The 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards will air in September on CBS, but the nominations honoring the best TV has to offer (which, right now anyway, is A LOT) go live Thursday morning.
With the Golden Age of Television showing no signs of dulling, Thursday morning’s live Emmy nominations are a recognitions of, at least what the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences deems, the very best of the best. Of course, when we say the very best of the best, keep in mind that because of the Emmys eligibility rules, some of the very best of the best is actually not in the running, i.e. Game of Thrones, which pushed back its premiere date and disqualified itself for this year’s ceremony.
We had plenty of predictions and hopes for this year’s nomination line-up, but we didn’t know for sure who was getting the nod until Anna Chlumsky (of Veep and My Girl fame) and Shemar Moore (of Criminal Minds and the upcoming SWAT) announced the honorees this morning.
And your major 2017 nominees are:
Outstanding Drama Series
Better Call Saul
The Crown
The Handmaid’s Tale
House of Cards
Stranger Things
This is Us
Westworld
Outstanding Comedy Series
Atlanta
Black-ish
Master of None
Modern Family
Silicon Valley
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Veep
Outstanding Limited Series or Movie
Big Little Lies
Fargo
Feud: Bette and Joan
Genius
The Night Of
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Felicity Huffman (American Crime)
Nicole Kidman (Big Little Lies)
Reese Witherspoon (Big Little Lies)
Carrie Coon (Fargo)
Jessica Lange (Feud)
Susan Sarandon (Feud)
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Ewan McGregor (Fargo)
Geoffrey Rush (Genius)
Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock Holmes)
Riz Ahmed (The Night Of)
John Turturro (The Night Of)
Robert DeNiro (The Wizard of Lies)
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Pamela Adlon (Better Things)
Tracee Ellis Ross (Black-ish)
Jane Fonda (Grace and Frankie)
Lily Tomlin (Grace and Frankie)
Allison Janney (Mom)
Ellie Kemper (Kimmy Schmidt)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep)
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Donald Glover (Atlanta)
Zach Galifianakis (Baskets)
Anthony Anderson (Black-ish)
Aziz Ansari (Master of None)
William H. Macy (Shameless)
Jeffrey Tambor (Transparent)
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Robin Wright (House of Cards)
Viola Davis (How to Get Away With Murder)
Keri Russell (The Americans)
Claire Foy (The Crown)
Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale)
Evan Rachel Wood (Westworld)
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul)
Kevin Spacey (House of Cards)
Liev Schreiber (Ray Donovan)
Matthew Rhys (The Americans)
Sterling K. Brown (This is Us)
Milo Ventimiglia (This is Us)
Anthony Hopkins (Westworld)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things)
Uzo Aduba (Orange is the New Black)
Thandie Newton (Westworld)
Ann Dowd (The Handmaid’s Tale)
Chrissy Metz (This Is Us)
Samira Wiley (The Handmaid’s Tale)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Jonathan Banks (Better Call Saul)
David Harbour (Stranger Things)
Michael Kelly (House of Cards)
John Lithgow (The Crown)
Mandy Patinkin (Homeland)
Jeffrey Wright (Westworld)
Ron Cephas Jones (This Is Us)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Leslie Jones (Saturday Night Live)
Kathryn Hahn (Transparent)
Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live)
Judith Light (Transparent)
Anna Chlumsky (Veep)
Vanessa Bayer (Saturday Night Live)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin (Saturday Night Live)
Louie Anderson (Baskets)
Matt Walsh (Veep)
Ty Burrell (Modern Family)
Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt)
Tony Hale (Veep)
Reactions
As news spread of the nominations Wednesday morning, reaction was swift. Particularly for one unexpected shout-out: Shannon Purser’s nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series a.k.a. BARB FROM STRANGER THINGS. Justice is real, people. Purser has become something of an internet hero since her character’s *spoiler alert* tragic demise on the show, so the fact that she got some love from the Academy is sweet, sweet vengeance on the demon who killed her (maybe not on Nancy, though, somebody should really teach that girl how to be a good friend).
Others felt performers like Winona Ryder, Mandy Moore, Oprah, Zoe Kravitz, and Kerry Washington were left out in the cold this year, along with shows including The Leftovers, Girls, Fleabag, Late Night with Seth Meyers and others that deserved more recognition.
Saturday Night Live, on the other hand, came out of the Emmy nominations ceremony with a whopping 22 nods this year, bringing its total since it premiered to a record-breaking 231 nominations. This year SNL heavy-hitters included Alec Baldwin (ostensibly for his Trump portrayal), Melissa McCarthy for hosting, Leslie Jones, Vanessa Bayer, and Kate McKinnon.
On social media, the stars and shows had plenty to add when they heard the news:
Wow! So thrilled about the #Emmys Nominations for #BigLittleLies! The cast & crew worked so hard to make this happen! Thanks to all the fans pic.twitter.com/5acNwqFw9m
— Reese Witherspoon (@ReeseW) July 13, 2017
Me and my two dads are going to the emmys! Thank you @TelevisionAcad for honoring us all (& my sister! 😁) #ThisIsUs pic.twitter.com/8ahak1fjqJ
— Sterling K Brown (@SterlingKBrown) July 13, 2017
Congrats, Millie Bobby Brown on your Best Supporting Actress Emmy nomination for #StrangerThings: https://t.co/EkCv3gB1SG #Emmy pic.twitter.com/IbHewuJzOl
— IndieWire (@IndieWire) July 13, 2017
Congratulations to @anthonyhopkins on his #Emmys nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in #Westworld. pic.twitter.com/IdVwnd8WjF
— Westworld (@WestworldHBO) July 13, 2017
Congratulations to the cast and crew of #SiliconValleyHBO on their Outstanding Comedy Series nomination. #Emmys pic.twitter.com/2xxkMcPiUg
— Silicon Valley (@SiliconHBO) July 13, 2017
Next: 6 Emmy predictions ahead of Thursday's nominations announcement
Did your favorites make the cut? Check back for updates and reaction throughout the day!