Lies and Feuds: An Emmy Nomination Reading and Viewing List
Daenerys Targaryen finally returns to Westeros on Sunday, but Season Seven's late premiere date means that Game of Thrones missed the deadline for this year's Emmy Awards. The silver lining is that the fantasy drama, having set a record last year for the most Emmys won by a series, can take a break from its award show domination and allow other shows a chance at the gold. The Television Academy announced nominations for the 69th Emmy Awards yesterday, and many buzzy freshman shows made the list.
Big Little Lies was nominated in 16 categories, including Outstanding Limited Series. Canadian Jean-Marc Vallée, who helmed all the episodes, received a nomination for his directing. The show is based on Liane Moriarty's bestselling novel.
Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon both picked up nominations in the Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Television Movie category for their work in Big Little Lies. They'll be facing off with Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon, who both scored nominations for their respective portrayals of screen legends Joan Crawford and Bette Davis in the anthology series Feud. Read up on the rivalry behind the scenes of the 1962 film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? in this book by Shaun Considine.
You may also be interested in checking out the thriller, both the original novel by Henry Farrell and its movie adaptation.
The Crown, in contention for Outstanding Drama Series, dramatizes the private and public lives of the British royal family. Lead actress Claire Foy received her first Emmy nomination for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II, while John Lithgow got his twelfth for playing Winston Churchill! The show can be viewed as a companion piece to showrunner Peter Morgan's previous work. He wrote the stage play The Audience and the Oscar-nominated screenplay for The Queen.
As predicted by many industry watchers, The Handmaid's Tale, an adaptation of the dystopian novel by Canadian national treasure Margaret Atwood, scored a nomination for Outstanding Drama Series.
- Audiobook (version one)
- Audiobook (version two)
- eBook
- Talking Book
In the absence of Game of Thrones, Westworld represented HBO well, landing a total of 22 nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series and all corresponding acting categories. The show is based on the 1973 film written and directed by Michael Crichton.
Genius is in the running for Outstanding Limited Series and nine other awards. The National Geographic drama starring Geoffrey Rush as Albert Einstein is based on Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson.
Ann Dowd picked up double nominations for her roles in The Handmaid's Tale and The Leftovers, but the latter show was otherwise left out. Based on the novel by Tom Perrotta, its third and final season ended in June.
Season One
Season Two
Another snub was evident when The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, based on the book by Rebecca Skloot, only received a nomination in the Outstanding Television Movie category, and not for star Oprah Winfrey.
The full list of nominees can be found on the Television Academy's website. Winners won't be announced until September 17, so you can catch up with your to-read and to-watch lists. So many books and shows, so little time...
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