The 2015 Emmy Award nominations were announced this morning and, like last year, they’re pretty damnย queer.ย The nominationsย includeย a handful of real life gayย women โ ย Lily Tomlin for Grace And Frankie, Sarah Paulson for American Horror Story: Freak Show, Kate McKinnon for Saturday Night Live, Jane Lynch for Hollywood Game Night โ and loads of nods for women who play queer characters. This year’s list also includes more black women than ever:ย Taraji P. Henson! Viola Davis! Queen Latifah! Uzo Aduba! Cicely Tyson! MoโNique! Angela Bassett! Khandi Alexander!ย Niecy Nash!ย Regina King! Orange Is the New Black,ย Transparent, and Bessieย are nominated for Best Drama, Best Comedy and Best TV Movie (respectively).
It’s such a stark contrast to last year’s nearly all-white, all-male Oscar nominations!
The nominees areย also flush with outspoken feminist badasses, and they (finally, finally, finally) include the incomparable Tatiana Maslany.
Check out the full list of acting nominees below.
LEAD ACTRESS, DRAMA
Taraji P. Henson, โEmpireโ
Claire Danes, โHomelandโ
Viola Davis, โHow to Get Away with Murderโ
Tatiana Maslany, โOrphan Blackโ
Elisabeth Moss, โMad Menโ
Robin Wright, โHouse of Cardsโ
LEAD ACTRESS, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
Felicity Huffman, โAmerican Crimeโ
Jessica Lange, โAmerican Horror Storyโ
Queen Latifah, โBessieโ
Maggie Gyllenhaal, โThe Honorable Womanโ
Frances McDormand, โOlive Kitteridgeโ
Emma Thompson, โSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Streetโ
LEAD ACTRESS, COMEDY
Lisa Kudrow, โThe Comebackโ
Lily Tomlin, โGrace And Frankieโ
Amy Schumer, โInside Amy Schumerโ
Edie Falco, โNurse Jackieโ
Amy Poehler, โParks And Recreationโ
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, โVeepโ
SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA
Joanne Froggatt, โDownton Abbeyโ
Lena Headey, โGame Of Thronesโ
Emilia Clarke, โGame Of Thronesโ
Christine Baranski, โThe Good Wifeโ
Christina Hendricks, โMadย Menโ
Uzo Aduba, โOrange Is The New Blackโ
GUEST ACTRESS, DRAMA
Margo Martindale, โThe Americansโ
Diana Rigg, โGame of Thronesโ
Rachel Brosnahan, โHouse Of Cardsโ
Cicely Tyson, โHow To Get Away With Murderโ
Allison Janney, โMasters Of Sexโ
Khandi Alexander, โScandalโ
SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY
Mayim Bialik, โThe Big Bang Theoryโ
Niecy Nash, โGetting Onโ
Julie Bowen, โModern Familyโ
Allison Janney, โMomโ
Kate McKinnon โSaturday Night Liveโ
Gaby Hoffmann, โTransparentโ
Jane Krakowski, โUnbreakable Kimmy Schmidtโ
Anna Chlumsky, โVeepโ
GUEST ACTRESS, COMEDY
Christine Baranski, โThe Big Bang Theoryโ
Gaby Hoffmann, โGirlsโ
Pamela Adlon, โLouieโ
Elizabeth Banks, โModern Familyโ
Joan Cusack, โShamelessโ
Tina Fey, โUnbreakable Kimmy Schmidtโ
SUPPORTING ACTRESS, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
Regina King, โAmerican Crimeโ
Sarah Paulson, โAmerican Horror Story: Freak Showโ
Angela Bassett, โAmerican Horror Story: Freak Showโ
Kathy Bates, โAmerican Horror Story: Freak Showโ
MoโNique, โBessieโ
Zoe Kazan, โOlive Kitteridgeโ
OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
โBetter Call Saulโ
โDownton Abbeyโ
โGame of Thronesโ
โHomelandโ
โHouse of Cardsโ
โMad Menโ
โOrange is the New Blackโ
OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
โLouieโ
โModern Familyโ
โParks and Recreationโ
โSilicon Valleyโ
โTransparentโ
โUnbreakable Kimmy Schmidtโ
โVeepโ
LEAD ACTOR, DRAMA
Bob Odenkirk, โBetter Call Saulโ
Kyle Chandler, โBloodlineโ
Kevin Spacey, โHouse of Cardsโ
Jon Hamm, โMad Menโ
Jeff Daniels, โThe Newsroomโ
Liev Schreiber, โRay Donovanโ
LEAD ACTOR, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
Timothy Hutton, โAmerican Crimeโ
Ricky Gervais, โDerek Specialโ
Adrien Brody, โHoudiniโ
David Oyelowo, โNightingaleโ
