2021 Emmy Nominations: Netflix and HBO Lead a Field of Surprises

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and there’s the faint sound of Ted Danson’s laughter drifting in the air. That can only mean one thing: It’s Emmy Nominations Day.

Ron Cephas Jones and Jasmine Cephas Jones announced the nominees for the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards on Tuesday morning, bringing with them a wave of surprises for TV awards followers.

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Some of the powerhouse programs that, under more normal production circumstances, would be primed for repeat glory, won’t be eligible until 2022 rolls around. “Succession,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” and “Ozark” are just a handful of perennial Emmy favorites ineligible in 2021. So there was plenty of potential for this to be the most eclectic, wide-open set of nominations the Academy has ever bestowed.

Of course, the opposite could have been true. Even with an influx of exciting programs from various networks and services, some made before and after last March’s shutdowns, the perennial awards Goliaths still ended up reigning, with Netflix and HBO continuing their reign at the top of the network noms leaderboard.

The exciting thing is that, even knowing the list of series and craftspeople up for Emmys this year, plenty of these races will still be effective toss-ups. Fan favorites could swoop in and build momentum in the month and a half before final voting closes. The steady mainstays from the past decade could get the benefit from voters across the Academy’s various wings.

It’s been a year of change (one of the streaming platforms with multiple Emmy wins last year — including one for the aforementioned Jasmine Cephas Jones — doesn’t even exist anymore!), but for now, you’ll find a list of 2021 Emmy nominees below:

Outstanding Drama Series
“The Boys” (Amazon Prime Video)
“Bridgerton” (Netflix)
“The Crown” (Netflix)
“The Handmaid’s Tale” (Hulu)
“Lovecraft Country” (HBO)
“The Mandalorian” (Disney+)
“Pose” (FX)
“This Is Us” (NBC)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Uzo Aduba, “In Treatment”
Olivia Colman, “The Crown”
Emma Corrin, “The Crown”
Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Mj Rodriguez, “Pose”
Jurnee Smollett, “Lovecraft Country”

Outstanding 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”

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Gillian Anderson, “The Crown”
Helena Bonham Carter, “The Crown”
Madeline Brewer, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Ann Dowd, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Aunjanue Ellis, “Lovecraft Country”
Emerald Fennell, “The Crown”
Yvonne Strahovski, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Samira Wiley, “The Handmaid’s Tale”

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Giancarlo Esposito, “The Mandalorian”
O-T Fagbenle, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
John Lithgow, “Perry Mason”
Tobias Menzies, “The Crown”
Max Minghella, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Chris Sullivan, “This is Us”
Bradley Whitford, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Michael Kenneth Williams, “Lovecraft Country”

Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series
“I May Destroy You” (HBO)
“Mare of Easttown” (HBO)
“The Queen’s Gambit” (Netflix)
“The Underground Railroad” (Amazon Prime Video)
“WandaVision” (Disney+)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or TV 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”

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie
Paul Bettany, “WandaVision”
Hugh Grant, “The Undoing”
Ewan McGregor, “Halston”
Lin-Manuel Miranda, “Hamilton”
Leslie Odom Jr., “Hamilton”

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie
Renée Elise Goldsberry, “Hamilton”
Kathryn Hahn, “WandaVision”
Moses Ingram, “The Queen’s Gambit”
Julianne Nicholson, “Mare of Easttown”
Jean Smart, “Mare of Easttown”
Phillipa Soo, “Hamilton”

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie
Thomas Brodie-Sangster, “The Queen’s Gambit”
Daveed Diggs, “Hamilton”
Paapa Essiedu, “I May Destroy You”
Jonathan Groff, “Hamilton”
Evan Peters, “Mare of Easttown”
Anthony Ramos, “Hamilton”

Outstanding Comedy Series
“Black-ish” (ABC)
“Cobra Kai” (Netflix)
“Emily in Paris” (Netflix)
“Hacks” (HBO Max)
“The Flight Attendant” (HBO Max)
“The Kominsky Method” (Netflix)
“Pen15” (Hulu)
“Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Aidy Bryant, “Shrill”
Kaley Cuoco, “The Flight Attendant”
Allison Janney, “Mom”
Tracee Ellis Ross, “Black-ish”
Jean Smart, “Hacks”

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson, “Black-Ish”
Michael Douglas, “The Kominsky Method”
William H. Macy, “Shameless”
Jason Sudeikis, “Ted Lasso”
Kenan Thompson, “Kenan”

