Do you hear that? That soft hum? Ah yes, that’s the sweet, sweet of sound of water cooler chit chat about the 2018 Emmy nominations.
Two months ago, the Television Academy unveiled the lucky industry pros who are up for awards next week. Seems great, right? If you’re one of those remarkable people who manages to juggle 12 shows at the same time, this might feel like Christmas.
But what about the casual TV watchers? Or those of us who have never seen an episode of The Crown before? (I know, I know, I’ll binge it eventually I promise). Well, we’ve got you covered. We here at InStyle pored over this year’s Emmy nominations, and we’ve got a list of everything you need to know about the nominations this year before the ceremony kicks off on September 17.
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You’re welcome in advance.
Sandra Oh made Emmys history
We couldn’t help but write about this at length because it’s a very big deal. Oh has been nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama at the Emmys this year, which (shockingly) makes her the first-ever woman of Asian descent to land a nomination in that category.
She’s been nominated previously for supporting performance roles, but this nod for her work in Killing Eve has already made waves in the best way possible. If Oh wins, she’ll be only the third actor of Asian descent to win an Emmy for a leading or supporting role.
Game of Thrones is leading the pack
To the surprise of absolutely no one, Game of Thrones is going into the Emmys as the heavy favorite, with an impressive 22 nominations. Show stars Lena Headey, Peter Dinklage, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau all earned acting nominations, too.
The less fun part? Fan favorites Emilia Clarke and Kit Harington didn’t get nominations at all. Part of it might be because for the first time ever, Clarke and Harington were submitted by HBO for consideration in the leading actor and actress categories, instead of supporting. Maybe not the wisest move.
Kenan Thompson is up for his first-ever Emmy
Another nomination that had people saying, “What took so long?” Thompson is not just the longest running performer currently on Saturday Night Live, he’s the longest-tenured cast member in the show’s 43-year history. Thompson has been a staple of the show since 2003, but this is the first year he has been given an Emmy nomination, for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
He’s got some stiff SNL competition, though. Thompson will go head-to-head with Alec Baldwin, so it’s looking like an SNL showdown of grand proportions. Their category also includes Louie Anderson (Baskets), Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta), Tony Shalhoub (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), and Henry Winkler (Barry).
Alison Brie and Mandy Moore were kind of snubbed
Fans of Brie’s role in Glow and Moore’s in This Is Us probably weren’t psyched to see them left off the nominations list. Moore’s snub is particularly brow-raising, considering her co-stars Sterling K. Brown and Milo Ventimiglia were both nominated.
Ah well, maybe next year.
Modern Family was also omitted
It’s officially the end of an Emmys comedy era, guys. Modern Family‘s days of sweeping the Primetime Emmy Awards are over. The TV show, which has been nominated a whopping 80 times before (taking home 22 trophies), didn’t get an Emmy nomination in any major categories this year.
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Notably, it was recognized in the Best Sound Mixing Category, but we don’t think that’ll soothe the burn.
Someone new will take home Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Big news: Julia Louis-Dreyfus was not nominated for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series at the 2018 Emmys. Alright, that’s not groundbreaking since her show Veep didn’t have a new 2018 season and won’t be back until next spring, but it does have big implications for September’s show.
JLD is an Emmys all-star, and she has taken home the trophy for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series seven times in a row for her role in Veep. Before her, that was unheard of, and it has given her the record for most Primetime Emmy wins for the actor in a same role (she’s also tied with Cloris Leachman for most Primetime Emmy wins total, because she’s a badass who likes breaking records).
This means that during the 2018 Emmys, a new actress will finally have a shot at winning now that Louis-Dreyfus has graciously decided to not steamroll all competition within three feet of her with her talent. This year, Pamela Adlon (Better Things), Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Allison Janney (Mom), Issa Rae (Insecure), Tracee Ellis Ross (Black-ish), and Lily Tomlin (Grace and Frankie) all have a shot. They might want to send JLD a fruit basket or something.
Jonathan Van Ness had the most joyful nomination reaction
We have to thank Queer Eye‘s Jonathan Van Ness for injecting some much-needed wholesomeness into the news cycle, via Instagram. Queer Eye was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Structured Reality Program (not a shocker), but Van Ness seemed absolutely overjoyed that his Funny or Die web series Gay of Thrones was also nominated.
When he found out about the awesome news, all his Queer Eye cast mates were there to support him as he literally jumped for joy, and it was nothing short of magical.