TOP 10: 2024 Emmy Nominations Cheers & Jeers
BY Kevin Dillon
The 76th Emmy Nominations were just announced by the Television Academy, and if you’re wondering why are we having the Emmy nominations again, especially since there had been a ceremony in January, it’s understandable that you would be confused. Let me jump into a few Emmy housekeeping things, before we get into the “cheers” and “jeers” of the day!
The Emmy nomination window is in line with old broadcast television season, meaning it started June 1, 2023, and ended May 31, 2024
The January ceremony was a delayed ceremony because the actors and writers strikes of 2023
To help contextualize, the January ceremony was about honoring “The Bear” Season 1 and this Emmy Awards will consider “The Bear” Season 2 (even though Season 3 just aired)
One other note: the categories base the number of nominees on how many people/shows were submitted in each category, which is why there are different numbers in each category
On to the cheers and jeers…
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10. CHEERS to the Television Academy for including hit reality competition program “The Traitors” (see below) in the Reality Competition Program category, and Alan Cumming in host. This category needed new blood, and even as a longtime “RuPaul’s Drag Race” fan, Cumming and the show deserve their flowers for its second season.
9. JEERS to the Outstanding Talk Series, which needs new blood. There are not as many Variety Talk series in the mix (which is why there are only four nominees), but there were two major contenders that could have shaken things up: “Hot Ones” (see below) and “John Mulaney Presents: Everyone’s In L.A.” We ended up with “The Daily Show,” Kimmel, Colbert, and Meyers. I think all four of these are good shows, but this category needs a shake up!
8. CHEERS to the Academy for finally coming around to “Reservation Dogs,” which received four Emmy nominations, including Comedy Series and Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. This is a great way to honor the final season of this FX show.
7. JEERS to the Television Academy for only nominating Robert Downey Jr, the worst part of “The Sympathizer,” as the only above-the-line nominee for that HBO series. I know this show did not have a lot of eyes on it (I saw the ratings--yikes), but this television show from Park Chan-wook was one of the best limited series from this past year, and it surely deserved at least a writing nomination over “Black Mirror,” and Hoa Xuande delivered one of the best lead performances of the year.
6. CHEERS to the Television Academy for nominating Disney+’s “X-Men ’97” in the Animated Program category. There should have been some voice performers nominated, specifically Lenore Zenn who voices Rogue, but happy this showed up today. (Click here for our recaps of Season 1.)
5. JEERS to the Television Academy for not being brave enough or bold enough to nominate Showtime’s “The Curse” anywhere. I know a lot of folks had a problem with the ending. I think the Emmy Awards have a problem with uncomfortable, esoteric shows, although “Twin Peaks: The Return” received nine nominations (but none for acting). I think “The Curse” had an uphill climb, and I knew the show would miss Series and Lead Actor, but I expected it to show up in Actress and Writing or Directing. No nominations feels crazy.
4. CHEERS to FX’s “Shogun” leading the Drama category nominations with 25 nominations. This show is spectacular, and is the clear standout in the Drama field (Cosmo Jarvis missing was surprising). This show is on the path to win a lot of trophies at the Emmy Awards, and it’s so well deserved. It’s easily one of the best shows of 2024.
3. CHEERS to the Television Academy for honoring complex and interesting limited series/anthology shows like “Baby Reindeer,” “Fargo” (see below), “Ripley,” and “True Detective: Night Country” (I have not watched “Lessons in Chemistry”). I think the clear winner for me is “Fargo,” but all of these shows presented captivating stories on different levels, and it’s great to see them receive this kind of representation.
2. JEERS to the Television Academy for ignoring Netflix’s “Girls5Eva” outside of the writing and some technical categories. This is one of the funniest shows on television and should have received multiple nominations across the board, including Renee Elise Goldsberry for acting.
1.CHEERS to the Television Academy for nominating Prime Video’s “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” across the board. The show received 16 Emmy nominations, including nods for its numerous incredible guest stars, both leads, and in writing and directing. This was one of the biggest surprises for me in the Emmy season, and I am glad it showed up.
The Emmys are so much more complex than other voting bodies, but these were some of my initial reactions. I think overall the Television Academy did a great job with the nominations this year, especially in a less-crowded eligibility year.
To round out this list, here are the folks I am excited received first-time nominations for their shows:
-Selena Gomez (“Only Murders in the Building”)
-Anna Sawai (“Shogun”)
-Lionel Boyce (“The Bear”)
-Liza Colon-Zayas (“The Bear”)
-Kristin Wiig (“Palm Royale”)
-Paul W. Downs (“Hacks”)
-Matt Berry (“What We Do in the Shadows”)
-Greta Lee (“The Morning Show”)
-Maya Erskine (“Mr. & Mrs. Smith)
The 76th Annual Emmy Awards will air on September 15 on ABC/Hulu.
Do you agree with our Cheers & Jeers? Drop your own thoughts on the 2024 Emmy nominations in the comments below.