Ray Richmond: A next-day look at those Emmy nominations, what we saw coming and what we didn’t

It’s the day after the Emmy nominations, and a few things are clear in the light of Thursday – namely, lots of deja-vu and lots of concentrating the wealth in precious few places. As is often the case with the TV academy, when they like you they really like you (“The Bear” with a record 23 nominations, “Shōgun” with 25), and when they don’t like you, they completely ignore you (“The Curse,” “Colin from Accounts,” “Ghosts”). It’s good for your show to be on Netflix, FX, HBO, Apple and Hulu, less good on Paramount+ and Showtime. So much original content, so little time.

Basically, it seemed like the new blood that was welcomed into the Emmy tent on Tuesday was the direct result of replacing the old blood. “Ted Lasso,” “Barry” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” disappeared, and “Reservation Dogs” and “What We Do in the Shadows” suddenly appeared in a meaningful way on the comedy series radar. The end of “Succession” and “Better Call Saul” and the between-seasons status of “House of the Dragon,” “The White Lotus” and “The Last of Us” opened the door in drama to “The Morning Show,” “The Gilded Age” and “Slow Horses” (along with newcomers “Shōgun,” “Fallout,” “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” and “3 Body Problem” and returnee “The Crown”).

Notably, “The Crown” is the only returnee of the eight nominees in Best Drama Series,” the first time only one show has returned to the category from the previous year since – wait for it – “The Waltons” in 1974. Now there’s a title I’ll bet you didn’t think you’d see here today. As this is the final season of “The Crown,” a win would feel more like a lifetime achievement akin to the final season of “Game of Thrones.” And while that’s not out of the question, it first has a little show called “Shōgun” to contend with.

But looking at the nominations strictly on their own merits and not assessing their chances at victory (yet), it’s interesting to note just how gaga voters go over a precious few shows in the performer categories. Remember how in both 2022 and 2023, “Succession” set and tied its own record with 14 acting nominations each year? Well, this year, both “The Bear” and “The Morning Show” landed 10 acting bids apiece, while the overperforming (21 nominations!) “Only Murders in the Building” and “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” earned seven acting noms each. This perhaps tells us a few things: one, that they’re less interested in spreading the wealth around than they are in honoring a couple of juggernauts; and two, that voters have neither the energy nor inclination to give it a whole lot of thought.

At least with the disappearance from contention of “Succession,” “Last of Us” and “White Lotus,” HBO wasn’t nearly as dominant in drama this time. Last year, those aforementioned three landed 40 of the 54 total nominations in the drama performing, writing and directing categories. This year, 40 of the 56 went to four shows: “Shōgun,” “The Crown,” “The Morning Show” and “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.” In Emmy World, that qualifies as more diverse distribution.

Meanwhile, in comedy, two things were utterly predictable and one thing wasn’t. The predictable: that “The Bear” would land the most bids, and that there would be renewed griping by people disputing its categorization as a comedy. The show already won 10 trophies last year out of a mere 13 nominations, a record for a first-year show. This year, with 23, it could conceivably challenge the series winning mark of 12 set by “Game of Thrones” three different times. The thing that wasn’t expected was the lofty total of 21 noms for “Only Murders in the Building,” which nearly doubled the 11 it pulled in a year ago. So much for the theory that voters may be growing tired of it.

Also in comedy, “Hacks” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” returned to the fold triumphantly after being ineligible last year, earning 16 and four nominations, respectively. But the four for the final season of “Curb” included Best Comedy and Best Actor for Larry David in his portrayal of…Larry David. “Curb” also tied “Cheers” and “M*A*S*H” with 11 nominations for top comedy over the life of the series, though “Curb” is still looking for its first win and is unlikely to land it this time, either.

It was refreshing to see a couple of deserving comedies like “What We Do in the Shadows” and “Reservation Dogs” earn some long overdue series attention, as well as honors for their stars Matt Berry (“Shadows”) and D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai (“Dogs”). Moreover, I haven’t seen Woon-A-Tai’s name misspelled or mispronounced yet, though there’s still a couple of months to go.

If it feels like we just had an Emmy Awards, it’s because the last one aired just six months ago due to the SAG and WGA strike delay. As such, this will be the first calendar year ever to have two Primetime Emmy ceremonies. And I appreciated the unexpected drama actor bid for Idris Elba’s dynamic starring performance in “Hijack.” And as a big fan of “Baby Reindeer,” I was relieved to see voters do the right thing in not only nominating it for Best Limited Series (a no-brainer) but also honoring four of its stars (category favorites Richard Gadd and Jessica Gunning as well as Tom Goodman-Hill and Nava Mau). I appreciate a show that takes bold chances the way that one did.

My one suggestion to the academy is the necessity of upping the automatic number of nominees for top limited series from five to eight, as is the case with comedy and drama. It’s time. But for now, I’m going to sign off with the admission that I can’t wait until September 15 because the only thing cooler than having an Emmy Awards every year is to have two.

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