Richard Jenkins, โOlive Kitteridgeโ
Mark Rylance, โWolf Hallโ
LEAD ACTOR, COMEDY
Anthony Anderson, โblack-ishโ
Matt LeBlanc, โEpisodesโ
Don Cheadle, โHouse of Liesโ
Will Forte, โThe Last Man On Earthโ
Louis C.K., โLouieโ
William H. Macy, โShamelessโ
Jeffrey Tambor, โTransparentโ
REALITY-COMPETITION SERIES
โThe Amazing Raceโ
โDancing With The Starsโ
โProject Runwayโ
โSo You Think You Can Danceโ
โTop Chefโ
โThe Voiceโ
VARIETY SERIES
โThe Colbert Reportโ
โThe Daily Show With Jon Stewartโ
โJimmy Kimmel Liveโ
โLast Week Tonight With John Oliverโ
โLate Show With David Lettermanโ
โThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallonโ
LIMITED SERIES
โAmerican Crimeโ
โAmerican Horror Story: Freak Showโ
โThe Honorable Womanโ
โOlive Kitteridgeโ
โWolf Hallโ
VARIETY SKETCH SERIES
โDrunk Historyโ
โInside Amy Schumerโ
โKey & Peeleโ
โPortlandiaโ
โSaturday Night Liveโ
TELEVISION MOVIE
โAgatha Christieโs Poirot: Curtain, Poirotโs Last Caseโ
โBessieโ
โGrace of Monacoโ
โHello Ladies: The Movieโ
โKilling Jesusโ
โNightingaleโ
SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA
Jonathan Banks, โBetter Call Saulโ
Ben Mendelsohn, โBloodlineโ
Jim Carter, โDownton Abbeyโ
Peter Dinklage, โGame Of Thronesโ
Alan Cumming, โThe Good Wifeโ
Michael Kelly, โHouse Of Cardsโ
GUEST ACTOR, DRAMA
Alan Alda, โThe Blacklistโ
Michael J. Fox, โThe Good Wifeโ
F. Murray Abraham, โHomelandโ
Reg E. Cathey, โHouse of Cardsโ
Beau Bridges, โMasters Of Sexโ
Pablo Schreiber, โOrange Is The New Blackโ
SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY
Andre Braugher, โBrooklyn Nine-Nineโ
Adam Driver, โGirlsโ
Keegan-Michael Key, โKey & Peeleโ
Ty Burrell, โModern Familyโ
Tituss Burgess, โUnbreakable Kimmy Schmidtโ
Tony Hale, โVeepโ
GUEST ACTOR, COMEDY
Mel Brooks, โThe Comediansโ
Paul Giamatti, โInside Amy Schumerโ
Bill Hader, โSaturday Night Liveโ
Louis C.K., โSaturday Night Liveโ
Bradley Whitford, โTransparentโ
Jon Hamm, โUnbreakable Kimmy Schmidtโ
SUPPORTING ACTOR, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
Richard Cabral, โAmerican Crimeโ
Denis OโHare, โAmerican Horror Story: Freak Showโ
Finn Wittrock, โAmerican Horror Story: Freak Showโ
Michael Kenneth Williams, โBessieโ
Bill Murray, โOlive Kitteridgeโ
Damian Lewis, โWolf Hallโ
The Primetime Emmy Awards will air on Fox on September 20 at 5:00PM PT / 8:00PM ET. You know we’ll be live-blogging it for you!
MoโNique!!! As Ma Rainey!!! = adfuisdhfosijfoisjdfsf!!!
(you get my point)
I’m so excited for her nomination! I mean, if I’m being honest… She’s been starring in my dreams as Ma Rainey ever night since the movie premiered. She should get recognized for all that hard work ;)
She’s been starring in your dreams? Wow, I could use some of that!
Tatiana!!!!
Where’s the award for “best supporting cast” that Tatiana can win all on her own?
AHHHH! I was literally *just* talking about this in the comment section of today’s Daily Fix.
I was saying that it felt like loads more black folks nominated than I could remember in a really long time, and now I know why!!!!
So excited!! And I just can’t hide it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes it feels the same as well and I’ toooorn because as much as I like Tatiana / Orphan Black, Viola AND Taraji totally killed it this year and so deserve a win.
Also Andre Braugher is never not funny and deserves that win as well.
Chloe, I just wanted to say how happy I was to see that you also found your way over here! It’s like our conversation migrated comment boards.
Of course… i was refreshing the main page like crazy to wait for Heather’s post !
YES YES YES
They better not give that best female lead award to Claire Danes when you’ve got Viola, Tatiana AND Taraji in the same category !
I will set myself on fire if Claire Danes wins that category. ON FIRE.
YAY!
