Grownups Rule Emmy Nominations This Year
See who’s on the short list for TV’s biggest awards (including a former president!) with our critic’s guide
Greg Lewis/AMC/Sony Pictures Television; Macall B. Polay/HBO; Gene Page/Hulu
(Left to right) Rhea Seehorn in "Better Call Saul," Brian Cox in "Succession" and Michael Keaton in "Dopesick."
It’s a great year for grownups on TV, and this week’s Emmy nominations are proof. First, everybody’s favorite unsung genius (and brand-new AARP qualifier), Better Call Saul’s Rhea Seehorn, 50, earned her first nomination (plus a second nom for her YouTube show, Cooper’s Bar). In other cheering news, performers over 50 earned 65 nominations in the 2022 Emmy Awards race. They’ll learn whether they’ve snagged a coveted golden statuette when the winners are announced on Monday, Sept. 12, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
Grownups dominated the categories of guest actress for both comedy and drama (our own favorites: Jane Lynch in Only Murders in the Building and Harriet Walter in Succession); limited series supporting actor (critic’s fave: The White Lotus’ Murray Bartlett); reality host; short form series; voice-over performance (critic’s fave: Bridgerton’s Julie Andrews); and narrator (we can’t decide between The Mating Game’s David Attenborough, Black Patriots: Heroes of the Civil War’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Our Great National Parks’ Barack Obama — his first Emmy nomination!).
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Grownups grabbed half the nominations for lead drama actor and supporting drama actor, and did respectably well in multiple other categories.
Which means now’s the time to catch up on the best shows and performers, according to the people who create TV. You could try the 10 most-nominated shows — all of which star actors over 50: Succession, Ted Lasso, The White Lotus, Hacks, Only Murders in the Building, Euphoria, Barry, Dopesick, Severance and Squid Game.
But you really should watch every one of the shows boasting today’s triumphant grownup talents.
Here are the leading nominees for the 2022 Emmy Awards.
Outstanding Drama Series
- Better Call Saul
- Euphoria
- Ozark
- Severance
- Squid Game
- Stranger Things
- Succession
- Yellowjackets
Outstanding Comedy Series
- Abbott Elementary
- Barry
- Curb Your Enthusiasm
- Hacks
- The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
- Only Murders in the Building
- Ted Lasso
- What We Do in the Shadows
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
- Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
- Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary
- Kaley Cuoco, The Flight Attendant
- Elle Fanning, The Great
- Issa Rae, Insecure
- Jean Smart, 70, Hacks
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
- Donald Glover, Atlanta
- Bill Hader, Barry
- Nicholas Hoult, The Great
- Steve Martin, 76, Only Murders in the Building
- Martin Short, 72, Only Murders in the Building
- Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso
Outstanding Competition Program
- The Amazing Race
- Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls
- Nailed It!
- RuPaul’s Drag Race
- Top Chef
- The Voice
Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series
- Dopesick
- The Dropout
- Inventing Anna
- Pam & Tommy
- The White Lotus
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or a Movie
- Colin Firth, 61, The Staircase
- Andrew Garfield, Under the Banner of Heaven
- Oscar Isaac, Scenes From a Marriage
- Michael Keaton, 70, Dopesick
- Himesh Patel, Station Eleven
- Sebastian Stan, Pam & Tommy
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or a Movie
- Toni Collette, The Staircase
- Julia Garner, Inventing Anna
- Lily James, Pam & Tommy
- Sarah Paulson, American Crime Story: Impeachment
- Margaret Qualley, Maid
- Amanda Seyfried, The Dropout
Lead Actress in a Drama Series
- Jodie Comer, Killing Eve
- Laura Linney, 58, Ozark
- Melanie Lynsey, Yellowjackets
- Sandra Oh, 50, Killing Eve
- Reese Witherspoon, The Morning Show
- Zendaya, Euphoria
Lead Actor in a Drama Series
- Jason Bateman, 53, Ozark
- Brian Cox, 76, Succession
- Lee Jung-jae, Squid Game
- Bob Odenkirk, 59, Better Call Saul
- Adam Scott, Severance
- Jeremy Strong, Succession
Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
- Patricia Arquette, 54, Severance
- Julia Garner, Ozark
- Jung Ho-yeon, Squid Game
- Christina Ricci, Yellowjackets
- Rhea Seehorn, 50, Better Call Saul
- J. Smith-Cameron, 64, Succession
- Sarah Snook, Succession
- Sydney Sweeney, Euphoria
Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
- Nicholas Braun, Succession
- Billy Crudup, 54, The Morning Show
- Kieran Culkin, Succession
- Park Hae-soo, Squid Game
- Matthew Macfadyen, Succession
- John Turturro, 65, Severance
- Christopher Walken, 79, Severance
- Oh Yeong-su, 77, Squid Game
Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
- Alex Borstein, 51, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
- Hannah Einbinder, Hacks
- Janelle James, Abbott Elementary
- Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
- Sarah Niles, Ted Lasso
- Sheryl Lee Ralph, 65, Abbott Elementary
- Juno Temple, Ted Lasso
- Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso
Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
- Anthony Carrigan, Barry
- Brett Goldstein, Ted Lasso
- Toheeb Jimoh, Ted Lasso
- Nick Mohammed, Ted Lasso
- Tony Shalhoub, 68, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
- Tyler James Williams, Abbott Elementary
- Henry Winkler, 76, Barry
- Bowen Yang, Saturday Night Live
Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series
- Connie Britton, 55, The White Lotus
- Jennifer Coolidge, 60, The White Lotus
- Alexandra Daddario, The White Lotus
- Kaitlyn Dever, Dopesick
- Natasha Rothwell, The White Lotus
- Sydney Sweeney, The White Lotus
- Mare Winningham, 63, Dopesick
Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series
- Murray Bartlett, 51, The White Lotus
- Jake Lacy, The White Lotus
- Will Poulter, Dopesick
- Seth Rogen, Pam & Tommy
- Peter Sarsgaard, 51, Dopesick
- Michael Stuhlbarg, 54, Dopesick
- Steve Zahn, 54, The White Lotus
Outstanding Variety Talk Series
- The Daily Show With Trevor Noah
- Jimmy Kimmel Live!
- Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
- Late Night With Seth Meyers
- The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
Guest Actress in a Drama Series
- Hope Davis, 58, Succession
- Marcia Gay Harden, 62, The Morning Show
- Martha Kelly, 54, Euphoria
- Sanaa Lathan, 50, Succession
- Harriet Walter, 71, Succession
- Lee You-mi, Squid Game
Guest Actor in a Drama Series
- Adrien Brody, Succession
- James Cromwell, 82, Succession
- Colman Domingo, 52, Euphoria
- Arian Moayed, Succession
- Tom Pelphrey, Ozark
- Alexander Skarsgård, Succession
Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
- Jane Adams, 57, Hacks
- Harriet Sansom Harris, 67, Hacks
- Jane Lynch, 61, Only Murders in the Building
- Laurie Metcalf, 67, Hacks
- Kaitlin Olson, Hacks
- Harriet Walter, 71, Ted Lasso
Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
- Jerrod Carmichael, Saturday Night Live
- Bill Hader, Curb Your Enthusiasm
- James Lance, Ted Lasso
- Nathan Lane, 66, Only Murders in the Building
- Christopher McDonald, 67, Hacks
- Sam Richardson, Ted Lasso
Variety Sketch Series
- A Black Lady Sketch Show
- Saturday Night Live
Variety Special (Pre-Recorded)
- Adele: One Night Only
- Dave Chappelle: The Closer
- Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts
- Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special
- One Last Time: An Evening With Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga
Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special
- My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman
- The Problem With Jon Stewart
- Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy
- VICE
- The World According to Jeff Goldblum
Host for a Reality or Competition Program
- Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski, Jonathan Van Ness, Queer Eye
- Amy Poehler, 50, and Nick Offerman, 52, Making It
- Nicole Byer, Nailed It!
- Barbara Corcoran, 73, Mark Cuban, 63, Lori Greiner, 52, Robert Herjavec, 59, Daymond John, 53, Kevin O’Leary, 68, Shark Tank
- Padma Lakshmi, 51, Top Chef
- RuPaul, 61, RuPaul’s Drag Race
Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series
- Anacostia • YouTube • Anthony A. Anderson, 51, as Sean Williams-Grey
- Immoral Compass • The Roku Channel • Bill Burr, 54, as Rick
- State of the Union • SundanceTV • Brendan Gleeson, 67, as Scott.
- I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson • Netflix • Tim Robinson as various characters
- Words With Ike (Cake) • FX • Ikechukwu Ufomadu as Ikechukwu Ufomadu
Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series
- Intersection • YouTube • Jacinte Blankenship as Jenaya
- State of the Union • SundanceTV • Patricia Clarkson, 62, as Ellen
- Desi Lydic Foxsplains • YouTube • Desi Lydic as Desi Lydic
- Cooper’s Bar • YouTube • Rhea Seehorn, 50, as Kris Latimer
- Bridesman • YouTube • Sydnee Washington as Judith
Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance
- Moon Knight • Disney+ • F. Murray Abraham, 82, as Khonshu
- Bridgerton • Netflix • Julie Andrews, 86, as Lady Whistledown
- What If…? • Disney+ • Chadwick Boseman as Star Lord T’Challa
- Big Mouth • Netflix • Maya Rudolph as Connie the Hormone Monstress
- Central Park • Apple TV+ • Stanley Tucci, 61, as Bitsy
- Archer • FX • The late Jessica Walter as Malory Archer
- What If…? • Disney+ • Jeffrey Wright, 56, as the Watcher
Outstanding Narrator
- Black Patriots: Heroes of the Civil War • History • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 75, Narrator
- The Mating Game • Discovery+ • David Attenborough, 96, Narrator
- We Need to Talk About Cosby • Showtime • W. Kamau Bell, Narrator
- Serengeti II • Discovery+ • Lupita Nyong’o, Narrator
- Our Great National Parks • Netflix • Barack Obama, 60, Narrator
Tim Appelo covers entertainment and is the film and TV critic for AARP. Previously, he was the entertainment editor at Amazon, video critic at Entertainment Weekly, and a critic and writer for The Hollywood Reporter, People, MTV, The Village Voice and LA Weekly.
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