Emmys 2024 Voters’ Guide: Breaking Down the Early Frontrunners
The second Emmys of 2024 is sure to set records. With multiple first-time nominees, groundbreaking recognition for Indigenous performers and an actual good mix of shows, the nominations cast a wide net. Below, Variety breaks down the contenders in most of the main categories.
Drama Series
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The drama category is one of the most peculiar in this year’s Emmy competition. “The Crown” is the only series nominated last year, while the rest are either new shows or shows finally getting their due. In fact, “The Crown” — which took home this trophy in 2021 — was probably the front-runner until FX decided freshman hit “Shōgun” would not be a limited series. Other newcomers this year: Amazon Prime Video’s “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” and “Fallout,” plus Netflix’s “3 Body Problem” for their freshman seasons; these choices demonstrate that the TV Academy isn’t focusing on one type of drama. In fact, the contenders couldn’t be more different in storytelling. Meanwhile, Max’s “The Gilded Age” and Apple TV+’s “The Morning Show” and “Slow Horses” each landed their first-ever spot on the list despite being eligible for numerous years in the past.
Lead Actor, Drama
Genre series shone through in the drama acting categories, especially with the lead actors. Donald Glover (“Mr. & Mrs. Smith”), Walton Goggins (“Fallout”) and surprise nominee Idris Elba (Apple TV+’s “Hijack”) all made the cut while Hiroyuki Sanada (“Shōgun”) was the fourth first-season nominee in this category. His co-lead Cosmo Jarvis was somehow left out of the race, which opened the door to Gary Oldman, landing his first “Slow Horses” nomination. He is a previous winner (for his guest star work in “Friends”), but after “Slow Horses” was completely snubbed for the first two seasons, his selection is a welcome surprise. The last spot in the category goes to Dominic West — a first-time nominee! — whose portrayal of Prince Charles in “The Crown” was one of the strongest parts of the otherwise weak final group of episodes.
Lead Actress, Drama
Nominees Maya Erskine (“Mr. & Mrs. Smith”) and Anna Sawai (“Shōgun”) became the second and third Asian women nominated in this category (following Sandra Oh (for “Killing Eve”). With Sawai’s recent Television Critics Assn. Award win under her belt, she may be an early front-runner in a stacked category. Elsewhere, Imelda Staunton has one final chance to win for “The Crown” while Carrie Coon will vie for “The Gilded Age.” Both Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston landed nominations alongside each other for the first time for “The Morning Show,” after usually trading off nomination spots. (Could this be why Emma Stone was snubbed for her performance in
“The Curse”? Possibly.)
Comedy Series
It’d be impossible to talk about the comedy series category without acknowledging that the definition of comedy has clearly changed. FX’s “The Bear” — the most serious comedy yet — took home the trophy, as well as most of the acting awards, last year. However, it’s never gone head-to-head with Max’s “Hacks,” which has, believe it or not, never taken home this trophy. But it won’t be only a battle between those two. After two seasons of only one nomination — for sound ending in 2023 — “Reservation Dogs” landed a comedy series nom for its final, critically acclaimed season. FX’s other hit comedy, “What We Do in the Shadows” also picked up a nom for its final season, as did Max’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” which has landed 11 noms in the category over the years but has never won. Apple TV+’s A-list freshman smash “Palm Royale,” ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” and Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” — the latter of which landed a whopping 21 nominations — fill out the category.
Lead Actor, Comedy
This category is possibly the most exciting and fresh category this year. Starting with the predictable: Last year’s winner, Jeremy Allen White, landed another nod for “The Bear.”
It’s important to remind voters that his previous win rewarded his Season 1 work since his Season 2 performance was also stellar. But it won’t be an easy competition for White. After being snubbed last year, Steve Martin is nominated this year alongside his co-star for “Only Murders in the Building,” Martin Short. Larry David also returns to the race for the first time since 2018 for “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” The biggest (and best!) surprises of the category are Matt Berry for “What We Do in the Shadows” and D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai for “Reservation Dogs.” Woon-A-Tai is the first Indigenous actor to land the nomination. Also interesting to note: the lead comedy actor race features the category’s largest age gap ever: At 78, Steve Martin is the oldest, while Woon-A-Tai is 22.
Lead Actress, Comedy
Selena Gomez finally landed her first acting nomination after two years of being recognized as a producer only for “Only Murders of the Building.” But the category is a mixed bag of winners; last year, Quinta Brunson took home the trophy for “Abbott Elementary,” and she’s back after a strong third season, competing against “The Bear” star Ayo Edebiri, who took home the trophy for supporting actress a year ago but has since moved to the lead category. Maya Rudolph, recognized in four categories this year, is vying for “Loot,” while fellow beloved “Saturday Night Live” vet Kristen Wiig, is recognized for “Palm Royale.” And then there’s Jean Smart returning for Season 3 of “Hacks,” after taking the trophy the first two times she was nominated.
