Just hours before a potential actors strike hits Hollywood, nominations for the 2023 Emmy Awards have arrived, with HBO hits Succession, The Last Of Us, and The White Lotus leading the pack.
At this early stage, it’s less of a question of whether any of the actors from these series will take home trophies, but rather which ones. Brain Cox, Jeremy Strong, and Kieran Culkin all earned nominations in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama category—the first time three actors from a single show have been nominated in the field. Meanwhile, in the supporting category, Succession and The White Lotus shut out actors from any other series.
But there is still plenty of other gold to go around. For many of the shows nominated, including other recently concluded series like Barry, Ted Lasso, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Dead To Me, and Better Call Saul, this marks their final chance to take home trophies. All of these shows have been critical darlings ahead of the final seasons, and most have taken home multiple Emmys previously. Better Call Saul stands apart, though, as leads Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn never earned Emmys over the course of the show’s six seasons. Despite the fact that the show ended a year ago, the season being released in two parts allowed a little loophole for Saul to sneak through.
There weren’t too many outrageous surprises within the full list of nominees. The White Lotus had another great year, while the freshman seasons of The Bear and The Last Of Us also got plenty of love. The year’s surprise hit Jury Duty got an outstanding comedy nod, while Rian Johnson’s Poker Face missed out. (Star Natasha Lyonne, however, was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.) Check back on The A.V. Club later for our full list of snubs and surprises.
Breaking it down by network, HBO/Max came out, unsurprisingly, on top with 127 total nominations. Netflix racked up 103. Also unsurprisingly, Succession was the most nominated series of the year, netting 27 nominations, up from last year’s 25. The Last Of Us followed with 24, and The White Lotus earned 23. Behind that, Ted Lasso scored 21 noms, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel snagged 14, and The Bear, Beef, and Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story all earned 13.
The ongoing WGA strike, as well as the possibly imminent SAG-AFTRA work stoppage, figure to impact the lead-up to the Emmys, and possibly on the ceremony itself. Should the actors walk out, neither the performers nor writers will be able to do press for their series. And should the strike(s) continue through September, there won’t be anyone to write the Emmy show nor, possibly, anyone there to accept awards. As such, rumors have already begun that the Television Academy might delay the ceremony to as late as January. One way or another, it’s sure to be a historic Emmys. You can see the full list of nominations here.
