2024 Emmy Ballots Revealed: 33% Decrease in Top Series Submissions, Some Races to Produce Fewer Nominees Than Expected
After weeks of FYC events and relentless campaigning from studios, voting for the 2024 Primetime Emmy Awards nominations has officially begun, with Television Academy members holding ballots in hand.
Nearly 24,000 industry professionals, divided among 31 professional peer groups (including directors, producers, artisans and more), sit among the organization’s ranks, each member voting on specific categories. However, every eligible voter can cast a ballot in the top 15 series races: comedy, drama, limited or anthology, television movie, talk, variety special (live), variety special (pre-recorded), short form (comedy/drama/variety), short form (nonfiction/reality), hosted nonfiction, structured reality, unstructured reality, reality competition, scripted variety and game show.
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According to TV Academy rules, the number of nominees is determined by the number of submissions. However, drama and comedy series are designated for eight shows each to make the final cut. There were 228 total series submitted in the drama, comedy, and limited or anthology series categories, compared to 309 last year, marking a 33% decrease.
For the drama Emmy, which was awarded to the final season of HBO’s “Succession,” only one of its nominated counterparts from the lineup — Netflix’s “The Crown” — returned within the eligibility window. The final season of the royal monarchy series will face an avalanche of freshman shows, including FX’s Japanese epic “Shōgun,” Prime Video’s action-filled video game adaptation “Fallout,” and Showtime’s dark dramedy “The Curse.” There are 107 entries in the mix, compared to 163 last year, 171 in 2022 and 133 in 2021.
In comedy, the list includes FX’s reigning culinary champion “The Bear,” facing a potential rematch with returning nominees such as ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” and Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building.” After brief hiatuses, past nominees — FX’s “What We Do in the Shadows” and HBO/Max’s “Hacks” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” — are back on the ballots and vying for attention. Some fresh shows in the hunt include Netflix’s witty-crime show “The Gentlemen” and Prime Video’s “Gen V,” the superhero spinoff of “The Boys.” All are among the 72 comedies, compared to 95 in 2023, a record-breaking 118 in 2022 and 68 in 2021.
The real competitive bloodbath is in the limited or anthology category, where only 49 miniseries are angling for love. Per Emmy rules, only five shows will receive nominations, short of the required 80 submissions to recognize six. Miniseries have been where some of the buzziest TV hits have emerged in recent years and this one is no different. With acclaimed series such as Netflix’s (maybe?) true story “Baby Reindeer,” Apple’s war epic “Masters of the Air” and HBO/Max’s “The Sympathizer” among the contenders, that could leave any of the presumed frontrunners vulnerable for a shocking omission. The number of submissions is down from last year’s 51, and 61 and 37 in 2022 and 2021, respectively.
The race for outstanding television movie has 43 films in the running, such as Netflix’s “Unfrosted: The Pop Tart Story” from debut director Jerry Seinfeld, Prime Video’s “Red, White and Royal Blue” from respected Broadway stage helmer Matthew López, and Hulu’s “Quiz Lady” from Oscar-winning short filmmaker Jessica Yu. The number of movies submitted decreased from 61, 48 and 41 in the past three years.
Meanwhile, the acting races overflow with A-list talent but will deliver less-than-expected nominees in multiple races.
Lead drama actor and actress have 81 and 67 contenders on each of their ballots, compared to their matching 109 submissions last year. Due to the Emmys parity rule, this will barely deliver six nominees in each race. In 2022, both had 134 and 114 names in the running. Among the contenders this year are the two “Shōgun” leading men, Cosmo Jarvis and Hiroyuki Sanada, with Tom Hiddleston from Disney’s “Loki” and Donald Glover from “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.” Even a few longshots are throwing their hats in the ring, like John Leguizamo from The Network’s “The Green Veil,” after writing an open letter to Emmy voters via a full-page ad in the New York Times last weekend. Drama actress has star power dominating the space with candidates like Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon from Apple’s “The Morning Show,” alongside breakout performers such as Anna Sawai (“Shōgun”), Jess Hong (“3 Body Problem”) and Ella Purnell (“Fallout”).
