2018 Emmy Nominations: Quick Reactions

The 70th annual Emmy nominations were announced Thursday morning, and there were a mix of well-deserved acknowledgements and a few, well, questionable choices.

Here are a few things that stood out to us…

• Look, LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS wasn’t entirely snubbed—the writers scored a nomination—but the show getting overlooked for Outstanding Variety Talk Series is just ridiculous. Meyers and his team regularly do smart deep dives with the “Closer Look” segments, but they also have fun with things like “Jokes Seth Can’t Tell,” “Ya Burnt,” and “Amber Says What.” The show is smart and funny, and really, it deserves to be acknowledged.
• Sandra Oh was by far the best part of KILLING EVE, so I’m so glad Emmy voters acknowledged her great work on the show. (It is incredible/outrageous she is the first Asian woman to be nominated as Lead Actress in a Drama. May this be the first of her/others’ nomination in this field)
• Given the buzz around THIS IS US’ Super Bowl episode, I’m surprised Mandy Moore didn’t get a nod.
• Alec Baldwin’s Trump felt smart and biting from 2016-2017. Now? His time on SNL feels less fun. (It’s also bonkers that Kenan Thompson just got his first Emmy nod. Nice icing on the cake considering he’s the longest-running SNL cast member.)
• WILL & GRACE’s absence in most major categories (Megan Mullally was nominated for supporting actress, but the rest of the cast and the show were shut out) is pretty shocking; the series was the rare reboot that did well, ratings-wise, but also was genuinely funny for much of its return. 
• I know it wasn’t realistic to expect any kind of SUPERSTORE nomination, but that show is so good.
• In related news, BROOKLYN NINE-NINE may be too consistently good to really get acknowledged. (It looks way more effortless than I imagine it is.) But I’m glad Sterling K. Brown got acknowledged for that bottle episode.
• Viola Davis is incredible, but I can’t express how much it amuses me that she got nominated for her HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER ROLE…while guest-starring on SCANDAL.
• There are an incredible list of first-time nominees: Sara Bareilles, Brandon Victor Dixon, and John Legend were fantastic and are so deserving of the love they got for JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR; Nikolaj Coster-Waldau somehow managed to just get his first GAME OF THRONES nod; Tiffany Haddish (SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE) and Letitia Wright (BLACK MIRROR’s “Black Museum”) are each continuing their fantastic year; Jimmi Simpson turned in great work in three roles (UNSOLVED, WESTWORLD, and BLACK MIRROR), and got some Emmy guest star love for WESTWORLD.
• Last year’s best drama, THE HANDMAID’S TALE, jumped up from 13 nominations in 2017 to 20 in 2018. With former champ GAME OF THRONES nabbing 22—and WESTWORLD getting 21—it’ll be interesting to see how this year’s race shakes out…

Which Emmy nomination are you most excited about? Is there a particular snub that has you annoyed?

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