This article originally appeared on Complex.com
With the announcement of the 72nd Primetime Emmy nominations earlier today, it's officially official: AWARDS SZN is here. The Emmys is always fun, as it truly highlights one of the mediums we're always invested in: television. Unlike film, TV has still been able to thrive during the 'rona, so we're still getting a great representation of the last year or so of TV.
This year didn't see huge surprises when it comes to the Emmys, but there are some interesting trends, snubs, and takeaways from this year's batch of nominees. From a new record for Black actors to a number of terrible snubs to how streaming services did, nomination-wise, here are the biggest takeaways from the 72nd Primetime Emmy nominations.
'What We Do in the Shadows': Big love for FX’s cult favorite
Now and again, the Emmys are capable of scaring up a surprise or two. So I was rather gobsmacked when the absurd vampires of FX’s What We Do in the Shadows ended up with eight total nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series and a staggering three(!) writing awards. Among those latter writing nominations is one for “On the Run,” better known as the now-infamous “Jackie Daytona” episode. Shadows elevated itself far beyond its original premise this season, proving it’s capable of expanding the world interestingly and hilariously. Yet even as Shadows blossomed, the show felt like it was a little too niche and therefore fated to be a cult classic. This certainly won’t be the case now, as the nominations have seemingly declared that the lovable Staten Island scamps are here to stay. Long may they reign.
Disney+ has entered the chat
After an exceedingly tumultuous start to 2020, Disney has finally gotten some good news. Disney+ offerings garnered a total of 19 nominations, 15 of which were for The Mandalorian—including a much-coveted Outstanding Drama series nom for the splashy Star Wars TV show. It’s a big statement for the eight-month-old streaming service, who outside of Hamilton’s release, has seen a lot of its promised 2020 content slip to later release dates. While there’s likely no chance the series will beat Succession for an Outstanding Drama win, Mandalorian’s inclusion amongst the other shows is likely to drive a bunch of new subscribers for the service or bring lapsed viewers back in to see what all the fuss is about. With the series primed to go deeper into some of the nerdiest parts of Star Wars lore for its second season, I’m not 100% confident we’ll see a repeat nomination again next go-round. Still, in a year where Disney has needed some significant victories, making this much noise out of the gate has got to feel pretty damn great.
Justice for Rhea
What more does Rhea Seehorn have to do? For the fifth time now, the Better Call Saul actress has been passed over for her excellent performance as Kim Wexler, a move that now feels, frankly, outright disrespectful. Seehorn was one of the best parts of Saul’s incredible fifth season and was full of moments wherein she once again elevated an already excellent performance into something exceptional. Emmy voters will have one more chance to fix their mistake when Saul airs its last season in the next year or two (depending on when ‘Rona allows for safe filming), but I’m highly skeptical they’ll give Rhea her kudos accordingly. All I know is that watching her in Season 5 was like watching Michael Jordan go for 63 points at the Boston Garden. Sure, MJ didn’t win, but his status as a legend only grew. I guess Rhea Seehorn will just have to settle for the same legacy.