The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has just unveiled the nominations for this year’s Emmy Awards, and the team behind “The Last of Us” has every reason to celebrate. HBO’s immensely successful series secured an impressive 24 nominations, making it the second-most nominated show of the year, only surpassed by “Succession” with 27 nominations. “The White Lotus” and Apple TV+’s comedy “Ted Lasso” closely followed with 23 and 21 nominations, respectively.
What’s particularly noteworthy about “The Last of Us” is that it’s the first live-action video game adaptation to make such a significant impact at a major awards ceremony. While the animated series “Arcane,” based on “League of Legends,” won the Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program last year, “The Last of Us” has broken new ground in the realm of live-action video game adaptations. The show is up for Outstanding Drama Series, competing against other series like “Andor,” “Better Call Saul,” “House of the Dragon,” “Succession,” “The White Lotus,” and “Yellowjackets.”
The outstanding performances in “The Last of Us” have also been recognized with nominations. Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsay, who play the lead roles in the series, have both earned nominations. Additionally, guest stars Melanie Lynskey, Storm Reid, Anna Torv, Murray Bartlett, Lamar Johnson, Nick Offerman, and Keivonn Montreal Woodard have received nominations for their standout performances. The show’s co-creator, Craig Mazin, and director Peter Hoar have also been recognized with nominations for their work on the show’s highly acclaimed third episode, “Long, Long Time.”
In the Outstanding Comedy Series category, the reigning champion “Ted Lasso” faces tough competition from “Abbott Elementary,” “Barry,” “The Bear,” “Jury Duty,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Only Murders In The Building,” and “Wednesday.” On the Star Wars front, “Andor” received eight nominations, while “The Mandalorian” garnered nine. “Obi-Wan Kenobi” also secured five nominations, including one for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series.
Moving to the TV movie category, Disney+’s “Hocus Pocus 2” and Roku’s “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” are both in the running for Outstanding Television Movie, with three and eight nominations, respectively. Amazon’s highly anticipated and big-budget series “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” landed six nominations, primarily in technical categories. Meanwhile, “Stranger Things,” although not eligible for top honors this year, has received six nominations in other categories. Peacock’s “Poker Face” secured four nominations, “Star Trek: Picard” earned two in makeup categories, and Netflix’s brilliant “I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson” snagged two nods as well.
HBO takes the lead this year with the most nominations overall, totaling an impressive 127. Netflix follows closely behind with 103 nominations, being the most nominated streaming-only network. Apple has garnered 52 nominations, while Amazon accumulated 46 (between Prime Video and Freevee). Hulu acquired 42 nominations (or 64 if FX shows are included), Disney+ received 40, Peacock secured eight, and Paramount+ obtained seven nominations. In contrast, the broadcast networks collectively earned 86 nominations.
As for the Emmy Awards ceremony, it is currently set to take place on September 18th. However, due to the ongoing WGA writers’ strike and potential action by the actors’ union, there are reports suggesting that it may be delayed until November or even January. The situation remains uncertain, but television fans eagerly await the celebration of the year’s exceptional content and performances.
