New York Film Academy (NYFA) Community Earns Several Nominations for 72nd Annual Primetime Emmys

July 29, 2020

New York Film Academy (NYFA) was once again represented in this year’s nominations for the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards, announced Tuesday, July 28 at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

NYFA alum and ‘Insecure’ creator Issa Rae (Right) and Jay Ellis (Left) in Season 4 of ‘Insecure’

NYFA Filmmaking alum Issa Rae was nominated for her second ‘Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series’ Emmy for her performance in the HBO series Insecure, also created and executive produced by Rae. In total, Insecure received eight nominations including its first-ever Emmy nomination for ‘Outstanding Comedy Series’ and a nomination for Yvonne Orji for ‘Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.’

Fan favorite series Stranger Things continued to capture viewers, receiving eight nominations including ‘Outstanding Drama Series.’ NYFA Filmmaking alum Eric Demeusy previously earned an Emmy in 2017 for creating the now iconic title sequence for the show. The series also previously starred NYFA Board Member and Master Class Instructor Matthew Modine as Dr. Martin Brenner and featured NYFA Acting for Film alum Matty Cardarople.

Competing with Stranger Things for ‘Outstanding Drama Series’ is the Disney+ Star Wars spin-off series The Mandalorian. Created by NYFA guest speaker Jon Favreau, the series received a whopping 17 nominations total for the newcomer streaming platform. The popular space western also features Rocky star, Carl Weathers, who previously spoke at NYFA’s Los Angeles campus for Industry Lab panel discussion. Disney+ also picked up a nomination for ‘Outstanding Short Form Animated Program’ with Forky Asks a Question, featuring the voice of actor and NYFA guest speaker Tony Hale.

Documentary film poster for Netflix’s ‘Tiger King’

Easily one of the most talked-about documentaries of the year was Netflix documentary series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem And Madness, which received four nominations in the Emmy documentary categories including ‘Outstanding Documentary Or Nonfiction Series.’ Creating the cohesive and gripping storyline for the documentary was NYFA Documentary Filmmaking alum Pedro Álvarez Gales, who served as co-editor for the popular Netflix series.

NYFA Acting for Film alum Ragga Ragnars in ‘Vikings’

Also nominated this year was History Channel’s Vikings for ‘Outstanding Visual Effects in a Supporting Role,’ which stars Acting for Film alum Ragga Ragnars. Better Call Saul screenwriter and NYFA guest speaker, Gordon Smith, was also nominated for his writing for the series episode “Bagman.”

This year, Netflix beat out HBO’s previous record for the most Emmy nominations to date with 160 nominations, with HBO trailing behind at 107 nominations total this year, though HBO continued its success with dystopian series Watchmen leading with the most Emmy nominations for any show this year in 26 categories. The newly established mobile-only streaming platform Quibi led the short form Emmy nominations this year with 10 nominations across the five short form categories, making it the most of any platform.

(UPDATE 7/30/20) The Television Academy has officially announced that the 72nd Annual Primetime Emmys will be held completely online, with host Jimmy Kimmel, the Emmy producers, and a prominent team of technicians working closely with each of the nominees to ensure the ceremony will still be streamed at the highest caliber possible for TV’s biggest night.

The Television Academy also noted that nominees can follow the dress code “Come as you are, but make an Effort!,” noting that many of the nominees span across the globe in different time zones, with many tuning in at extremely late hours with the ceremony still being held at its normal Pacific Standard Time. An excerpt from the letter addressed to the nominees can be found below:

“If you want to be in formal wear, we’d love that, but equally if you’re in the UK and it’s 3am, perhaps you want to be in designer pajamas and record from your bed! We want to work with you to style your moments, but want you to guide us on your levels of comfort – where you want to be, who you want to be with, what you want to wear etc.

In the forthcoming days, Jen Proctor, our Talent Producer and her extraordinary team at Cultivated Entertainment will be reaching out to you to start talking through the details.”

New York Film Academy would like to congratulate all the nominees for the 72nd Annual Primetime Emmys and looks forward to the ABC broadcast of the virtual ceremony on September 20, 2020, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.