Fifty-five lead comedy actors are seeking attention (compared to 68 and 84 the past two years). Comedic legends like Larry David (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”) and the hilarious duo Steve Martin and Martin Short (“Only Murders in the Building”) are aiming for more recognition, with last year’s winner Jeremy Allen White from “The Bear” and a former Emmy staple, Kelsey Grammer from “Frasier,” hot on their heels. The lead comedy actress race has 58 funny girls (down from last year’s 76 and 2022’s 91), including last year’s winner Quinta Brunson from “Abbott,” taking on the victor from a previous awards cycle, Jean Smart from “Hacks,” along with Ayo Edebiri from “The Bear,” who’s switched her campaign from supporting to lead for the show’s second season. Both of the lead comedy races will present five nominees.
For limited series and TV movie performers who are combined in the acting categories, the merge would typically allow a greater opportunity for more nominees. However, this year, that isn’t the case (at least in the leading races).
Big names like Andrew Scott (“Ripley”), Jon Hamm (“Fargo”) and Jeff Daniels (“A Man in Full”) are among the 70 names in the race, paired with those from TV movies such as Tony Shalhoub (“Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie”) and Nicholas Galitzine with two bids for “Red, White and Royal Blue” and the limited series “Mary & George.” The past two years saw 97 and 64. Meanwhile, an onslaught of previous Oscar winners are overflowing in the lead actress (limited/tv movie) race with 62 possibilities (vs. 96 in 2023 and 92 in 2022). Among those are Jodie Foster (“True Detective: Night Country”), Nicole Kidman (“Expats”), Brie Larson (“Lessons in Chemistry”), Kate Winslet (“The Regime”), Jessica Lange (“The Great Lillian Hall”) and Julianne Moore (“Mary & George”). With the surprising decrease in expected lead candidates, it’s become even more competitive, with five slots now available to each group.
In 2022, the TV Academy had a record in the supporting drama actor submissions with 436. After 2023’s 346 names, we find 217 names in the awards discussion, compared to supporting drama actress which has 196, compared to its 319 and 385 during the past two years. Both categories have multiple candidates from the same shows, such as “The Crown” (Khalid Abdalla, Salim Daw, Jonathan Pryce, Elizabeth Debicki, Lesley Manville, Olivia Williams) and “The Morning Show” (Billy Crudup, Mark Duplass, Jon Hamm, Greta Lee, Audra McDonald, Julianna Margulies, Holland Taylor and Karen Pittman). Let’s not forget the largest ensemble ever to garner a SAG nomination, HBO’s period drama “The Gilded Age,” which has 13 supporting players for the members to consider.
People in the industry may be complaining about whether or not “The Bear” is a comedy, but the funniest parts of the show are with the supporting men who are all on the ballots, including last year’s winner, Ebon Moss-Bachrach. He’ll face off against the 147 scene-stealers (compared to 239 and 282 the past two years), including former nominee Tyler James Williams from “Abbott,” who can hopefully be joined by his hilarious co-star Chris Perfetti, a standout in this third season. Last year, the most Black women were nominated for supporting comedy actress with four. With Edebiri moving to lead and Jessica Williams (“Shrinking”) not in this cycle, we’re hoping to see incredible performers from the 132 women shortlisted alongside sure-fire nominees Janelle James and Sheryl Lee Ralph (“Abbott”). Among those are Latina Liza Colón-Zayas (“The Bear”), an overdue first nod for Nigerian Ego Nwodim (“Saturday Night Live”), and a possible second nom for Michaela Jaé Rodriguez (“Loot”), who became the first transgender and Afro Latina nominated in lead drama actress for “Pose” in 2022.
The greatest chance for diversity and representation is in supporting limited races.
