WandaVision & More Geeky Content Make a Huge Splash During the 2021 Emmy Award Nominations!

The 2021 Emmy Award nominations have been revealed. Geek culture got to make a huge splash with Disney+ content leading the pack. Whether these geek-centric shows win or not, I’m definitely looking forward to all the fanfare when the award ceremony occurs on September 19, 2021.

According to the list of nominations, The Mandalorian tied with The Crown with 24 nominations each. I mean, which one of us could have ever predicted such a tie?

WandaVision came in with 23 nominations. Falcon and the Winter Soldier also got a handful of nominations for Editing and Visual Effects. Lovecraft Country got 18 Emmy noms, including acting nods.

Of course, I won’t be able to talk about every award category. So, below you can see some of the highlights from the 2021 Emmy Award nominations as well as my opinions about who I think will win.

You can read the full list of nominations on Variety.

Drama Series 

• “The Boys” (Amazon Prime Video)
• “Bridgerton” (Netflix)
• “The Crown” (Netflix)
• “The Handmaid’s Tale” (Hulu)
• “Lovecraft Country” (HBO)
• “The Mandalorian” (Disney Plus)
• “Pose” (FX)
• “This Is Us” (NBC)

My opinion: I do think eight titles are a bit too much. But having said that, I’m glad geek-centric shows got recognized. I highly doubt The Boys or The Mandalorian will win, though. Personally, I would love for Pose to win, especially considering what it did for queer and trans representation in media. Do make sure to read my review of the third and final season of Pose. Lovecraft Country is another show I would like to see win (after it got canceled after just one season!).

Having said that, I wouldn’t be surprised if The Crown or This Is Us end up winning. As for Bridgerton, I had issues with it. 

Comedy Series

• “Black-ish” (ABC)
• “Cobra Kai” (Netflix)
• “Emily in Paris” (Netflix)
• “Hacks” (HBO Max)
• “The Flight Attendant” (HBO Max)
• “The Kominsky Method” (Netflix)
• “Pen15” (Hulu)
• “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV Plus)

My opinion: I think it will be between Hacks and Ted Lasso. Also, it’s kind of weird that the first season of Ted Lasso didn’t have any clear queer representation. One would think a show about athletes would consider talking about LGBTQ+ issues in sports. Maybe this will change during the second season? Time will tell.

Limited Series

• “I May Destroy You” (HBO)
• “Mare of Easttown” (HBO)
• “The Queen’s Gambit” (Netflix)
• “The Underground Railroad” (Amazon Prime Video)
• “WandaVision” (Disney Plus)

My opinion: Look at WandaVision getting a nomination against such strong competitors. When the show debuted, I did read certain critics state how Hollywood will likely recognize WandaVision because the narrative celebrated the history of the silver screen and Hollywood loves stories about itself.

Now, I don’t think WandaVision will actually win in this category. I would give the win to Mare of Easttown. Though I would love to see I May Destroy You take the Emmy!

Lead Actor in a Drama Series

• Sterling K. Brown (“This Is Us”)
• Jonathan Majors (“Lovecraft Country”)
• Josh O’Connor (“The Crown”)
• Regé-Jean Page (“Bridgerton”)
• Billy Porter (“Pose”)
• Matthew Rhys (“Perry Mason”)

My opinion: I’ll be okay with either Billy Porter or Josh O’Connor winning.

Lead Actress in a Drama Series

• Uzo Aduba (“In Treatment”)
• Olivia Colman (“The Crown”)
• Emma Corrin (“The Crown”)
• Elisabeth Moss (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
• Mj Rodriguez (“Pose”)
• Jurnee Smollett (“Lovecraft Country”)

My opinion: Mj Rodriguez made history as the first-ever openly transgender performer to be nominated in a major acting category. For those wondering, Laverne Cox received nominations in the Guest Actress in a Comedy Series as well as Guest Actress in a Drama Series categories for her work in Orange Is the New Black.

I would love for Rodriguez to win. Smollett is another person I would like to see win. But, then again, I won’t be surprised if the voters stuck to tradition and opted for Colman or Corrin.

