Photograph by Mark Hill/HBO
Watchmen, HBO’s incredibly timely hit mini-series, deserves a lot of Emmys. Now, it officially has a chance to take home a bucket of them.
With 26 total nominations, the sci-fi series leads the pack of nominees for the 72nd Annual Emmy Awards, which were announced this morning. Along with its nomination for Outstanding Limited Series, star Regina King earned a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie. Jeremy Irons also earned a nod for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jovan Adepo, Louis Gossett Jr., and Jean Smart all earned nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor/Actress in a Limited Series.
Watchmen, which aired on HBO last fall, was filmed in Atlanta, perhaps most prominently in the Decatur Square, where the plaza’s blue lamps take on an appropriately sci-fi role. The mini-series is set in the same universe of Alan Moore’s graphic novel of the same name, but has a radically different storyline. And while many of the comic’s protagonists, including Dr. Manhattan, still play important roles, the new series focuses largely on original characters, centered around Angela Abar (played by King), a Black police detective in Tulsa who investigates and fights a white supremacist group called the Seventh Kavalry. The story takes place in an alternate history version of 2019—the U.S. won the Vietnam War and Nixon never resigned, for example—but the real-life 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, when the wealthiest Black community in the U.S. was destroyed by white mobs and rioters, is a centerpiece of the story and opens the first episode.
Meanwhile, locally filmed Ozark also earned 18 nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series. Stars Jason Bateman and Laura Linney each earned a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress in a Drama Series, respectively. Fellow Atlanta-filmed Netflix series Stranger Things also picked up a nomination for Outstanding Drama Series, along with a handful of nominations in editing, music, sound, and visual effects. Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings: These Old Bones, also an Atlanta-filmed Netflix project, picked up a nomination for Outstanding Television Movie.
Streaming and premium networks continue to dominate the annual television awards. Netflix earned a total 160 nominations this year, more than any network has earned in a single year. HBO earned 107 nominations.
Here’s the full list of nominations for Watchmen, Ozark, and Stranger Things. You can see the complete Emmy nominee list here. This year’s winners will be announced during a virtual ceremony, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, on September 20 on ABC.
Watchmen
- Outstanding Limited Series
- Outstanding Lead Actress, Limited Series or Movie: Regina King as Angela Abar
- Outstanding Lead Actor, Limited Series or Movie: Jeremy Irons as Adrian Veidt
- Outstanding Supporting Actor, Limited Series or Movie (3 nominations): Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Cal Abar, Jovan Adepo as Officer Will Reeves, and Louis Gossett Jr. as William Reeves
- Outstanding Supporting Actress, Limited Series or Movie: Jean Smart as Agent Laurie Blake
- Outstanding Directing, Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special (3 nominations)
- Outstanding Writing, Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special
- Outstanding Production Design, Narrative Period or Fantasy Program
- Outstanding Cinematography, Limited Series or Movie (2 nominations)
- Outstanding Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes
- Outstanding Special Visual Effects
- Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing, Limited Series or Movie (3 nominations)
- Outstanding Main Title Design
- Outstanding Music Composition, Limited Series, Movie, or Special (Original Dramatic Score)
- Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics
- Outstanding Music Supervision
- Outstanding Sound Editing, Limited Series, Movie, or Special
- Outstanding Sound Mixing, Limited Series or Movie
- Outstanding Casting, Limited Series, Movie, or Special
Ozark
- Outstanding Drama Series
- Outstanding Lead Actor, Drama Series: Jason Bateman as Martin ‘Marty’ Byrde
- Outstanding Lead Actress, Drama Series: Laura Linney as Wendy Byrde
- Outstanding Supporting Actress, Drama Series: Julia Garner as Ruth Langmore
- Outstanding Directing, Drama Series (2 nominations)
- Outstanding Writing, Drama Series (3 nominations)
- Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing, Drama Series (2 nominations)
- Outstanding Casting, Drama Series
- Outstanding Production Design, Narrative Contemporary Program
- Outstanding Cinematography, Single-Camera Series (2 nominations)
- Outstanding Contemporary Makeup (Non-Prosthetic)
- Outstanding Music Composition, Series (Original Dramatic Score)
- Outstanding Sound Mixing, Comedy or Drama Series
Stranger Things
- Outstanding Drama Series
- Outstanding Special Visual Effects
- Outstanding Stunt Coordination, Drama Series, Limited Series, or Movie
- Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing, Drama Series
- Outstanding Music Supervision
- Outstanding Sound Editing, Comedy or Drama Series
- Outstanding Sound Mixing, Comedy or Drama Series
- Outstanding Interactive Extension of Linear Program: for Scoops Ahoy: Operation Scoop Snoop
