This year’s Emmy nominations are in, and there is one big milestone to celebrate. Mj Rodriguez, who played house mother Bianca on FX’s Pose for three seasons, today became the first transgender performer ever to be nominated by the Television Academy for an Outstanding Actress award. She follows in the footsteps of Laverne Cox, who was nominated for multiple Creative Arts Emmys for Outstanding Guest Actress in both the Comedy and Drama categories for her role on Orange is the New Black.
Most of the names alongside Rodriguez in the Outstanding Actress in a Drama category were expected: Olivia Coleman and Emma Corrin for The Crown, Uzo Aduba for In Treatment, Jurnee Smollett for Lovecraft Country and, of course, Elisabeth Moss for The Handmaid’s Tale once again.
The nominations were announced by father-daughter team Ron and Jasmine Cephas Jones, who both walked away with trophies at last year’s ceremony. At the outset of the announcements, which were live streamed on the Emmys website, Television Academy chairman and CEO Frank Scherma shouted out the remarkable TV work done during the most challenging year in recent memory.
Among the top shows, The Crown and The Mandelorian each received 24 nominations, followed closely by WandaVision with 23. Buzzy newcomers Hacks, The Flight Attendant and Ted Lasso all received nods for Outstanding Comedy Series, alongside the seemingly critic-proof Emily in Paris.
Notably, Michaela Coel’s brilliant I May Destroy You was seemingly vindicated after being entirely shut out of this year’s much maligned Golden Globes. The blistering series received nominations for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, while Cole was recognized for her work in the Outstanding Actress in a Limited, Anthology Series or Movie.
As snubs go, the absence of any major nominations for Steve McQueen’s brilliant and timely Small Axe is probably the most notable, but Ethan Hawke being shut out of the Acting category for The Good Lord Bird alongside Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier were also upsets.
Check out the nominees for the major categories below, and find the full list at Emmys.com.
Lead Actress in Comedy
Aidy Bryant, Shrill
Kaley Cuoco, The Flight Attendant
Allison Janney, Mom
Tracee Ellis Ross, black-ish
Jean Smart, Hacks
Lead Actor in Comedy
Anthony Anderson, black-ish
Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method
Will H. Macy, Shameless
Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso
Kenan Thompson, Kenan
Comedy Series
black-ish
Cobra Kai
Emily in Paris
Hacks
Flight Attendant
Kominsky Method
Pen15
Ted Lasso
Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Paul Bettany, WandaVision
Hugh Grant, The Undoing
Ewan McGregor, Halston
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
Leslie Odom, Jr., Hamilton
Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Michaela Coel, I May Destroy You
Cynthia Erivo, Genius: Aretha
Elizabeth Olsen, WandaVision
Anya Taylor-Joy, The Queen’s Gambit
Kate Winslet, Mare of Easttown
Limited or Anthology Series
I May Destroy You
Mare of Easttown
The Queen’s Gambit
The Underground Railroad
WandaVision
Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Uzo Aduba, In Treatment
Olivia Coleman, The Crown
Emma Corrin, The Crown
Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale
Mj Rodriguez, Pose
Jurnee Smollett, Lovecraft Country
Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
Jonathan Majors, Lovecraft Country
Josh O’Connor, The Crown
Regé-Jean Page, Bridgerton
Billy Porter, Pose
Matthew Rhys, Perry Mason
Drama Series
The Boys
Bridgerton
The Crown
The Handmaid’s Tale
Lovecraft Country
The Mandalorian
Pose
This Is Us
