Netflix dominates 2020 Emmy award nominations

Staff Editor

Reading time: 5 mins

Netflix dominates this year’s Emmy award nominations, with a whopping 160 nods under its belt.

The streamer has long been vying for HBO’s pole position in awards season, last year racking up 118 Emmy nominations behind HBO’s 137. This year, though, it’s gone one step further, with the highest number of nominations for any broadcaster or streamer – not just this year, but ever. With HBO not far behind on 107 nods, though, the competition is far from over: HBO’s Succession is toe for toe with Netflix’s biggest performer, Ozark, with both dramas up for 18 prizes apiece. They’re joined by The Crown and Stranger Things in the main Drama Series category, as well as AMC’s Better Call Saul (a Netflix exclusive in the UK) and BBC’s Killing Eve, as well as Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale.

A surprise entry in that category is The Mandalorian, which leads Disney+’s first entry into the Emmy awards race – and with 19 nominations in total (15 of them for the Star Wars series), it’s a promising start. Just behind Disney is Apple, which is also entering its first Emmys race, with 18 nominations. These are largely for The Morning Show, with Jennifer Aniston and Steve Carell up for Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress in a Drama. (Other nominated Disney+ series include The World According To Jeff Goldblum and Forky Asks A Question, while Apple TV+’s contenders including Defending Jacob, for its theme music and cinematography, and Beastie Boys Story.)

Amazon, meanwhile, has 20 nominations, largely thanks to The Marvelous Mrs Maisel. It’s going up against Netflix’s The Kominsky Method and Dead to Me for the top comedy prize, alongside HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm and Insecure, NBC’s The Good Place (a Netflix exclusive in the UK), Schitt’s Creek (now a POP TV series) and FX’s What We Do in the Shadows.

The most nominated show overall, though, is HBO’s Watchmen, with 26 nods in total – it faces competition from Netflix’s Unbelievable and Unorthodox for the top limited series prize, as well as Hulu’s Little Fires Everywhere (an Amazon exclusive in the UK) and Hulu’s Mrs America (a BBC Two title in the UK).

Surprise snubs include Nicole Kidman for Big Little Lies, Bob Odenkirk for Better Call Saul, Homeland for its final season, Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood for limited series, despite a bevy of acting nods, and Reese Witherspoon for anything, despite working on The Morning Show, Little Fires Everywhere and Big Little Lies in the past year.

The awards will be announced on 20th September by Jimmy Kimmel. You can read on for a breakdown of the nominees in the main categories.

Drama Series

Better Call Saul (AMC) The Crown (Netflix) The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu) Killing Eve (BBC America/AMC) The Mandalorian (Disney+) Ozark (Netflix) Stranger Things (Netflix) Succession (HBO)

Comedy Series

Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO) Dead to Me (Netflix) The Good Place (NBC) Insecure (HBO) The Kominsky Method (Netflix) The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon Prime Video) Schitt’s Creek (Pop TV) What We Do in the Shadows (FX)

Limited Series

Little Fires Everywhere (Hulu) Mrs. America (Hulu) Unbelievable (Netflix) Unorthodox (Netflix) Watchmen (HBO)

Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Jason Bateman (Ozark) Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us) Steve Carell (The Morning Show) Brian Cox (Succession) Billy Porter (Pose) Jeremy Strong (Succession)

Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Jennifer Aniston (The Morning Show) Olivia Colman (The Crown) Jodie Comer (Killing Eve) Laura Linney (Ozark) Sandra Oh (Killing Eve) Zendaya (Euphoria)

Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Anthony Anderson (Black-ish) Don Cheadle (Black Monday) Ted Danson (The Good Place) Michael Douglas (The Kominsky Method) Eugene Levy (Schitt’s Creek) Ramy Youssef (Ramy)

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Christina Applegate (Dead to Me) Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) Linda Cardellini (Dead to Me) Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek) Issa Rae (Insecure) Tracee Ellis Ross (Black-ish)

Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie

Jeremy Irons (Watchmen) Hugh Jackman (Bad Education) Paul Mescal (Normal People) Jeremy Pope (Hollywood) Mark Ruffalo (I Know This Much Is True)

Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie

Cate Blanchett (Mrs. America) Shira Haas (Unorthodox) Regina King (Watchmen) Octavia Spencer (Self Made) Kerry Washington (Little Fires Everywhere)

Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Giancarlo Esposito (Better Call Saul) Bradley Whitford (The Handmaid’s Tale) Billy Crudup (The Morning Show) Mark Duplass (The Morning Show) Nicholas Braun (Succession) Kieran Culkin (Succession) Matthew Macfadyen (Succession) Jeffrey Wright (Westworld)

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Laura Dern (Big Little Lies) Meryl Streep (Big Little Lies) Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown) Samira Wiley (The Handmaid’s Tale) Fiona Shaw (Killing Eve) Julia Garner (Ozark) Sarah Snook (Succession) Thandie Newton (Westworld)

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Andre Braugher (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) William Jackson Harper (The Good Place) Alan Arkin (The Kominsky Method) Sterling K. Brown (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) Tony Shalhoub (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) Mahershala Ali (Ramy) Kenan Thompson (Saturday Night Live) Dan Levy (Schitt’s Creek)

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Betty Gilpin (GLOW) D’Arcy Carden (The Good Place) Yvonne Orji (Insecure) Alex Borstein (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) Marin Hinkle (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live) Cecily Strong (Saturday Night Live) Annie Murphy (Schitt’s Creek)

Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie

Dylan McDermott (Hollywood) Jim Parsons (Hollywood) Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend) Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Watchmen) Jovan Adepo (Watchmen) Louis Gossett Jr. (Watchmen)

Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie

Holland Taylor (Hollywood) Uzo Aduba (Mrs. America) Margo Martindale (Mrs. America) Tracey Ullman (Mrs. America) Toni Collette (Unbelievable) Jean Smart (Watchmen)

Reality Competition

The Masked Singer (FOX) Nailed It (Netflix) RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1) Top Chef (Bravo) The Voice (NBC)

Variety Sketch Series

A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO) Drunk History (Comedy Central) Saturday Night Live (NBC)

Variety Talk Series

Daily Show with Trevor Noah (Comedy Central) Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (TBS) Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC) Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS)