Emmy Awards 2023: HBO dominates as ‘Succession’ leads with 27 nominations

Nominations for the 2023 Primetime Emmy Awards were announced Wednesday morning, coming amid a turbulent labour dispute that has cast much uncertainty over the television industry, including the 75th annual awards show itself.

HBO dominated the Emmy nominations, with the elite trio of “Succession,” “The White Lotus” and “The Last of Us” combining for a whopping 74, but the dominant theme darkening the scene is the ongoing writers strike and the looming possibility that actors might join them in as little as a day.

American actor Yvette Nicole Brown and Television Academy chairman Frank Scherma shared the nominations at 11:30 a.m. at a livestreamed event.

“Succession” and its deeply dysfunctional dynasty of one-percenters led all Emmy nominees in its fourth and final season with 27, including Best Drama, which it has won two of the past three years. It got three nominations for Best Actor in a Drama, with Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong and Kieran Culkin all getting nods for playing men of the Roy clan, and Sarah Snook getting a Best Actress nomination. It also got four nominations for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama.

Apple TV Plus’s “Ted Lasso” led the comedies with 21 nominations, including Best Comedy Series and Best Actor for Jason Sudeikis.

Later Wednesday, however, all eyes will be focused on the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Radio and Television Artists, which represents unionized Hollywood actors.

Scherma said during the announcement that the academy is hoping negotiations will “come to an equitable and swift resolution.”

The union and producers are staring down a negotiation deadline late Wednesday, at which time SAG-AFTRA could announce a strike. Issues on the table in the talks include residual pay and the threat of unregulated use of artificial intelligence.

If actors walk off the job, they could join the already striking Writers Guild of America members, which have been on the picket lines since early May.

The labour unrest has many productions in limbo. Though the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards are scheduled to air Sept. 18, organizers are reportedly discussing contingency plans — including delaying the award show altogether — if the job action is not resolved in time.

The Snubs

Imelda Staunton (Best Actress in a Drama Series): Imelda Staunton’s hunt to keep the crown on “The Crown” continues. The British acting legend didn’t earn a nomination Wednesday for her performance as Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix’s decade-spanning drama, despite co-stars Claire Foy and Olivia Colman winning the Emmy in previous years for the same role. Staunton, however, will likely have another shot with the sixth, and final, season of “The Crown.”

Steve Martin (Best Actor in a Comedy Series): American actor and musician Steve Martin seemed poised to earn his 14th Primetime Emmy Award nomination, some 54 years after his first in 1969. Both he and co-star Martin Short were nominated last year for their leading performances in the mystery comedy-drama “Only Murders in the Building.” Yet this year, it was only Short who managed to garner a nod from the Television Academy.

Harrison Ford (Best Actor in a Drama Series and Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series): Fan favourite Harrison Ford walked away empty-handed Wednesday morning, despite two strong shots to earn his first Emmy nomination. Ford had been lauded for his leading performance in the “1923,” the Western drama on Paramount Plus. He also was eyeing a nomination for his supporting role on the comedy “Shrinking,” which received nominations for performances by his co-stars Jason Segel and Jessica Williams.

The Surprises

“Jury Duty” (Best Comedy Series): This mockumentary-style comedy series, about a juror unaware that he’s not in a real trial but rather a sitcom, was a long-shot contender. When its first season premiered in April, it earned decidedly mixed reviews from critics. (The Guardian, in a two-star review, said the prank comedy “courts few laughs.”) So it was a major surprise to see it earn a nomination for Best Comedy Series, besting more acclaimed shows like “Poker Face” and “The Other Two.”

“Obi-Wan Kenobi” (Best Limited or Anthology Series): The force is stronger than Hollywood predicted. “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” the Disney Plus miniseries, part of the “Star Wars” franchise, was all but counted out for a nomination. The show, which follows the titular Jedi Master 10 years after the events in “Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith,” was received generally favourably by critics but less so by “Star Wars” fans. But the force was with the series Wednesday, when it earned a coveted Best Limited or Anthology Series nod, beating out other shows like “Black Bird” and “George and Tammy.”

2023 Emmy Awards Top Nominees

The nominees for Best Drama Series are: “Succession”; “The White Lotus”; “The Last of Us”; “Better Call Saul”; “The Crown”; “Yellowjackets”; “House of the Dragon” and “Andor.”

The nominees for Best Comedy Series are: “Abbott Elementary”; “Barry”; “The Bear”; “Jury Duty”; “Ted Lasso”; “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”; “Only Murders in the Building” and “Wednesday.”

The nominees for Best Limited or Anthology Series are: “Beef”; “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”; “Daisy Jones & The Six”; “Fleishman Is in Trouble” and “Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

The nominees for Best Actor in a Drama Series are: Jeremy Strong, “Succession”; Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul”; Kieran Culkin, “Succession”; Pedro Pascal, “The Last of Us”; Brian Cox, “Succession” and Jeff Bridges, “The Old Man.”

The nominees for Best Actress in a Drama Series are: Melanie Lynskey, “Yellowjackets”; Sarah Snook, “Succession”; Bella Ramsey, “The Last of Us”: Sharon Horgan, “Bad Sisters”; Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale” and Keri Russell, “The Diplomat.”

The nominees for Best Actor in a Comedy Series are: Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear”; Jason Sudeikis, “Ted Lasso”; Bill Hader, “Barry”; Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building” and Jason Segel, “Shrinking.”

The nominees for Best Actress in a Comedy Series are: Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”; Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”; Christina Applegate, “Dead to Me”; Jenna Ortega, “Wednesday”; Natasha Lyonne, “Poker Face.”

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