37 Black actors nominated for 2021 Emmys

Sterling K. Brown, Tracee Ellis Ross and Kenan Thompson join the impressive list of acting nominees, while HBO and HBO Max lead the pack with the most nominations in total

The nominees for the 73rd Annual Emmy Awards are finally out, and there are some history-making selections in this year’s group!

The upcoming award ceremony is set to highlight a boundary-pushing year in television in which millions of people turned to T.V. while dealing with the intensity of the COVID-19 pandemic. From prestige dramas coming out of various streaming services to freshman comedy series knocking it out of the park, this year’s nominations list highlights it all.

MJ Rodriguez thegrio.com
Mj Rodriguez attends The 2020 MAKERS Conference at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown on February 12, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rachel Murray/Getty Images for MAKERS)

Leading the pack in the nominations category are HBO and HBO Max with 130 nominations in total. Lovecraft Country, which was recently canceled by the company, received major love with 18 nominations. Michaela Coel‘s limited series I May Destroy You also got plenty of nominations, bringing in 18 for Outstanding Limited Series, Actress in a Limited Series, and more.

In the acting categories, Mj Rodriguez makes history as the first trans woman nominated in a lead acting category for her role as Blanca in FX’s hit drama series Pose. Bridgerton‘s breakout Regé-Jean Page earned some love as he is nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series alongside Jonathan Majors and Sterling K. Brown. In the comedy categories, Saturday Night Live star Kenan Thompson earned a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his new sitcom, Kenan. Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross also scored nominations for their roles in Black-ish.

Check out some of the most exciting nominees below:

MJ Rodriguez

Rodriguez makes Emmy history as the first trans actress ever to be nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series

Uzo Aduba

Aduba is nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series for In Treatment

Jurnee Smollett

Smollett is nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series for her role in Lovecraft Country

Regu00e9-Jean Page

Regu00e9-Jean Page is nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his role in Bridgerton

Billy Porter

Porter is nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Pose

Jonathan Majors

Jonathan Majors is nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his role in Lovecraft Country

Sterling K. Brown

Brown is nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for This is Us

Tracee Ellis Ross

Ross is nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role in Black-ish

Anthony Anderson

Anderson is nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his role in Black-ish

Kenan Thompson

Thompson is nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his role in Keenan

Trevor Noah

Noah’s The Daily Show with Trevor Noah is nominated for Outstanding Variety Talk Series

Ru Paul's Drag Race

The hit series is nominated for Outstanding Competition Program

Leslie Odom Jr.

The actor is nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Anthology Series or a Movie for his role in Hamilton

Michaela Coel

The actress, writer and producer is nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Anthology Series or a Movie for her role in I May Destroy You

Cynthia Erivo

Erivo is nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Anthology Series or a Movie for her role in Genius: Aretha

Barry Jenkins

Jenkins’ The Underground Railroad is nominated for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, and Jenkins himself is nominated for Outstanding Directing For A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie

MJ Rodriguez

Rodriguez makes Emmy history as the first trans actress ever to be nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series

Head over to the official Emmys website for the full list of all of the nominees, including writing and directing categories, here.

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