2019-09-01 Emmy Magazine

116 EMMY

Academy News

thetoppositionamongplatforms

thisyear,witha totalof 132

nominations.Netflixfollowedwith

117,andNBCwasinthirdplacewith

fifty-eight.

ThenodsforGoT, ofcourse,

includedoutstandingdrama

series,whichtheshowhaswon

threetimes.Facingoffagainst

thejuggernautinthatcategory

a reBetterCallSaul, Netflix’s

Bodyguard, BBCAmerica’sKilling

Eve,Ozark,Pose, HBO’sSuccession

andThisIsUs. Inoutstanding

comedyseries,thecompetitorsare:

Barry, Amazon’sFleabag,TheGood

Place,TheMarvelousMrs.Maisel,

Netflix’sRussianDoll, PopTV’s

Schitt’sCreekandHBO’sVe e p.

Theconsensusaboutthe

noms?Asatisfyingmixofnew

shows and talent along with some

returning favorites. (Those faves

include Julia Louis-Dreyfus of Ve e p

and John Oliver of HBO’s Last Week

Tonight with John Oliver.)

“It’s good to see the Academy

embracing new shows — and

shows that have been on a

while but deserve recognition,

like The Good Place and Schitt’s

Creek,” said Academy president

Maury McIntyre. He cited the

breakthrough of Fleabag, whose

writer–executive producer and

star Phoebe Waller-Bridge also

got an acting nod. And limited

seriesChernobylandWhenThey

SeeUs,whichpremieredinMay,

McIntyrepointedout,werequickly

recognizedbyvoters.

Theexcitementofthemorning

wasnotedbyAcademychairman

FrankScherma,whoaddressedhis

industrypeersbeforeintroducing

CardenandJeong.“Toknowthat

outofallthethousandsofshows

produced,yourshasbeensingled

outbyyourcolleaguesforspecial

recognitionisanamazingfeeling,”

hesaid.“Todaya lotofpeopleare

goingtobethrilledtobegetting

theirfirstnomination.Andfor

thoseadding 2019 totheirlonglist

ofnominationsandwins,itnever

getsold.”

Addingtothebuzzinthe

roomweresomeenthusiastic

interns. Students participating in

the coveted Television Academy

Foundation internship program

had been invited to observe

the ceremony. “They bring that

excitement that comes with

youth,” observed Scherma, a

longtime intern host himself at his

company, @radical.media. “The

intern at my office was thrilled to

be here this morning.”

With the nominations out, the

mantle now passes to the executive

producers of the Emmy telecast,

airing September 22 on Fox.

Longtime veteran Don Mischer,

ofDonMischerProductions, will

sharethatdutywith Ian Stewart,

presidentofDone+Dusted.

Bothwerepresentfor the noms

ceremony,wherethey were asked

abouttheirplans,which — so far —

havenotincludeda host.

“Wehavetotailor the show

toanextraordinary season of

television,”Mischer said. “The

eveningisaboutthe material and

helpingAmericaand the world —

becausethisshow is seen around

theworld—understand the wealth

ofcreativityintheTelevision

Academy.Wecando it with or

withouta host.Infact, I have done

theEmmystwicewithout a host,

andtheshowswere both quite

successful.”

Assessingthenominations,

Stewartsaid:“There were surprises,

somenewfaces,and we have

somehomeworkto do.”

Onthatto-dolist will be

decidinghowtobest use those

manyfabulousfaces, from shows

bothfamiliarandless well-known.

Forexample,among the thirty-

twonomsforGoT, ten were in

performingcategories (Emilia

Clarke,KitHarington, Gwendoline

Christie,LenaHeadey, Sophie

Turner,MaisieWilliams, Alfie

Allen,NikolajCoster-Waldau,

PeterDinklageand Carice van

Houten)andamongthesixteen

noms for When They See Us, eight

were in performing categories

(Aunjanue Ellis, Niecy Nash, Jharrel

Jerome, Marsha Stephanie Blake,

Vera Farmiga, Asante Blackk,

John Leguizamo and Michael K.

Williams).

John Leverence, the Academy’s

senior vice-president of awards,

noted that in these cases,

“individuals performed, but

ensembles ruled.”

So in this Golden Age of

Television, are there ever too many

great performances to absorb?

Maybe not. But having the time to

watch them all can be challenging.

That’s why Ken Jeong is opting for

an unusual strategy: time travel.

“I have a lot of catching up

to do,” he said after the noms

announcements. “I have to go

Avengers: Endgame, go into some

quantum realms... go back in time

and make more time-folds for

bingeing. It’s going to take a lot of

physics, but I’ll manage!” —Eds.

Go to Emmys.com/emmys for...

• Video of the full nominations
  announcement


• A complete list of the nominees


• The Primetime and Creative Arts
  production teams


• All breaking Emmy news

Kristyn Burtt interviews Academy chairman Frank Scherma.

Jeong and Carden

Get Ready for

the Emmys!

Creative Arts Awards

Sat., Sept. 14, and Sun., Sept. 15

Microsoft Theater, Los Angeles

Executive Producer: Bob Bain

FXXTelecast:Sat.,Sept.21,

8 p.m. PT/ET

71st Emmys

Sun., Sept. 22

Microsoft Theater, Los Angeles

FoxTelecast:Livecoast-to-coast

5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET

DonMischerProductions and

Done+Dusted