This is the best Emmy nom list in a looooong time!!!
FINALLY they nominated Tatiana Maslany! I was beginning to wonder how many characters she’d have to play before she got her nod.
so excited for everyone / everything!
I am a little conflicted about the Best Actress in a Drama Series nominations. As much as Viola Davis KILLED IT this year, Tatiana DESERVES THIS. Viola Davis is doing INCREDIBLE work on HTGAWM, but this is only the first season, and Tatiana is doing UNBELIEVABLE work playing SIX TIMES as many characters, and she got totally shafted last year. Plus, it would be nice to see a genre show like Orphan Black getting some awards love.
Hooray!
Also, I like the typo next to Christina Hendricks’ name. “Man Men” would be a hilarious title for a show.
Hahaha! Thank you for pointing that out; I fixed it.
I take Uzo Aduba being nominated based on Season 3 and not 2, right?
No, it’s for season 2 (the Vee season). Orange is the New Black airs after the Emmy cut off date, so it’s always a year behind.
Thank you. Yeah she did an excellent job for S2, specially when working of the Vee emotions.
Is this for season two or three of “Orphan Black”? If it’s season two then I don’t see how anyone will beat out Tatiana for that Clone Dance scene.
I think it’s season three because they didn’t include Tony in the list of characters she plays but they did include Krystal
i’m so thrilled for tatiana but i’m soooo bummed that gina rodriguez didn’t get nominated for jane the virgin :(
…not to take away from how great this list is otherwise!
Yeah, I agree. Gina Rodriguez and Kerry Washington would really have made this list for me in every way. Also, Empire as Best Drama.
I’m so psyched the narrator got nominated, though!
So, I just woke up, and I’m a little out of it.
I was scrolling through the nominations list, and when I got to the actors section I was like, wait… these are MEN’S names.
For a glorious few minutes I forgot men existed at all.
Thank you all for that.
What a glorious few minutes! I’m so glad I could give that to you! I wish I could give it to you every day!
That’s how I feel after A-Camp every year
comment award please!!!
SAME
Just have to say that I’m so excited to see American Crime in there for limited series… I think the show approached race in a really groundbreaking way for mainstream television and I wish more people were talking about it. And it is frustrating that only white actors got nominated for it :/ Plus my amazing gf worked on it!
Richard Cabral and Regina King both got nominated for American Crime so it wasn’t just the white actors. Thank God.
Ah, oops, I didn’t read too closely :/
I actually don’t pay much attention to emmy or oscar stuff…but this is super important stuff right now. The more diverse, the better! I am very pleased with this.
this is so amazing!! I refused to watch the Oscars last year because they were flipping ridiculous, but I’m definitely gonna watch the Emmy’s this year!
That lead actress category is so stacked. All of my favorites are there. I’m so happy Tatiana finally got the nom this year. Also, sad that Gina Rodriguez didn’t get nominated though I’m still confused on whether Jane The Virgin falls into the comedy or drama category due to the change in rules for one hour shows that could basically fit either category. I see OITNB got the drama nods this year.
I’m also pleased to see Khandi Alexander finally recognized for her work as Mama Pope on Scandal. Khandi Alexander is so underrated and should be getting more work than she does. She was also great in Bessie btw. She could have easily been nominated for that as well.
And yay for Richard Cabral for American Crime. He was so great in that. I had never seen him in anything before this role. I hope he gets more work out of this.
The Academy made a new rule this year that comedies are limited to 30 minute shows. Any show that wanted to be considered as a comedy had to petition for consideration. Glee, Shameless and Jane the Virgin had successful petitions and, as a result, were eligible for the comedy category. OITNB wasn’t so lucky so, instead, they’re considered a drama.
I think that was the right call this year — but next year, OitNB should be bumped back to the comedy category (based on Season 3)
Since everyone already expressed their happiness over Tatiana and Viola and etc I’ll just say that I’m glad to see John Oliver be nominated
Yes yes yes I really hope he wins his show is faaar superior than anything else on that list.
Did you put the men last on purpose? Because lemme tell you, it warmed my misandrist heart!
Mmm hmm. I sure did. <3
I think Jill Holoway got nominated for writing for Transparent as well, by the way. Isn’t she one of us?
Also, noteworthy, that actors playing queer or trans characters got nominated quite a lot (I am so counting Kevin Spacey in that category, btw.), which I’m also glad for, because on screen representation wins awards! It’s a good thing if you’re playing a queer character, these days, so I just wanted to throw that out there, because it hasn’t always been.
Also, in the original Emmy nom document, they totally forgot Beth in their countdown of roles that Tatiana was nominated for.
My heart is torn over Taraji P.Henson and Tatiana Maslany, I just hope one of them wins, even though Tatiana needs her own separate category of excellence.
