,” the final season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and the limited series “The Sympathizer.” “Hacks,” which streams on Max, helped boost the total.

Propelled by the darkly comic thriller “Baby Reindeer,” the limited series “Ripley” and “The Crown,” Netflix scored 107 nominations in total, the most for any network or streaming service.

Five years after its first foray into original programming, Apple TV+ received a total of 70 nominations for its series and documentaries including “The Morning Show,” “Palm Royale,” “Lessons in Chemistry,” “Hijack,” “Loot” and “Girls State.”

Prime Video received 37 nominations in total, with most of those going to the freshman dramas “Fallout” and “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.”

Broadcast networks were largely shut out of contention in the main categories, with the exception of ABC’s “Abbott Elementary,” which received nine nominations.

Senior television writer Yvonne Villarreal contributed to this report.