72nd Annual Emmy Awards Nominations Announced: ‘Watchmen,’ ‘The Morning Show,’ And ‘Schitt’s Creek’ Dominate

The 72nd Annual Emmy Awards Nominations were announced by the Television Academy on Tuesday which will be held despite the coronavirus pandemic, via New York Times. Holding top spots, HBO’s Watchmen led all TV shows with 26 Emmy nominations, meanwhile Netflix earned the honor of amassing the most nominations of any network or platform for this year’s Emmy Awards.

The aforementioned Watchmen, starring Regina King (Seven Seconds), dominated nominations, leading nominees with 26 total nominations and holding spots in categories such as Best Limited Series, Best Actress in a Limited Series for King, Best Actor in a Limited Series for Jeremy Irons (Lolita, The Lion King), Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series for Jean Smart (Designing Women, Fargo), 3 nominations for Supporting Actor in a Limited Series for Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Aquaman), Jovan Adepo (Overlord, When They See Us), and Louis Gossett Jr. (Enemy Mine), and 3 nominations for Directing for a Limited Series for Steph Green (Run and Jump), Nicole Kassell (The Woodsman), and Stephen Williams (Soul Survivor). The TV series is based on the comic book by Alan Moore, following the events that follow after a hate crime on a police department in Tulsa, Oklahoma. With only two surviving officers, a law is passed that encourages law enforcement to hide their faces and identities behind masks. One officer, Angela Abraham, played by King, utilizes her mask to become “Sister Night,” a vigilante who fights racists.

Alongside Watchmen, Netflix broke the record for most nominations of any network or streaming service with 160 nominations, surpassing the record broken by HBO in last years awards. The streaming service dominated categories such as Best Comedy with Dead to Me and The Kominsky Method, Best Drama with The Crown, Ozark, and Stranger Things, Best Limited Series with Unbelievable and Unorthodox, Television Movie with American Son, Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings, El Camino, and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs, The Reverend, Reality Competition Program with Nailed It!, and Animated Program with Big Mouth and BoJack Horseman. This year, HBO came in second but far behind Netflix in terms of total nominations, with 107.

In its first year, Apple TV+ earned 19 Emmy nominations, including the numerous earned by The Morning Show starring Jennifer Aniston (Friends, Just Go With It) and Steve Carell (The Office, Space Force). Aniston was nominated for Best Actress in a Drama Series, her first Emmy nomination since 2004 for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series with the acclaimed sitcom Friends. Meanwhile, her co-star Carell has been nominated for Best Actor in a Drama Series for his work in The Morning Show. Furthermore, the Apple TV+ drama series racks up more nominations with Mark Duplass (Creep, Room 104) for Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, Martin Short (Three Amigos, Father of the Bride) for Guest Actor in a Drama Series, and Mimi Leder (On the Basis of Sex, Pay it Forward) for Directing in a Drama Series. The Morning Show follows the challenges faced by two news anchors who work in morning television. The show is slated to return for a second season in November of 2020, yet a release date that may be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Schitt’s Creek also maintained top spots, earning 15 total nominations for its final season. It earned nominations in categories such as Best Comedy, Best Actress in a Comedy Series for lead Catherine O’Hara (Home Alone, Beetlejuice), Best Actor in a Comedy Series for Eugene Levy (American Pie, Best in Show), Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Annie Murphy (Story of Jen), Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for Dan Levy (The Great Canadian Baking Show, Happiest Season), two nominations in Writing for a Comedy Series for Levy and David West Read (The Performers) and Directing for a Comedy Series for (Andrew Cividino (Sleeping Giant) and Levy. The sitcom Schitt’s Creek follows a wealthy couple as they find themselves broke and out of money, with only one last asset, a town they’d bought in previous years as a joke, Schitt’s Creek. The show’s sixth season is its final.

The remaining 2020 Emmy nominations can be seen below. While it is uncertain in which format the awards ceremony will take place, the Emmys will be held on September 20 and broadcast on ABC with Jimmy Kimmel (Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Man Show) as host.

Best Comedy 

Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)

Dead to Me (Netflix)

The Good Place (NBC)

Insecure (HBO)

The Kominsky Method (Netflix)

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)

Schitt’s Creek (Pop)

What We Do In The Shadow (FX)

Best Drama 

Better Call Saul (AMC)

The Crown (Netflix)

The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)

Killing Eve (BBC America)

The Mandalorian (Disney+)

Ozark (Netflix)

Stranger Things (Netflix)

Succession (HBO)

Best Limited Series 

Little Fires Everywhere (Hulu)

Mrs. America (FX)

Unbelievable (Netflix)

Unorthodox (Netflix)

Watchmen (HBO)

Best Actress, Comedy

Christina Applegate, Dead to Me

Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Linda Cardellini, Dead to Me

Tracee Ellis Ross, black-ish

Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek

Issa Rae, Insecure

Best Actor, Comedy 

Anthony Anderson, black-ish