Nominations for the 72nd Emmy Awards were announced this morning, and several book adaptations are contenders in the major categories. Here are the highlights:
The BBC America show Killing Eve, which is based on a series of spy thrillers by Luke Jennings, will compete for Outstanding Drama Series. It also received two nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Jodie Comer, who plays Russian assassin Villanelle, and Sandra Oh, who plays Eve Polastri, a British Intelligence operative. Both actors were nominated in this category last year for the same roles, and Comer won. Fiona Shaw, who portrays Eve’s handler Carolyn Martens, is up for Outstanding Supporting Actress; she was up for the same award last year, but lost to Julia Garner of the Netflix show Ozark.
The acclaimed HBO miniseries Watchmen, based on the 1980s comics by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, received numerous nominations, including Outstanding Limited Series and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for Regina King as Sister Night. Jeremy Irons, as the complicated antagonist Adrian Veidt, got a Lead Actor nod, as did Louis Gossett Jr., Jovan Adepo, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II for Supporting Actor. Jean Smart will be vying for the Emmy for Supporting Actress, as well.
The Handmaid’s Tale, the ongoing Hulu series based on Margaret Atwood’s 1985 dystopian novel, received a nod for Outstanding Drama Series; it previously won the award in 2017. It also garnered nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor (Bradley Whitford) and Outstanding Supporting Actress (Samira Wiley).
Little Fires Everywhere, a Hulu miniseries based on Celeste Ng’s Kirkus-starred 2017 bestseller, was nominated for Outstanding Limited Series, and for Kerry Washington’s Lead Actress role as Mia Warren. The Netflix show Unorthodox is in the running for Outstanding Limited Series, as well, and its star, Shira Haas, got a Lead Actress nod; it’s based on the 2012 nonfiction book Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots by Deborah Feldman.
Laura Dern and Meryl Streep will go head-to-head for the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series; both were nominated for their work in the HBO series Big Little Lies, based on the Kirkus-starred 2014 bestseller by Liane Moriarty.
Octavia Spencer is up for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for her role in Netflix’s Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker, based on the 2001 biography On Her Own Ground by Walker’s great-great-granddaughter A’Lelia Bundles. And Paul Mescal was nominated for an Emmy in the category of Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his work in the Hulu drama Normal People, based on Sally Rooney’s Kirkus-starred 2019 novel.
The Emmy Awards ceremony is scheduled to be held on Sept. 20. Here’s the complete video of today’s nomination announcement:
David Rapp is the senior Indie editor.