The 2024 Emmy Awards will air Sunday, September 15, on ABC, and, today, the nominations have been announced. The awards honor the best TV series, actors, writers, and directors of the past year, as well as various technical achievements. Donald Glover earned two nods for his work on Mr. & Mrs. Smith: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (with co-writer Francesca Sloane). Mr. & Mrs. Smith scooped up 16 nominations in total.
A handful of other musicians are honorees this year as well. Thanks to their work on the Super Bowl LVIII halftime show, Jay-Z and Usher, among others, are nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Live). (Last year, Jay-Z ended up winning that same award for his co-direction of Rihanna’s Super Bowl performance.) Atticus Ross and fellow composers Leopold Ross and Nick Chuba are also nominated for both Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score) and Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music for their joint work on Shōgun. Plus, Selena Gomez got a nod for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series thanks to Only Murders in the Building.
Notably, The Bear set a new record for most Comedy nominations in a single year with 23 nods, beating the previous record held by 30 Rock in 2009 with 22 nominations. One of those nominations goes to Lionel “L-Boy” Boyce for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Boyce was formerly a hypeman in Odd Future and actor on Loiter Squad, the rap group’s Adult Swim sketch comedy show.
“Television delivers stories that connect us, uplift us, challenge us, and always entertain us. Today, I am honored to celebrate the outstanding work of our extraordinarily talented and hardworking creative community,” said Television Academy chair Cris Abrego in a press release. “This morning’s Emmy nominations are a testament to their contributions and highlight the incredible programming that has risen to the top of an exceptional year in TV.”
If it feels like the 2023 Emmy Awards just happened, know that you’re not dreaming. The actors’ and writers’ strikes of last summer postponed the awards show from its original date of September 18, 2023 on to January 15 of this year. Noteworthy music winners included “Weird Al” Yankovic, The White Lotus, and Elton John achieving EGOT status thanks to his Disney+ show Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium winning Outstanding Variety Special.