Actually they should have nominated her as Beth for Best Guest Star, and her as Alison as Best Supporting Actress.
Fair’s fair.
If Tatiana doesn’t win this award I’ll probably do something violent. I haven’t decided what yet but it will most definitely involve knocking some heads together.
I will likely do something horrid either in that case or in the event that Uzo does not win.
TATIANAAAAAAAAAA! YAS QUEEN.
For the rest I hope Mad Men wins everything.
And she’s a nice girl and all.. but Emilia Clarke nominated? Really Emmys? Really?
Also I would like to nominate Julianna Margulies and Archie Panjabi for best acting in a split screen.
My thoughts exactly about Emilia Clarke. I like her as Daenerys, but… that role doesn’t really require much.
I snort-laughed.
TATIANA! Finally!
Is Fresh Off the Boat not eligible this year yet? Because if it is eligible and they just overlooked Constance Wu, that is a damn dirty shame.
Fresh of the Boat was eligible. Constance Wu was a huge oversight. :(
yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas!
YES, TATIANA!
YES, TATIANA!
YES, TATIANA!
Tatiana!
Whaaaaaat?? How is Jane the Virgin and/or Gina not included 441
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My cat wanted to contribute to the conversation. He has a lot of feelings about TV.
Hey, Paper0Cat!
This is him interrupting my viewing of the season finale of Black-ish:
Daaaang, these are good lists! And I like your new picture, Heather! You look like a Very Serious Writer Person but also way cool.
Thank you, Mik!
Viola Davis defs deserves the win.
Well that’s an impressive line up of women and performances. To be fair, I don’t think the Oscar’s had nearly the performance pool to draw from, not like this and I was fairly upset last year.
Viola Davis is a powerhouse queen. I still don’t understand just how amazingly she absolutely beasted HTGAWM. Just…that show transcended SO. MUCH. Race and femininity and womanhood and the law and privilege and trauma and…just. Good god. That scene where Annalise is taking off her wig and makeup…I don’t think there’s ever been anything quite so powerful on primetime network TV before. IT WAS AWESOME. And I mean…just that a middle-aged black woman was this powerful centerpiece in such a major show…DAMN, VIOLA. I like Orphan Black well enough…but it just doesn’t have the same representation awesomeness that HTGAWM has, and HTGAWM should win all the awards for every season it exists. Because it’s that good.
PLUS ORPHAN BLACK IS CANADIAN AND THIS IS NOT CANADA. (Sorry, Canada. I love you, my family is in you, I will be attending grad school in you and then probably staying. But c’mon)
And to be honest, Cicely Tyson deserves all the awards. Like, she should just be given them by default. She’s Cicely Tyson. She’s been alive FOREVER (and ever and ever, it seems) and she just keeps churning out brilliance. SHE IS NINETY YEARS OLD. When my great-grandmother was ninety (and a pretty lucid, feisty ninety year old at that, relatively), she mostly sat on the porch swing and drank Ensure and Diet Dr. Pepper with a bendy straw and told stories about “how it used to be.” Not, you know, KILLING EVERY ROLE EVER.
I’d also like Amy Schumer to win…I’ve been incredibly impressed at how she handles humor. Her sketches incorporate all of this important stuff like birth control and rape culture and oversexualization of little girls etc etc etc, and her proud handle on her sexuality is so important. She just doesn’t give a fuck. Independent Woman and shit. Love it.
I didn’t know that the Emmy’s was for American TV shows only, but Orphan Black is produced by BBC America so maybe that’s why it was included?
Thanks for this post…I’ve spent most of the day lamenting the women of color who didn’t get nominations–Lorraine Touissant, Gina Rodriguez, Tracee Ellis Ross and Constance Wu (!!)–that I’ve neglected celebrating those who did. I’m particularly excited for Khandi Alexander and Regina King, both who have been snubbed by the Academy previously…Alexander for Treme and The Corner and King for Southland.
That said…
Preach, Jesssica. Preach.
Yes, oh my goodness gracious, Tracee Ellis Ross and Constance Wu. While Wu’s character still fits quite a few stereotypes about Asian moms, she’s just such a strong independent woman who gives no fucks. AND TRACEE. Has anyone else seen her youtube videos about exploring rap/hip hop songs? SHE’S BRILLIANT.
I’m just gonna point out, the Variety Series are all dudes, though I’m sure that’s quite indicative of the actual Variety shows out there…
AH THIS IS SO EXCITING!!!!
I’m confused as to why Keegan-Michael Key is nominated for SUPPORTING actor… of his own show. Why wouldn’t it be lead?
Last time I checked, Sarah Paulson doesn’t identify as gay. Or maybe that has changed since 2014. Just wanted to put that out there!