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Netflix will once again have a big presence at the Emmys. It's been nominated for a wide array of awards this year, including outstanding drama series for House of Cards and outstanding comedy series for Orange is the New Black. House of Cards' leads Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright have been nominated for outstanding lead actor and actress in a drama series as well. Ricky Gervais has been nominated in the lead comedy actor category for Derek, and Taylor Schilling has been nominated in the lead comedy actress category for Orange is the New Black.
'Game of Thrones,' 'True Detective,' and 'Silicon Valley' are among the competition
A win by Netflix in these categories is far from a sure thing, however: it's up against some impressive competition. For outstanding drama series, the other nominees include Breaking Bad, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, Mad Men, and True Detective. In the comedy series, Orange is the New Black will be facing off against Louie, Modern Family, Silicon Valley, The Big Bang Theory, and Veep.
Orange is the New Black's success also brought about another Emmy first: the nomination of an openly transgender actress. Laverne Cox was nominated for outstanding guest actress in a comedy series for her recurring role on Netflix's hit show (she's actually up against two other OITNB cast members). According to GLAAD, Cox's nomination marks the first time that an openly transgender person has been recognized in any Emmy acting category.
Altogether, Netflix is seeing over 30 nominations, including more than 10 each for House of Cards and Orange is the New Black. They're impressive figures, but traditional television and subscription networks are still the clear leaders here. Circa counts shows including Game of Thrones, Fargo, American Horror Story, and Breaking Bad as leading the field in nominations. The nomination list also tells another story: with True Detective, Fargo, and American Horror Story all doing well, it's starting to look like networks' experiments with short anthology series are paying off.
Netflix became the first company to both be nominated and win an Emmy for an online-only show last year. It had received nine nominations for House of Cards and three for Arrested Development. It ultimately ended up winning three awards for House of Cards, with David Fincher receiving best drama series director for the series' first episode, and the series grabbing casting and cinematography awards as well. Earlier this year, Netflix brought home its first Oscar as well, having purchased the winning short documentary about a week before it took the category's award.
Jerry Seinfeld's web show is nominated too
It's been a big couple years for online shows. Companies like Netflix are putting in the money necessary to get good results, and viewers have noticed. That online shows are now taking home and regularly seeing praise at awards shows is a big step forward — the web has become a legitimate place for a television show to live. Notably, none of Netflix's top online competitors show up here though: there isn't a single mention of Hulu or Amazon.
But there are a few other web shows that make appearances, albeit small ones. Jerry Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee is up for outstanding short-format nonfiction program, and Zach Galifianakis' Between Two Ferns episode with President Obama has taken a nomination as well.
The Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony will be held on August 25th.
