The 2018 Emmy Nominations Mommi Power Rankings

I had one thought and one thought only upon seeing this year’s list of Emmy nominations. This year’s Emmy nominations… are very Mommi. Okay, so maybe I had some other thoughts like “oh my god, Sandra Oh is finally getting the awards attention that she has been due for years” and “wow none for Alison Brie?!” But in every reaction, there was an underlying force, a throughline, a truth I could not deny. These nominations are very Mommi indeed—so Mommi that I have decided to call them the Emmy Momminations.

This is not a complete list of nominations nor is it even a particularly useful analysis probably, but sometimes you just have to celebrate Mommis, because it’s what the Mommis would want. Here are this year’s Emmy Momminations power rankings, from Mommi to Mommiest.

Allison Janney (Best Actress for Mom)

I have never seen this show, and even though Janney usually plays daddy characters, I will assume that there is some Mommi energy going on here.

Lily Tomlin (Best Actress in a Comedy Series for Grace and Frankie)

Grace is more Mommi than Frankie, but the show itself is very Mommi and worthy of a place on this list.

Viola Davis (Best Guest Actress for Scandal)

Perhaps this is a controversial opinion since most people would classify Annalise Keating as daddy, but I posit that she is actually a Daddy/Mommi switch. In this paper I will—

Tatiana Maslany (Actress in a Drama Series for Orphan Black)

Tatiana Maslany, as we all know, can morph into anything in the world — including a Mommi, as she does when she becomes Alison Hendrix.

Evan Rachel Wood (Best Actress in a Drama Series for Westworld)

Robots can be Mommis, too.

Rachel Brosnahan (Best Actress in a Comedy Series for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)

If you still haven’t watched The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, please fix that right now! It’s very good! And the titular character is a hilarious Mommi who is probably in love with her manager Susie!

Keri Russell (Best Actress in a Drama Series for The Americans)

I love Spy Mommi Elizabeth Jennings.

Sarah Paulson (Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for American Horror Story: Cult)

I would join a Mommi cult if Sarah Paulson were the leader.

Tracee Ellis Ross (Best Actress in a Comedy Series for Black-ish)

It doesn’t get much more Mommi than Rainbow Johnson. On a related note: Has anyone else had their life destroyed by Tracee’s Instagram?

Betty Gilpin (Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy for GLOW)

Betty Gilpin is so Mommi on GLOW that I have started referring to her exclusively as Mommi Gilpin. As a reminder, all of GLOW’s Momminations are for its first season, which I suppose is how she was able to slip into the supporting actress category. Next year, I predict she and Alison Brie will have to duke it out in the lead actress category together — a battle that sounds extremely Mommi.

Sandra Oh (Best Actress in a Drama Series for Killing Eve)

One of my favorite things about Killing Eve is Villanelle’s unabashed love for curly-haired Mommis like Eve. She gets it. And did you know that Sandra Oh is the first Asian woman to ever be Momminated in this category? It’s true (even though she was Momminated and robbed for supporting actress for Grey’s). We stan a long-overdue Mommi!

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Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya is the managing editor of Autostraddle and a lesbian writer of essays, short stories, and pop culture criticism living in Orlando. She is the assistant managing editor of TriQuarterly, and her short stories appear or are forthcoming in McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Joyland, Catapult, The Offing, and more. Some of her pop culture writing can be found at The A.V. Club, Vulture, The Cut, and others. You can follow her on Twitter or Instagram and learn more about her work on her website.

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33 Comments

  1. This probably does not fit here but I thought Kia Stevens from GLOW should have been nominated. “Mother of All Matches” was the best episode of season 2 imho and her acting was fantastic!

    • only season 1 was eligible this year, but there’s hope for next year!

    • OMG KAYLA I AM SO SORRY AND MORTIFIED

      I can only advance that I was originally brainwashed by Erin. I think she hypnotized me with the swirling of wine in a glass.

  2. Also tho important update: there is a mommi version of Doona Bae sitting on the bus opposite me and I may miss my stop.

  3. I saw all the guys from Queer Eye celebrating and freaking out on insta yesterday and before it occurred to me that they were excited about, you know, their own Emmy nominations I thought “oh they just found out about Sandra Oh’s nom!” We absolutely stan a long overdue Mommi

  4. “It’s an honor just to be momminated” –anyone who’s ever gone on a date with these women.

  5. This was a real rollercoaster for me.

    A transcription of what I said to my dog while reading:

    “ALLISON HENDRIX IS MOMMI. I finally get what this is!

    But…Rachel Brosnahan is mommi? What?

    Rain? Rainbow? Rainbow Johnson? Mommi? I am so confused.

    Fiona from Sherlock, but in GLOW? That makes sense.”

    Bottom line, I still don’t understand what this is.

    • Having read I think five articles on this site trying to explain mommi I’ve gotten no closer.

      So I’d like to posit something based on the Church’s conception of God (*Mommi).

      Mommi is all-knowing
      Mommi is all-merciful
      Mommi is infinite
      Mommi is perfect

      If we think we as flawed beings understand Mommi, then our understanding is incomplete.

      You folks seem to have a lot of fun talking about it and I have lots of fun reading that.

  6. I was so happy when I saw Sandra’s nomination that I even forgot who the other nominees were!

    But I was also sad to see that Killing Eve was totally snobbed by the Emmys! What about Jodie Comer? She is incredible and deserve every recognition just as much as Sandra! Thankfully they remembered Phoebe Waller-Bridge, though.

  7. Just popping in to agree that Tracee Ellis Ross’s Instagram destroys my life on the regular!

  8. Until this article I thought Evan Rachel Wood was the start of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and I’m still not convinced that one of the Rachel’s isn’t a host.

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