 

Here is a list of some of this year’s Emmy Award nominees:

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Eugene Levy, Schitt’s Creek – Winner
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish

Don Cheadle, Black Monday
Ted Danson, The Good Place
Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method
Ramy Youssef, Ramy

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek – Winner
Tracee Ellis Ross, black-ish
Christina Applegate, Dead To Me
Linda Cardellini, Dead To Me
Issa Rae, Insecure
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES

Schitt’s Creek – Winner
Curb Your Enthusiasm

Dead To Me
Insecure
The Good Place
The Kominsky Method
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

What We Do In The Shadows

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR FOR A COMEDY SERIES 

Schitt’s Creek, Andrew Cividina & Daniel Levy – Winner
Modern Family, Gail Mancuso
Ramy, Ramy Youssef
The Great, Matt Shakman
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Amy Sherman-Palladino
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Daniel Palladino
Will & Grace, James Burrows

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES

Succession – Winner
Better Call Saul

The Crown
The Handmaid’s Tale
The Mandalorian
Stranger Things
Killing Eve
Ozark

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

Mark Ruffalo, I Know This Much Is True – Winner
Hugh Jackman, Bad Education

Jeremy Pope, Hollywood
Paul Mescal, Normal People
Jeremy Irons, Watchmen

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

Regina King, Watchmen – Winner
Kerry Washington, Little Fires Everywhere   

Cate Blanchett, Mrs. America  
Octavia Spencer, Self Made: Inspired By The Life Of Madam C.J. Walker 
Shira Haas, Unorthodox 

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Watchmen – Winner
Dylan McDermott, Hollywood
Jim Parsons, Hollywood 

Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend 
Jovan Adepo, Watchmen 
Louis Gossett Jr., Watchmen

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

Uzo Adub, Mrs. America – Winner
Holland Taylor, Hollywood

Margo Martindale, Mrs. America
Tracey Ullman, Mrs. America
Toni Collette, Unbelievable
Jean Smart, Watchmen

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Daniel Levy, Schitt’s Creek – Winner
Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
William Jackson Harper, The Good Place 
Alan Arkin, The Kominsky Method
Sterling K. Brown, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Tony Shalhoub, The Marvelous Mrs. Maise
Mahershala Ali, Ramy
Kenan Thompson, Saturday Night Live

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Annie Murphy, Schitt’s Creek – Winner
Betty Gilpin, GLOW

D’Arcy Carden, The Good Place
Yvonne Orji, Insecure
Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Marin Hinkle, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
Cecily Strong, Saturday Night Live

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Jeremy Strong, Succession – Winner
Steve Carell, The Morning Show

Jason Bateman, Ozark 
Billy Porter, Pose
Brian Cox, Succession
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

Zendaya, Euphoria – Winner
Olivia Colman, The Crown

Jodie Comer, Killing Eve
Sandra Oh, Killing Eve
Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show
Laura Linney, Ozark

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Billy Crudup, The Morning Show  – Winner
Giancarlo Esposito, Better Call Saul 

Bradley Whitford The Handmaid’s Tale
Mark Duplass, The Morning Show
Nicholas Braun, Succession
Kieran Culkin, Succession 
Matthew Macfadyen, Succession
Jeffrey Wright, Westworld

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

Julia Garner, Ozark – Winner
Laura Dern, Big Little Lies

Meryl Streep, Big Little Lies
Helena Bonham Carter, The Crown
Samira Wiley, The Handmaid’s Tale
Fiona Shaw, Killing Ev
Sarah Snook, Succession
Thandie Newton, Westworld

OUTSTANDING SHORT FORM NONFICTION OR REALITY SERIES

National Geographic Presents Cosmos: Creating Possible Worlds – Winner
Between The Scenes – The Daily Show

Full Frontal With Samantha Bee Presents: Pandemic Video Diaries 
Pose: Identity, Family, Community
RuPaul’s Drag Race Out Of The Closet

OUTSTANDING VARIETY TALK SERIES

Last Week Tonight With John Oliver – Winner
The Daily Show With Trevor Noah

Full Frontal With Samantha Bee
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert

OUTSTANDING VARIETY SKETCH SERIES

Saturday Night Live – Winner
A Black Lady Sketch Show

Drunk History

OUTSTANDING TELEVISION MOVIE

Bad Education – Winner
American Son

Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings: These Old Bones
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend

OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES

Watchmen – Winner
Little Fires Everywhere

Mrs. America
Unbelievable
Unorthodox

OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY OR NONFICTION SERIES

The Last Dance – Winner
American Masters
Hillary
McMillion$ 
Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem And Madness