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

• Aidy Bryant (“Shrill”)
• Kaley Cuoco (“The Flight Attendant”)
• Allison Janney (“Mom”)
• Tracee Ellis Ross (“Black-ish”)
• Jean Smart (“Hacks”)

My opinion: I think everyone will agree Jean Smart will be awarded.

Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie

• Paul Bettany (“WandaVision”)
• Hugh Grant (“The Undoing”)
• Ewan McGregor (“Halston”)
• Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Hamilton”)
• Leslie Odom Jr. (“Hamilton”)

My opinion: I would not be surprised if McGregor’s the winner. While I found Halston to be quite boring (getting through the five episodes was a chore!), he did the role justice.

Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie

• Michaela Coel (“I May Destroy You”)
• Cynthia Erivo (“Genius: Aretha”)
• Elizabeth Olsen (“WandaVision”)
• Anya Taylor-Joy (“The Queen’s Gambit”)
• Kate Winslet (“Mare of Easttown”)

My opinion: Awesome to see Olsen getting a nomination. She handled Wanda’s emotional turmoil impressively well. However, I think Winslet’s the top contender. Fingers crossed Coel ends up being the winner, though.

Competition Program

• “The Amazing Race”
• “Nailed It!”
• “RuPaul’s Drag Race”
• “Top Chef”
• “The Voice”

My opinion: As long as it’s not The Voice, ha! Anyway, you can watch my reaction videos to the RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise over on The Geekiary’s YouTube channel.

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

• Gillian Anderson (“The Crown”)
• Helena Bonham Carter (“The Crown”)
• Madeline Brewer (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
• Ann Dowd (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
• Aunjanue Ellis (“Lovecraft Country”)
• Emerald Fennell (“The Crown”)
• Yvonne Strahovski (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
• Samira Wiley (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)

My opinion: I think everyone knows Gillian Anderson will win in this category.

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

• Carl Clemons-Hopkins (“Hacks”)
• Brett Goldstein (“Ted Lasso”)
• Brendan Hunt (“Ted Lasso”)
• Nick Mohammed (“Ted Lasso”)
• Paul Reiser (“The Kominsky Method”)
• Jeremy Swift (“Ted Lasso”)
• Kenan Thompson (“Saturday Night Live”)
• Bowen Yang (“Saturday Night Live”)

My opinion: I have my fingers crossed for Bowen Yang! Just look at this masterpiece!

Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie

• Renée Elise Goldsberry (“Hamilton”)
• Kathryn Hahn (“WandaVision”)
• Moses Ingram (“The Queen’s Gambit”)
• Julianne Nicholson (“Mare Of Easttown”)
• Jean Smart (“Mare Of Easttown”)
• Phillipa Soo (“Hamilton”)

My opinion: Give it to Kathryn Hahn and play “Agatha All Along” as she gets ready to accept the award.

Guest Actor in a Drama Series

• Don Cheadle (“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”)
• Charles Dance (“The Crown”)
• Timothy Olyphant (“The Mandalorian”)
• Courtney B. Vance (“Lovecraft Country”)
• Carl Weathers (“The Mandalorian”)

My opinion: I would love to have Don Cheadle’s acting skills so I too can appear in a series for a couple of minutes and get nominated. I’ll be glad if he wins. Timothy Olyphant is another good choice.

Host For a Reality or Competition Program

• Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski, Jonathan Van Ness (“Queer Eye”)
• Nicole Byer (“Nailed It!”)
• Barbara Corcoran, Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John, Kevin O’Leary (“Shark Tank”)
• Tom Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi, Gail Simmons (“Top Chef”)
• RuPaul (“RuPaul’s Drag Race”)

My opinion: I wouldn’t be surprised if RuPaul wins this one.

Animated Program

• “Big Mouth” (Netflix)
• “Bob’s Burgers” (Fox)
• “Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal” (Adult Swim)
• “The Simpsons” (Fox)
• “South Park: The Pandemic Special” (Comedy Central)

My opinion: I love seeing Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal getting recognized. Make sure to read my review of the first season.

–

What did you think of the 2021 Emmy Award nominations? It’s amazing to see the geek-centric content that we love to watch and talk about getting recognized in major award categories. I can’t wait to read all of the tweets during September’s ceremony.

Feel free to tell us your winners!

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

Twitter

Help support independent journalism. Subscribe to our Patreon.

Copyright © The Geekiary