'Shogun' Leads Emmy Nominations With 25, 'The Bear' Sets Comedy Series Record With 23

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “The Bear” left in a rush on Wednesday morning Emmy Nominations with a record 23 comedy series, and “Shogun” led all nominees with 25 in a dominant year in all categories for FX.

Nominations for “The Bear,” now in its second season in which its ragtag band of sandwich makers attempt to create an elite restaurant, included best comedy series and best actor in a comedy series for Jeremy Allen White – both of which he won Ceremony delayed by January strike — as well as best actress for Ayo Edebiriwho won the Best Supporting Actress award last time.

The film was also boosted by numerous guest acting nominations, including Jamie Lee Curtis and Olivia Colman, two of the many Oscar winners who landed nominations.

“Shogun” took full advantage of the absence of last year’s top three nominees — “Succession,” “The White Lotus” and “The Last of Us” — to dominate the drama category and give FX, with 93 total nominations, the kind of strong year often reserved for HBO, which even in this “off” year received 91.

It is nominations included Best Drama Series, Best Actress in a Drama Series for Anna Sawai and Best Actor for Hiroyuki Sanada.

The series shook up the drama race when its creators said in May that, despite having reached the end of the story of James Clavell’s novel about political machinations in early 17th-century Japan, they would consider making more than one season, moving the critics’ darling from the limited series category to the more prestigious drama series category.

“True Detective: Nightmare Before Christmas” was a bright spot for HBO, which lost “Succession” to retirement and is between seasons of “The White Lotus” and “The Last of Us.”

The series, a semi-spinoff of the “True Detective” franchise, leads all limited or anthology series nominations with 19, including a best actress nomination for Jodie Foster for playing a police chief investigating mysterious deaths in the darkness of a northern Alaskan winter.

Kali Reis, who plays Foster’s investigative partner and rival on the series and is nominated for best supporting actress in a limited series, joins Lily Gladstonein the same category as “Under the Bridge,” as the first Indigenous woman to earn Emmy nominations for acting. D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai of “Reservation Dogs” becomes the first Indigenous actor to be recognized for his leading role with his nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy.

The only indigenous person to have been appointed to this position previously, according to Varietywas August Schellenberg, who received an Emmy nomination in 2007 for his portrayal of Sitting Bull in the HBO TV movie “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.”

“True Detective” is expected to vie for the Emmy for best limited series with “Fargo,” which received 15 nominations and gives FX a chance at a triple crown if its favorites win in drama and comedy series.

Netflix also has two contenders in this category. “Baby Reindeer” has become a minor cultural phenomenon and a new star in recent months. It earned 11 nominations, including best actor for star and creator Richard Gadd. “Ripley,” a black-and-white adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” earned 13 nominations, including acting nods for Andrew Scott and Dakota Fanning. Those series, along with dozens of awards in the special art and comedy categories, gave Netflix the lead among all media with 107 nominations.

Foster is one of several other Oscar winners to receive Emmy nominations, along with multiple Oscar winner Meryl Streep, who is up for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy for Only Murders in the Building; Robert Downey Jr., the reigning winner of Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series for playing multiple characters in The Sympathizer; and Gary Oldman, who is up for Best Actor in a Drama Series for Slow Horses.

“Only Murders,” a longtime Emmy nominee for Hulu, outdid itself this year with 21 nominations, behind only “Shogun” and “The Bear.” Lead actors Steve Martin and Martin Short were nominated for best actor, and, in her first Emmy nomination as a performer, Selena Gomez was nominated for best actress.

Former Emmy favorites are also back. Jon Hamm, who has won one Emmy out of 16 previous nominations, most for “Mad Men,” earned two nominations, one for actor in a limited or anthology series for “Fargo” and another for supporting actor in a drama series for “The Morning Show.” His “Morning Show” co-star Jennifer Aniston is widely considered the favorite to win the Emmy for best drama actress, in addition to the comedy actress trophy she won for “Friends.”

And four-time Emmy winner Tony Shalhoub has a shot at his fifth for reprising his role as Adrian Monk in “Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie.”

Former Saturday Night Live and Bridesmaids co-stars Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph both scored nominations for best actress in a comedy for Apple TV+ series about wealthy women: Wiig for Palm Royale and Rudolph for Loot. They were also nominated for their return as SNL hosts.

Returning to its traditional schedule, the show will take place on September 15 at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles and will air on ABC.

This image released by Netflix shows Elizabeth Debicki as Diana, Princess of Wales, in a scene from “The Crown.” (Keith Bernstein/Netflix via AP)

This image released by FX shows Eita Okuno as Saeki Nobutatsu, from left, Anna Sawai as Toda Mariko, Hiromoto Ida as Kiyama Ukon Sadanaga in a scene from “Shogun.” (Katie Yu/FX via AP)

Many series still airing are ineligible this year, from June 2023 to May 2024, whether due to the vagaries of streaming and elite cable network schedules or strikes — including “House of the Dragon,” “Bridgerton,” “Yellowjackets” and “Severance.”

And, like last year, “The Bear” got a whole new season after the one it was nominated for on Hulu, FX’s streaming partner that has been a major driver of viewers and voters for its shows.

“The Crown” with 19 nominations and “Hacks” with 16 each make a triumphant return to the Emmy Awards after their years of absence. Each of them had a particularly acclaimed season.

Elizabeth Debicki is considered the closest person to winning the award for best supporting actress in a drama series for playing Princess Diana in the final days before her death in the sixth and final season of “The Crown.”

And Jean Smart will compete with Edebiri for best actress in a comedy for the third season of “Hacks,” in which her actress Deborah Vance tries to land a late-night talk show.

Quinta Brunson was also nominated in that category. The ABC series “Abbott Elementary,” which she also created, remains a powerhouse for diversity with another slate of black actors nominated for Emmys, including Janelle James, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Tyler James Williams. And it remains the only bright spot in the major categories for traditional broadcast network shows.

Ralph and fellow Emmy winner Tony Hale announced the nominations Wednesday morning.