Aussies get Emmy nods, as Succession leads way
HBO drama Succession leads this year’s Emmy nominees with 27 for its final season – as plenty of Australians also scored nods in TV’s major honours.
Succession, the two-time best drama winner, will vie for that title again.
It will line up against fellow HBO show The Last of Us, which landed a second-best 24 Emmy nominations when they were revealed on Thursday morning (AEST).
Other best drama nominees were House of the Dragon, Andor, Better Call Saul, Yellowjackets, The Crown and The White Lotus.
Succession, the story of a cutthroat fight for control of a family media empire, had three nominations for best actor in a drama. Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong and Kieran Culkin all got nods for playing men of the Roy clan, while Australia’s Sarah Snook gets a best actress nomination for her portrayal of Shiv Roy.
Ted Lasso, another double Emmy winner for best show, will compete for best comedy against Abbott Elementary, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, The Bear, Barry, Jury Duty, Only Murders in the Building and Wednesday.
The nominations were announced in the middle of Hollywood labour tensions that may delay the Emmys ceremony, which normally happens in September.
Film and TV writers have been on strike for two months. Actors could follow within hours as the Hollywood’s long-running industrial dispute steps up a gear.
Sarah Snook has been nominated for her role in Succession.
Australians scoop up Emmy nominations
Adelaide-born and raised Sarah Snook played Shiv Roy, the only daughter of Logan Roy who tries to beat her brothers for the top job within Succession‘s media conglomerate.
Snook was also nominated for best supporting actress in a drama series in the 2020 and 2022 Emmys. This year, she has been bumped up to the lead actress category.
According to the Associated Press, Snook knew the nominations were going to be revealed while she slept at home in Australia. Instead of eagerly waiting up, or waking, she revealed she decided to wait for her baby to wake her.
About 4am Thursday (Australian time), she checked her phone to see a stream of text messages from the US, and said it was “very exciting”.
“Having the show finish up and getting a nomination and also so many for the cast and crew and everybody involved is so special. It feels like a real sense of closure,” Snook said.
“It’s sad that we don’t get the opportunity to continue it, but it’s also such a nod to how great it was when it was going.”
Fellow Australian actor Murray Bartlett got two nods this year.
Bartlett, who won several awards for his role in the first season of The White Lotus, scooped up two nominations at the 2023 Emmys.
He is in the running for best supporting actor in a limited or anthology series or TV movie for Welcome To Chippendales and is also nominated for best guest actor in a drama series for The Last of Us.
On his Instagram, Bartlett thanked the Emmys for the nominations and said working on both shows was “pure joy”.
“Thank you to everyone who worked on these shows, I adore you all and am so thankful for these brilliant experiences amongst brilliant collaborators,” he wrote.
“And thank you to everyone who watched!!”
Another Australian in with a red-hot Emmy chance is Elizabeth Debicki, who was nominated for her role in the royal drama The Crown.
Debicki, who played Princess Diana, is up against a long list of stars from The White Lotus in the best supporting actress category.
The shows dominating the Emmys
This year, actors and actresses from the same show will vie for a win in the same category, meaning plenty of Succession and The White Lotus co-stars face each other.
Cox, Culkin and Strong will all battle it out for best actor in a drama series category, along with Jeff Bridges (The Old Man), Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul) and Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us).
Succession and The White Lotus also dominated the best supporting actor in a drama series category.
From Succession there is Nicholas Braun, Matthew Macfadyen, Alan Ruck and Alexander Skarsgård. Fellow nominees F. Murray Abraham, Michael Imperioli, Theo James and Will Sharpe all appeared in the second season of The White Lotus.
Tweet from @succession
J. Smith-Cameron, who plays Gerri in Succession, has been nominated for best supporting actress, alongside Debicki, and Rhea Seehorn from Better Call Saul, and The White Lotus’ Jennifer Coolidge, Meghann Fahy, Sabrina Impacciatore, Aubrey Plaza and Simona Tabasco.
Apple’s hit series Ted Lasso is the most Emmy-nominated comedy for the third consecutive year, with 21 nods for its third season.
Jason Sudeikis has been nominated for lead actor in a comedy series.
Phil Dunster and Brett Goldstein have nominations for supporting actor in a comedy series, while Juno Temple and Hannah Waddingham are in the race for supporting actress in a comedy series.
Becky Ann Baker, Sarah Niles, Harriet Walter and Sam Richardson all got nominations for the guest appearances on Ted Lasso.
The show also picked up nominations for directing for a comedy series (Declan Lowney), casting and writing.