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Aidy Bryant, “Saturday Night Live”
Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks”
Kate McKinnon, “Saturday Night Live”
Rosie Perez, “The Flight Attendant”
Cecily Strong, “Saturday Night Live”
Juno Temple, “Ted Lasso”
Hannah Waddingham, “Ted Lasso”

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Carl Clemons-Hopkins, “Hacks”
Brett Goldstein, “Ted Lasso”
Brendan Hunt, “Ted Lasso”
Nick Mohammed, “Ted Lasso”
Paul Reiser, “The Kominsky Method”
Jeremy Swift, “Ted Lasso”
Kenan Thompson, “Saturday Night Live”
Bowen Yang, “Saturday Night Live”

Outstanding Competition Program
“The Amazing Race” (CBS)
“Nailed It!” (Netflix)
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” (VH1)
“Top Chef” (Bravo)
“The Voice” (NBC)

Outstanding Variety Talk Series
“Conan” (TBS)
“The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” (Comedy Central)
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC)
“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” (HBO)
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS)

Outstanding Variety Sketch Series
“Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
“A Black Lady Sketch Show” (HBO)

Outstanding TV Movie
“Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square” (Netflix)
“Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia” (Lifetime)
“Oslo” (HBO)
“Sylvie’s Love” (Amazon Prime Video)
“Uncle Frank” (Amazon Prime Video)

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, Jen Statsky, “Hacks”
Maya Erskine, “Pen15”
Meredith Scardino, “Girls5eva”
Jason Sudeikis; Story by Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly, “Ted Lasso”
Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence; Story by Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly, “Ted Lasso”
Steve Yockey, “The Flight Attendant”

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
Lucia Aniello, “Hacks”
Zach Braff, “Ted Lasso”
James Burrows, “B Positive”
MJ Delaney, “Ted Lasso”
Susanna Fogel, “The Flight Attendant”
Declan Lowney, “Ted Lasso”
James Widdowes, “Mom”

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
Yahlin Chang, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Jon Favreau, “The Mandalorian”
Dave Filoni, “The Mandalorian”
Misha Green, “Lovecraft Country”
Peter Morgan, “The Crown”
Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Steven Canals, Janet Mock, Our Lady J, “Pose”
Rebecca Sonnenshine, “The Boys”

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
Steven Canals, “Pose”
Benjamin Caron, “The Crown”
Jon Favreau, “The Mandalorian”
Liz Garbus, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Jessica Hobbs, “The Crown”
Julie Anne Robinson, “Bridgerton”

Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Michaela Coel, “I May Destroy You”
Laura Donney, “WandaVision”
Scott Frank, “The Queen’s Gambit”
Chuck Hayward, Peter Cameron, “WandaVision”
Brad Ingelsby, “Mare of Easttown”
Jac Schaeffer, “WandaVision”

Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Scott Frank, “The Queen’s Gambit”
Barry Jenkins, “The Underground Railroad”
Thomas Kail, “Hamilton”
Sam Miller, Michaela Coel, “I May Destroy You”
Sam Miller, “I May Destroy You”
Matt Shakman, “WandaVision”
Craig Zobel, “Mare of Easttown”

Guest Actress in a Drama Series
Alexis Bledel, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Claire Foy, “The Crown”
Mckenna Grace, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Sophie Okonedo, “Ratched”
Phylicia Rashad, “This is Us”

Guest Actor in a Drama Series
Don Cheadle, “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”
Charles Dance, “The Crown”
Timothy Olyphant, “The Mandalorian”
Courtney B. Vance, “Lovecraft Country”
Carl Weathers, “The Mandalorian”

Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
Jane Adams, “Hacks”
Yvette Nicole Brown, “A Black Lady Sketch Show”
Bernadette Peters, “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist”
Issa Rae, “A Black Lady Sketch Show”
Maya Rudolph, “Saturday Night Live”
Kristen Wiig, “Saturday Night Live”

Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin, “Saturday Night Live”
Dave Chappelle, “Saturday Night Live”
Morgan Freeman, “The Kominsky Method”
Daniel Kaluuya, “Saturday Night Live”
Daniel Levy, “Saturday Night Live”

The full list of 2021 Emmy nominations can be found here.

Final round voting for the Emmys begins August 19, 2021 and continues through 10 p.m. PT on August 30. The 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards will be hosted by Cedric the Entertainer and air Sunday, September 19, 2021 on CBS. The event will also be available via streaming to Paramount+ subscribers.

To keep updated with IndieWire’s coverage throughout Phase 2 of Emmy season, click here to sign up for our awards season and TV e-mail newsletters, as well as breaking news alerts.

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