Emmy 2020: The main talking points as Watchmen leads nominations and Normal People snubbed

Jennifer Aniston is up for her first dramatic Emmy – and 10 other talking points

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The Emmy nominations for 2020 have been announced, with Watchmen, Succession and The Mandalorian all scoring prime spots in this year's list of contenders.

Leslie Jones hosted the announcement on Tuesday. Laverne Cox, Josh Gad, and Orphan Black star Tatiana Maslaney joined as presenters via a virtual weblink.

This year’s ceremony was thrown into question following the coronavirus pandemic, but events went back into motion with Tuesday's broadcast.

The 2020 Emmy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will take place on 2 September.

Here are the main talking points from the 2020 Emmys nominations:

Watchmen

In a better world, Watchmen’s incredible success at this year’s Emmys wouldn’t be such a surprise. But considering the Emmys’ history with anything particularly difficult or ambitious (or even their history with sci-fi alone), the show’s stunning 26 nods feel groundbreaking. It couldn’t have happened to a more special programme. Adam White

Better Call Saul

The Breaking Bad prequel may have a nomination in the main Drama category, but that voters didn't consider its lead stars worthy of acting nods is rather hard to comprehend. Bob Odenkirk and, in particular, Rhea Seehorn turned in their best work for the show's fifth season. But, with new blood such as The Morning Show and Succession, they've been criminally pushed down the list. Jacob Stolworthy

Elisabeth Moss

The Handmaid’s Tale star is a household name at the Emmys, having scored many nominations for both the dystopian show and Mad Men. She took home the trophy for Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2017, and her continued portrayal of June in the HBO show could have resulted in another nomination this year. Alas, it wasn’t to be. Clémence Michallon

Normal People

Normal People was the most talked-about series of the early summer, but only took home one solitary nomination for its male lead, Paul Mescal. It’s a testament to his star-is-born charisma on the show, but disappointing overall considering the Sally Rooney adaptation was such a lightning rod for discussion just a few months ago. Adam White

The Mandalorian

The inclusion of the Disney+ show on the list of nominees for Outstanding Drama Series is a considerable mark of prestige for the Star Wars series, which debuted in November last year to great acclaim. It also positions Disney+ as a serious contender in future awards races, alongside the likes of Netflix, Hulu, HBO, and Amazon Studios. Clémence Michallon

Zendaya/Euphoria

While Zendaya is a major star, it still feels quietly radical that her provocative drama series Euphoria scored her a Best Drama Actress nomination. With its sex and drugs and wall-to-wall nudity, the HBO series is sort of the antithesis of everything the Emmys historically like to spotlight. Adam White

Tiger King

Netflix’s true-crime series, which became a must-watch as many viewers around the world entered coronavirus lockdown, was always a bit of a “love it or hate it” programme. Clearly, the Emmys fall in the former camp: Tiger King is up for six awards, including Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. Clémence Michallon

Reese Witherspoon

Reese Witherspoon’s absence from the nominees came as a surprise, particularly as she has become enmeshed in television over the last two years. Despite her Apple TV+ series The Morning Show scoring a Best Drama Series nomination, and her co-stars Jennifer Aniston and Steve Carell receiving their own acting nods, Witherspoon went away empty-handed. The same thing occurred with Little Fires Everywhere, the limited series Witherspoon starred in and co-produced (her co-star Kerry Washington received a well-deserved nod instead), and even the second, polarising season of Big Little Lies. That appeared to be slightly forgotten altogether, with only nods for Meryl Streep and Laura Dern in the Supporting Actress category. Considering how the show’s first season dominated the limited-series awards in 2018, it feels like a statement on its lesser quality. Adam White

What We Do in the Shadows

What We Do in the Shadows may be one of the funniest shows on TV, but with no acting nominations, it seemed unlikely to be recognised in the main Comedy category. Colour us surprised, then, to see it rear its head, and while it's unlikely to win, it's reassuring to know that voters have been glamoured by its vampire characters' antics. Jacob Stolworthy

Jennifer Aniston

Eighteen years after winning Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Friends, Aniston scores her first nomination for a dramatic Emmy thanks to her performance on The Morning Show. She’s up for Lead Actress in a Drama Series alongside Olivia Colman, Zendaya, Jodie Comer, Sandra Oh, and Laura Linney. Clémence Michallon

Claire Danes

Claire Danes has had her fair share of Emmy love in the past; with three nominations and one win since 2011, she certainly made her mark as Homeland character Carrie Mathison. However, considering voters have a history of nominating awarding winners for their final seasons (see: Jon Hamm for Mad Men, Bryan Cranston for Breaking Bad), a final nod for Danes wasn't entirely unexpected. Sadly, it wasn't to be. Jacob Stolworthy

Follow the live updates as they happened during this year’s nominations with our live blog below:

Please allow a moment for the live blog to load...

Key Points

• Full list of nominations
• Succession gets ahead
• Last year's list of winners

[28 July 2020 10:02 · Jacob Stolworthy]

Hello, and welcome to the annual Indy live blog for the latest round of Emmy nominations!

[28 July 2020 10:12 · Jacob Stolworthy]

Throughout the morning, we'll be naming all the TV shows and actors that might be named during the announcement, which will take place at 1.30pm.

[28 July 2020 10:31 · Jacob Stolworthy]

What with Covid, it's almost unbelievable to comprehend an actual awards ceremony taking place in September, but as it stands, the Emmys are proceeding as normal.

[28 July 2020 10:50 · Jacob Stolworthy]

So, first up, let's dive into the Limited Series category (shows that were designed for one season). There are some real big-hitters in contention this year.

[28 July 2020 10:55 · Jacob Stolworthy]

Netflix wise, Unbelievable seems to be the best bet, although other streaming services – namely Hulu – will be hoping to edge in with both Little Fires Everywhere and Mrs America.

[28 July 2020 11:00 · Jacob Stolworthy]

Hulu also has Normal People, which everyone in the UK and Ireland will no doubt be keeping its fingers crossed for.

[28 July 2020 11:05 · Jacob Stolworthy]

The runaway here, though, must be Watchmen, HBO's show-stopping adaptation of the graphic novel from Damon Lindelof. It really has been one of the best things on TV in the past year.

[28 July 2020 11:10 · Jacob Stolworthy]

A nomination for Watchmen would go a long way to righting the wrong of snubbing Lindelof's previous series, The Leftovers, which is now considered one of the best shows of all time.

[28 July 2020 11:13 · Jacob Stolworthy]

[28 July 2020 11:15 · Jacob Stolworthy]

Other contenders:

Devs, I know This Much Is True, The Plot Against America, Unorthodox.