Supporting actress (limited) have an exciting 137 names hoping for major recognition, compared to the 177 from 2023. The competitive landscape includes Native Americans Kali Reis (“True Detective: Night Country”) and Lily Gladstone (“Under the Bridge”), who looks to continue her history-making year following her Oscar nod for “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Listed alongside them are breakouts from Netflix’s “Baby Reindeer” (Jessica Gunning and Nava Mau), HBO/Max’s “The Sympathizer” (13-time nominee Sandra Oh and Ky Duyen) and “Expats” (Sarayu Blue and Ruby Ruiz). Supporting actor (limited) will have 161 contenders (less than last year’s 209), such as current “it guy” Jonathan Bailey (“Fellow Travelers”), along with Lamorne Morris (“Fargo”) and two posthumous nom possibilities with the late Ron Cephas Jones (“Genius: MLK/X”) and Treat Williams (“Feud: Capote vs. the Swans”).
The guest acting races will have the likes of Ryan Gosling (“Saturday Night Live”), Bradley Cooper (“Abbott Elementary”), Kaitlin Olson (“Hacks”), Corbin Bernsen (“The Curse”), and Glenn Close (“The New Look”). Divided by genres, there are 93 and 77 in comedy actor and actress, while drama actor and actress has 53 and 54 respectively.
In case you didn’t notice, for the first time in this new modern era of the Emmys, there will be seven nominees in each supporting acting race, all leaving the potential for shocking omissions.
The two races for talk series and scripted variety will yield the most significant surprises. There are only 14 in talk series, down from 19 in 2022. That will yield only four series that include staple selections like Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert, but could be pushed out in favor of newcomers like “Everybody’s in L.A.” with John Mulaney and the massively popular YouTube series “Hot Ones” with Sean Evans, which self-submitted.
Scripted variety ballots weren’t revealed as it will be a juried category due to fewer than seven submissions. Variety has been tracking four, which has thrown the category into disarray. Per amended Emmy rules released on May 22, the TV Academy has lowered the required nomination threshold from 90% to 70%, capped the number of potential nominees at two, and invited members to join the jury. That still leaves the potential opening for the multiple-time winner “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” and/or NBC’s long-running sketch show “Saturday Night Live” to be snubbed. The vetting process requires members to list their involvement with any scripted variety series and acknowledge they will watch all videos before voting. The viewing and voting period for juries is from June 28 to July 8, after the nomination voting period for all other categories.
The documentary races have plenty to whet the appetites of voters of the peer group. Hits like Investigation Discovery’s “Quiet on the Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” and HBO/Max’s “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst” are among the 48 nonfiction series in the race, while nonfiction specials like Netflix’s “The Greatest Night in Pop” and Disney’s “Jim Henson Idea Man” are on the 45-series long list. The hosted nonfiction category has 31 talent-led series with notable names like Oprah Winfrey, Angela Bassett, David Letterman and more.
In the reality races, there’s a barrage of ratings smashes. The competition program race has 50 highly competitive shows like “The Traitors,” “Survivor” and “The Amazing Race.” In structured reality, home to shows like “Queer Eye,” “Love is Blind” and “Antiques Roadshow” has 31 series competing. Unstructured, encompassing the likes of “Vanderpump Rules,” “Welcome to Wrexham” and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” has 39 in the discussion. All will produce 5 nominees apiece.
Outstanding game show, which was moved to the primetime ceremony last year, is back with 22 submissions, which include long-standing staples like “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune,” in addition to newcomers like “Game Changer” and “The Floor.”
Variety special (live) has 26 events on the ballot, such as The Oscars and Grammys, while special (pre-recorded) has 79, with concert films from Billy Joel and Lady Gaga. The latter was one short of the 80 submission requirement to produce six nominees. As a result, both will nominate five each.
The short form (comedy, drama, or variety) race has 18 listed, which will deliver four noms, while the short form (nonfiction/reality) has 22 contenders, including the massively popular Variety’s Know Their Lines series.
Variety’s Emmy predictions pages will be updated throughout the voting period.
Nominations-round voting is open from June 13 and closes on June 24 at 10:00 p.m. PT. Voting for peer group-specific top ten round panels (if applicable) takes place between June 28 and July 8. The Emmy nominations will be announced on July 17. The Creative Arts and Governors Gala ceremonies will take place over two nights on Sept. 7-8. The 76th Primetime Emmy Awards will air on ABC on Sunday, Sept. 15.
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