Nominations for the 2020 Emmy Awards were announced yesterday and a considerable amount of Black talent was recognized. Most major acting categories included at least two Black nominees and many of the nominated television shows highlight Black stories.
The HBO limited series “Watchmen” has the most nominations out of any with 26, including Outstanding Limited Series, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series (Regina King), and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Joban Adepo, Louis Gossett Jr.). The show is loosely based on the graphic novel of the same name and mainly follows Regina King’s character Sister Knight, a cop who is trying to uncover a conspiracy within her town. The series has been hailed for its writing, acting, directing and cinematography, and has gained considerable praise for its direct confrontation of racial issues.
Another HBO show, “Insecure,” also got a handful of nominations. The series, which was created by and stars Issa Rae, follows a young black woman living in Los Angeles as she tries to navigate her career path, her love life, and most importantly, her friendship with her long-time best friend. The show is beloved by both fans and critics and has been commended for its realistic portrayal of a diverse group of Black people and the specific (and often subtle) issues that they have to deal with. The show was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series, and Issa Rae and Yvonne Orji were both nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, respectively.
Some categories were dominated by Black actors. This included the category for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie, for which Regina King (“Watchmen”), Octavia Spencer (“Self-Made”) and Kerry Washington (“Little Fires Everywhere”) are all nominated. Meanwhile, Andre Braugher (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”), William Jackson Harper (“The Good Place”), Sterling K. Brown (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”), Mahershala Ali (“Ramy”), and Kenan Thompson (“Saturday Night Live”) were nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
Other notable nominees included “A Black Lady Sketch Show” for Outstanding Variety Series, Zendaya (“Euphoria”) for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, Jeffery Wright (“Westworld”) for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and Thandie Newton (“Westworld”) for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
The nominations were praised by many on social media when they were announced. However, some believed that certain talent was snubbed, notably actors from FX’s “Pose.” Though Billy Porter was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, many believed that Indya Moore, Angelica Ross and Mj Rodriguez should have been nominated as well.
I’m thankful for the Emmy nom we the Fab 5 got – but I must also recognize that the most Fabulous 5… these beautiful trans & non binary actors deserved to be nominated for an Emmy too! It is a disgrace that their performances were over looked again! The industry must do better! pic.twitter.com/VJ4PxL9jaB
— Karamo (@Karamo) July 29, 2020
They never nominate the women in the POSE cast for emmys it’s getting weird
— HOOD VOGUE is tired of poverty (@itskeyon) July 28, 2020
I am extremely upset that none of the women of POSE got nominations for the Emmys. like…seriously.
— Tarek Ali (@itstarekali) July 28, 2020
In the era of #OscarsSoWhite, it’s satisfying to see the Academy of Televisions Arts and Sciences recognize more Black voices.
