The nominees for the 76th Emmy Awards are out and there are significant reasons for our Latina community to celebrate. And I’m not talking about, a “let’s get happy hour drinks at the bar” kind of gathering. It’s more of a “let’s book a private room for 100 at our favorite restaurant” kind of celebration. Making the party all that much better are the many nominations for people of color across the board. So let’s take a minute to celebrate the 2024 Latina Emmy nominations and those for people of color in general.
Leading Latinas
First up, let’s talk about the large and obviously in charge Latinas who got some recognition from the Television Academy. Selena Gomez’s name was finally called out as a nominee in the best actress in a comedy series category thanks to her work on Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building. Yes, you have heard her name before as a nominee for the show, but as an executive producer, not for her performance on screen.
Her competition in the category is stacked as she faces last year’s winner Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary, ABC), Ayo Edebiri (The Bear, FX), Maya Rudolph (Loot, Apple TV+), Jean Smart (Hacks, HBO/Max), and Kristen Wiig (Palm Royale, Apple TV+). Take note of the fact that four of the six noms in the actress for comedy are ladies of color. If she takes the statue home, she will only be the second Latina ever to do so (America Ferrera won for Ugly Betty in 2007.)
Sofia Vergara’s role as Griselda Blanco, the Colombian drug lord, in Netflix’s Griselda earned her a nomination as the lead actress for a limited series. The last time a Latina was nominated in the same category was three years ago. Anya Taylor-Joy was nominated for her work in The Queen’s Gambit and beaten out by Kate Winslet. Sadly they are the only two Latinas to ever get an Emmy nod in the category.
The heat continues in the kitchen, especially for Liza Colón-Zayas. She earned an Emmy nomination as a supporting actress in a comedy for her role in The Bear. Colón-Zayas (who celebrated a birthday earlier this week) joins 35 first-time performers who earned nominations this year. That list also includes Nava Mau (Baby Reindeer, Netflix) for her nod as a supporting actress in a limited series or movie. Mau is the first Latina trans actress to earn a nomination in the category – something else we’re celebrating as we look at the Latina Emmy nominations.
Behind the camera, our Issa López got nominated in three categories including, outstanding directing for a limited series, outstanding writing for a limited series, and producing the coveted outstanding limited series category all for True Detective: Night Country. And what makes it even better is that her work for the HBO series highlighted and got recognition for Indigenous communities.
Inaugural Indigenous Nominations
Which brings us to the supporting actresses in a limited series or movie category. Both Lily Gladstone (Under the Bridge, Hulu) and Kali Reis (True Detective: Night Country, HBO/Max) became the first Indigenous women to be nominated for that particular award.
In fact, the Indigenous community got loooong overdue nods, particularly for Reservation Dogs (FX). The show, now in its last season, earned a nomination in the outstanding comedy series category. What’s more, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai earned his first acting nomination making it the first-ever nomination for lead actor for an indigenous actor. In the best comedy category, Reservation Dogs is joined by What We Do In The Shadows (FX) starring Latino (and Latina Media Co favorite) Harvey Guillén.
Getting More – For Everyone
While we may be Latina Media Co (emphasis on the Latina), we are only too happy to support the celebrations of our fellow people of color in the entertainment industry. Overall people of color saw some gains in the Emmy nominations this year. Just over 31% of the nominations across all the acting categories were people of color. That is up five percent from last year’s 26% of nominees but still down from 2022 when almost 44% of the actors getting nods were people of color.
A significant part of the rise in nominations is due to the Asian community, in particular Shōgun. In fact the drama received the most Emmy nominations of any show this year with 25 total nods. Also on FX, The Bear saw the second most nods with 23 and Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building garnered 21 total Emmy nominations. And Prime’s Mr. and Mrs. Smith with its 16 nominations and two of-color leads in Donald Glover and Maya Erskine also helped out.
Check out if our Latina Emmy nominations yield statutes. The 76th Annual Primetime Emmys will air live on Sunday, September 15 from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles at 5 pm PT. The awards will stream on Hulu the following day.