Limited Series
No one saw Netflix’s late drop of “Baby Reindeer” coming but it’s safe to say that it’s a front-runner in the limited race, despite the ongoing lawsuit threaded behind the scenes. Apple TV+’s “Lessons in Chemistry,” released earlier in the season, also landed a nom, as did Netflix’s noir, “Ripley.” Usually, given the nature of limited series, there aren’t returning shows in the category. This time around, however, “True Detective” returns with its fourth installment, “Night Country,” the strongest rendition since Season 1. (It landed a drama series nomination for that season.) FX’s “Fargo,” which won the 2014 miniseries trophy for its first season, also is back in the category for its
fifth season.
TV Movie
Ever since Disney+’s “Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers” took home this trophy two years ago (followed by Roku’s “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” last year), it’s almost comical to attempt to predict what will take home this trophy. But the talent behind each of these movies are strong. Tony Shalhoub is a four-time Emmy winner and “Monk” holds eight trophies, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if Peacock’s “Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie” takes it home. Netflix has two contenders — “Unfrosted,” written and directed by 21-time nominee Jerry Seinfeld; and “Scoop,” starring two-time winner Gillian Anderson, once again telling a royal story after leaving “The Crown.” Hulu has “Quiz Lady,” with 14-time nominee Sandra Oh and Awkwafina, while the final spot went to the beloved book-turned-rom-com at Prime Video, “Red, White & Royal Blue.”
Lead Actor, Limited
Last year, Evan Peters was expected to win for portraying Jeffery Dahmer in Netflix’s “Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” but when Steven Yeun entered the limited space for “Beef,” he took over. The same could happen for Richard Gadd, who told his inspired-by-true-events story in Netflix’s “Baby Reindeer,” a show no one saw coming. Usually, this category is flooded with actors portraying real people, but the only other case in this year’s race is Tom Hollander, who plays Truman Capote in FX’s “Feud: Capote vs. the Swans.” Both Matt Bomer (“Fellow Travelers”) and Andrew Scott (“Ripley”) played characters introduced in books. The only new role is Jon Hamm’s Roy in “Fargo.” Hamm, an 18-time Emmy nominee, is also recognized in the supporting category for his role in “The Morning Show” and may just be a double winner this year.
Lead Actress, Limited
Similar to the limited lead actor race, two actresses in the limited series category portrayed real women. Naomi Watts played Babe Paley (and is a producer) on “Feud: Capote vs. the Swans,” while “Griselda” star Sofia Vergara portrays the notorious Colombian drug lord in Netflix’s hit. She makes history as only the second Latina woman in the category, following Anya Taylor-Joy, who was up for “The Queen’s Gambit” in 2021. Elsewhere in the category is Brie Larson for “Lessons in Chemistry,” who was an early favorite for her role as a feminist cooking show host; Jodie Foster, who earned her first ever acting nomination for “True Detective: Night Country”; and Juno Temple, who previously landed three noms for “Ted Lasso” but never took home the trophy, this time recognized for “Fargo.”
Talk
The talk categories continue to be a bit up in the air. The variety series category was separated into two categories in 2015 — outstanding variety talk series and outstanding variety sketch series. Last year, the latter was renamed outstanding scripted variety series, and “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” took home the trophy, beating out “Saturday Night Live.” This year, it’s again up against the NBC sketch show, the most-recognized broadcast series, with 17 noms. Meanwhile, in the talk series category, last year marked the final year with Trevor Noah as the host of “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah,” which took home the trophy. This year, Comedy Central’s retooled “The Daily Show” was once again nominated, competing against ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” NBC’s “Late Night With Seth Meyers” and CBS’ “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” all of which had strong years amid the ongoing shifting political landscape.
Reality
In the reality competition category, “The Amazing Race” landed its 21st nomination. Although it’s never not been nominated when it was eligible, it hasn’t taken home the trophy since 2014. MTV’s “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” a five-time winner, took home the trophy last year and is the one to beat. And if some other show could win it, it’s “The Traitors,” as the second season of the Peacock hit took off under the reign of nominated host Alan Cumming. Bravo’s “Top Chef” (and host Kristen Kish), as well as NBC’s “The Voice” round out the category. While CBS’ “Survivor” didn’t land a nomination in the category this year, host Jeff Probst — who has won four times — returned to that category for the first time since 2011. The five “Shark Tank” hosts were also nominated, while the ABC series was not.
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