Inside Streaming's Long March to Become TV Awards' King

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Inside Streaming’s Emmy Dominance: Netflix Has More Noms Than the 4 Broadcast Networks Combined

by Tim Baysinger | July 29, 2020 @ 6:00 AM

Overall, streaming accounted for 42% of all this year’s nominations

Netflix clobbered HBO in the battle over Emmy nominations on Tuesday, putting an emphatic period on the streaming industry’s long march to the top of the TV ecosystem.

Netflix did more than just obliterate the previous record for nominations in a single year with 160; if the gulf between Netflix and HBO, the second most-nominated network with 107, were its own network, it would be ranked ahead of third-place NBC (53 to 47). And for the first time, Netflix had more nominations than the Big 4 broadcast networks combined.

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Overall, streaming accounted for 42% of all nominations, by far its highest amount, up from 32% a year ago and 28% in 2018. Along with Netflix, Amazon and Hulu have added life to streaming’s rise atop the Emmy mountain. And as has been written in this space many times, that streaming industry is only going to grow.

Also Read: Female Directors Land Record 33% of Emmy Nominations This Year

Even this year, Emmy voters had three new streaming services to choose from for nominations, with two more, Peacock and HBO Max, that will contend for awards next year. Disney+, Apple TV+ and Quibi — all of which launched within the past nine months — combined for 47 nominations. That appeared to leave Emmy stalwarts like Showtime and AMC on the outside looking in (AMC’s lone major nod was for “Better Call Saul” as Outstanding Drama Series).

The Disney-owned streaming service was led by the “Star Wars” spinoff “The Mandalorian,” which bagged 15 nods, including a surprising one for Outstanding Drama Series. Apple TV+ was rewarded for its star power with “The Morning Show,” which grabbed eight overall, including lead acting nods for Steve Carell and Jennifer Aniston.

Even the much-maligned Quibi managed to score 10 nominations, all in the short-form categories.

Streaming got off to an inauspicious start when Netflix first turned heads by getting into original programming with “House of Cards,” “Orange Is the New Black” and the revival of “Arrested Development” back in 2013. That combination of new content was enough to get Netflix 14 nominations, though only a pair of wins.

Amazon Prime joined the party two years later when “Transparent” not only landed 11 nominations, but won five awards, including a Best Actor win for Jeffrey Tambor. Hulu would make its Emmy arrival with “The Handmaid’s Tale” in 2017, which won eight awards, including for star Elisabeth Moss and Outstanding Drama Series — becoming the first streaming show to take the Emmy’s final award of the night.

Below is a breakdown of how streaming has overtaken the Emmys, starting with Netflix’s first eligible year:

emmy streaming chart

Emmy Nominations 2020: Snubs and Surprises, From Bob Odenkirk to Baby Yoda (Photos)

Between Elisabeth Moss and Bob Odenkirk getting pushed out of their respective categories and an unexpected nomination for "What We Do in the Shadows," Tuesday's Emmy nominations announcement came with more than its share of surprises.
Surprise: "What We Do in the Shadows" FX's series adaptation of the vampire mockumetary from Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi only secured two below the line nominations for its first season, but it's second outing scored big with eight nominations, including an Outstanding Comedy Series nod.
FX
Surprise: "The Mandalorian" Drama heavyweight "Game of Thrones" was out of the running this year, leaving room for a new series to sneak in among a slew of past nominees like "Better Call Saul," "The Handmaid's Tale" and "The Crown." But instead of Apple TV+'s "The Morning Show," voters went with a different new streaming service, nominated Disney+'s "The Mandalorian."
Disney+
Snub: Bob Odenkirk, "Better Call Saul" Odenkirk has been a perennial nominee in the lead actor category since 2015, but this year the "Better Call Saul" star was overlooked in favor of a pair of actors from "Succession" and "The Morning Show" star Steve Carell.
AMC
Snub: Elisabeth Moss, "The Handmaid's Tale" Moss won the award for lead actress in a drama series in 2017 and has been nominated numerous times in the past, but, like "This Is Us" star Mandy Moore and "How to Get Away With Murder's" Viola Davis, failed to make the cut for the most recent season of "Handmaid's Tale."
Hulu
Surprise: Zendaya, "Euphoria" In a category comprised mostly of returning players, dark horse candidate Zendaya managed to sneak a lead actress nod for her role on the HBO drama "Euphoria," slipping in alongside fellow category newcomer Jennifer Aniston of "The Morning Show."
HBO
Snub: "Big Little Lies" HBO's Liane Moriarty adaptation was the belle of awards season in 2017, all but sweeping the limited series categories with its roster of big-name stars including Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon. But Season 2's move to the drama series category hurt the show, leaving "Big Little Lies" with only two nominations for supporting stars Laura Dern and Meryl Streep.
HBO
Surprise: "The Masked Singer" Fox's absurdist singing competition finally became too big for Emmy voters to ignore in Season 2, shaking up the Oustanding Competition Program category with 10-time winner "The Amazing Race" ineligible this year.
Fox
Snub: "Westworld" Turns out "Westworld" wasn't the "Game of Thrones" successor HBO hoped iy would be, earning only two acting nods for its third season, for supporting actors Thandie Newton and Jeffrey Wright, and missing out on the marquee drama series category entirely.
HBO
Snub: Kaitlyn Dever, Merritt Wever, "Unbelievable" For much of the voting period, the two stars of Netflix's harrowing "Unbelievable" seemed like locks for lead actress in a limited series nominations, but neither made the cut in a crowded category, not even TV Academy darling Merritt Wever, who has twice before pulled out a surprise upset on Emmy night.
Netflix

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“Better Call Saul” and “The Handmaid’s Tale” leads miss out, while “What We Do in the Shadows” sneaks in

Between Elisabeth Moss and Bob Odenkirk getting pushed out of their respective categories and an unexpected nomination for "What We Do in the Shadows," Tuesday's Emmy nominations announcement came with more than its share of surprises.

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