Emmy Nominations: Snubs, Surprises, Rankings and Analysis; 'Loki' Renewed for Second 2; Jennifer Carpenter Returns for 'Dexter' Revival

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( July 14, 2021 What's news: Loki is coming back for a second season, the first of the Marvel-Disney+ series to be renewed. ESPN's chief wrote a memo to staff on the company's diversity efforts. Amazon has passed on a Tiger King series with Nicolas Cage playing Joe Exotic. Plus: IOC President Thomas Bach has managed to offend the host country after referring to Japanese people as “Chinese” — [Abid Rahman]( Emmy Nominations 2021 ►Crowd pleasers. The Primetime Emmy Award nominations are a grab bag of surprise trends (lots of genre fare), foregone conclusions (Ted Lasso and I May Destroy You are finally getting their respective dues, a year after airing) and a couple of incredibly competitive races (see: the murderers’ row up for lead actress in a limited series.). The relative absence of carryover from the previous Emmy cycle leaves the race wide open for new blood. Most past nominees are absent, and 2020 victors (late comedy Schitt’s Creek and COVID-delayed drama Succession) were both ineligible. So we’re left with dominant nominees driven by prestige (The Crown) and technical feat (The Mandalorian). Both dramas lead all other projects with 24 mentions apiece. Ted Lasso tops the comedies with 20 nominations, followed most closely by HBO Max’s Hacks. In limited series, WandaVision emerged as the most prevailing in the field with a stunning 23 nominations. [The nominations list](. —Disney domination. In a first, the TV Academy is now grouping Emmy nominations by corporate ownership, with Disney coming out on top of all the conglomerates with 146 total nominations for its various platforms. WarnerMedia (HBO and HBO Max) came second with 138 total nominations and Netflix third with 129. [The full breakdown](. —Snubs and surprises. Despite critical love, The Good Lord Bird and Girls5eva only earned one nomination each and were left out of the major limited and comedy series categories, respectively. Rather more surprising, Steve McQueen’s acclaimed anthology film series Small Axe also only earned one nomination and was left out of major categories. [The roundup](. Something Needs to Change ►"Ridiculous." THR's awards analyst [Scott Feinberg]( says that the nominations hammered home something that has become increasingly apparent in recent years: the Emmys, in the age of Peak TV, are ridiculous: "Even the most diligent member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences watches only a small fraction of the massive amount of content that they are expected to judge each year. There is simply too much out there." [The analysis](. —Progress. THR's [Rebecca Sun]( analyzed the talent nominated this year and found that performers of color comprise at least half of the spots in the lead drama actor and actress races for the first time in Emmys history. [The breakdown](. —Critic’s notebook. THR's chief TV critic [Daniel Fienberg]( offers his take on the nominations and was pleased that Emmy voters loved Lovecraft Country and WandaVision, found surprising and varied ways to recognize Bo Burnham and, as always, made a complete mess of the guest acting categories. [The story](. In other Emmys news... —[Jessica Walter earns posthumous Emmy nomination]( for Archer. —Disney+'s WandaVision, Falcon and the Winter Soldier nab [28 Emmy nominations](. —[Mj Rodriguez makes Emmy history]( as first transgender lead acting nominee. —Emmys: Sterling K. Brown, Aidy Bryant and more among [multiple acting nominees](. —Emmys: Kristen Anderson Lopez a step closer to joining husband Robert Lopez with [EGOT status](. —Friends: The Reunion scores [four Emmy nominations](. —Creative Arts Emmys: [Nominees to watch]( include composers Ludwig Göransson, Kris Bowers. 'Loki' Renewed for Season 2 ►More Tom Hiddleston on the way. Loki, the third of Marvel’s scripted TV series to debut on Disney+, is the first to score a formal renewal. The news was revealed during the season finale's mid-credits scene. [The story](. —Withnail and Loki. Richard E. Grant's turn as Classic Loki has stolen many a heart, the British actor reveals to THR that working with Tom Hiddleston was years in the making and how disappointed he was not to be given a muscle suit. [The interview](. —A pretty solid day. Everything's coming up Milhouse for Matt Shakman, with the WandaVision filmmaker scoring an Emmy nomination for directing early on Tuesday before the news broke that he had signed on to direct a mystery Star Trek movie for Paramount. [The story](. —Back from the dead! Deb Morgan is coming back. Jennifer Carpenter will return for Showtime’s Dexter revival. The actress played Dexter Morgan’s sister for all eight seasons of the original Showtime series but was famously killed off in the 2013 series finale. [The story](. Sacha Baron Cohen Beats Lawsuit Over Pedophile-Detector ►One for the scrapbook. Sacha Baron Cohen continues to prove he’s a legal legend. On Tuesday, the comedian defeated yet another lawsuit from someone he duped. The newest someone is Roy Moore, the former Alabama Supreme Court justice who infamously lost a U.S. Senate race following allegations of sexual misconduct. [The story](. —Olympian gaffe. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics, already deeply unpopular in Japan, just became mired in more controversy. IOC President Thomas Bach on Tuesday referred to the Japanese people as “Chinese” during his first public comments after landing in Japan and completing quarantine. [The story.]( —"Confidential, nuanced and complicated." In a memo to staff, ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro addressed the steps the company has made “to improve the experiences of Black employees" and discussed the controversy involving two of the company’s key on-air NBA talents, Maria Taylor and Rachel Nichols. [The story.]( —Disaster! Amazon has ditched plans to move forward with its Tiger King scripted drama series. Nicolas Cage was due to star as Joe Exotic in the series. Producers CBS Studios, which envisioned the show as an eight-episode limited series, will likely shop the project to other outlets. [The story](. In other news... —Jason Sudeikis opens up about his [split from Olivia Wilde]( and viral Golden Globes appearance. —Léa Seydoux [cancels Cannes Film Festival trip]( after positive COVID-19 test. —Richard Branson [shares space flight experience with Colbert]( "It was extraordinary." —Cannes film review: Julia Ducournau's [Titane](. —Cannes film review: Emmanuel Marre and Julie Lecoustre's [Zero F***s Given]( (Rien à foutre). —Cannes film review: Arnaud Desplechin's [Deception]( (Tromperie). —Cannes film review: Asghar Farhadi's [A Hero]( (Ghahreman). —Shonda Rhimes asks [$25M for mansion in L.A.'s Hancock Park](. —[Robert Jacquemin]( former head of television at Buena Vista and Dreamworks, dies at 78. What else we're reading... —"Jason Sudeikis Is Having One Hell of a Year" [[GQ]( —"Phylicia Rashad Is Just the Beginning" [[The Cut]( —"We’re Watching More True Crime Than Ever. Is That a Problem?" [[The Ringer]( —"Pokémon Card Frenzy Is Making Collectors and Startups Rich" [[Bloomberg]( —"A Big Opening For Black Widow Gives A Taste Of How Theaters And Streaming Can Coexist" [[New York Times]( Today... ... in 1969, Columbia brought Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda’s Easy Rider to the big screen at the Beekman in New York. The film went on to be nominated for two Oscars at the 42nd Academy Awards, for Jack Nicholson’s supporting role and for the screenplay. [The original review](. Today's birthdays: Phoebe Waller-Bridge (36), Jackie Earle Haley (60), Loni Love (50), [David Mitchell]( (47), Jane Lynch (61), Matthew Fox (55), Vincent Pastore (75), Maxine Peake (47), Vladimir Kulich (65), Kyle Gass (61), Elise Gatien (33), Joel Silver (69) This email was sent to {EMAIL} by Penske Media Corporation. Please add email@email.hollywoodreporter.com to your address book to ensure delivery to your inbox. 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