Award-winning actor Louis Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, has died at the age of 87.

Gossett appeared in more than 110 television shows and 68 films over a seven decade Hollywood career. He won a 1977 Emmy Award for his role in ABC's groundbreaking TV miniseries Roots.

Other television shows Gossett appeared in include The Mod Squad, The Partridge Family, The Cosby Show, The Jeffersons, The Josephine Baker Story, Touched By An Angel and The Book of Negroes. In 2020, Gossett’s appearance in HBO’s drama series Watchmen earned him the last of his eight Emmy nominations. 

On the big screen, Gossett in 1983 received an Oscar for his role as a no-nonsense Marine drill sergeant in An Officer and a Gentleman, which starred Richard Gere. Most recently Gossett appeared in the 2023 film The Color Purple.

Celebrities such as Colman Domingo, Stephanie Mills and Sheryl Lee Ralph took to social media in tribute to Gossett. Actor James Woods, who starred with Gossett in the 1992 film Diggstown, called Gossett “a true gentleman.” 

Netflix earned a record number of 2020 Emmy Awards nominations, but it was HBO who won the most hardware during a virtual Emmy Awards telecast Sunday night that saw Pop TV’s Schitt’s Creek sweep the comedy category in record fashion. 

HBO garnered 11 Emmy Awards during the Jimmy Kimmel-hosted event, including major wins in the best drama and best limited series category. The other big winner during the ceremony was Pop TV’s Schitt’s Creek, which set a record by winning all seven categories in the comedy genre. 

Netflix finished third for the evening with two awards. VH1, FX Networks and Apple TV Plus each won one award during the audience-less telecast. 

Emmys: Photos From Television's Biggest Night

HBO, which won 30 total Emmy Awards -- including 19 Creative Arts awards -- was paced overall by Watchmen, which took home four awards Sunday night and a total of 11 Emmy Awards, including best limited series or movie. Succession, a star of the primetime telecast, won seven Emmy Awards overall, tying it with Disney Plus’s The Mandalorian -- including outstanding drama series. 

The night included several surprise winners, including actress Zendaya, who at 24 years old became the youngest actress to win best lead actress in a drama series, for her role as troubled teenager Rue Bennett in HBO’s freshman series Euphoria. 

Also getting a surprise nod was Uzo Aduba, who won the outstanding supporting actress statuette for her role as Shirley Chisholm in FX’s Mrs. America. 

Not surprising was RuPaul’s Drag Race’s win in the Reality Competition Program category -- it's third consecutive win -- and Last Week Tonight With John Oliver’s fifth consecutive win in the Outstanding Variety Talk Series category. 

Actor/Director Tyler Perry was awarded the TV Academy’s Governor’s Award during the live ceremony, which aired on ABC. 

A partial list of winners from the 72nd Emmy Awards announced during the live telecast are as follows:

Outstanding Comedy Series

Schitt’s Creek (Pop) 

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Eugene Levy (Schitt’s Creek) 

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Daniel Levy (Schitt’s Creek) 

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Annie Murphy (Schitt’s Creek)

Outstanding Drama Series

Succession (HBO) 

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Jeremy Strong (Succession)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Zendaya (Euphoria) 

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Billy Crudup (The Morning Show) 

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Julia Garner (Ozark) 

Outstanding Limited Series

Watchmen (HBO) 

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie

Mark Ruffalo (I Know This Much Is True) 

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie

Regina King (Watchmen)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Television Movie

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Watchmen) 

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Television Movie

Uzo Aduba (Mrs. America) 

Outstanding Reality/Competition Series

RuPaul’s Drag Race 

Outstanding Variety Talk Series

Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (HBO)

HBO's The Watchmen was the big winner within the limited series or movies category, taking home four Emmys during the primetime telecast, including best limited series.  

Watchmen topped Hulu’s Little Fires Everywhere, FX’s Mrs. America, as well as Netflix’s Unbelievable and Unorthodox for limited series honors. Watchmen star Regina King won top honors nabbing the prize for lead actress in a limited series or movie -- her fourth Emmy win. She won in a tough category that included Cate Blanchett (Mrs. America), Shira Haas (Unorthodox), Octavia Spencer (Self Made) and Kerry Washington (Little Fires Everywhere).

The show also picked up Emmys for outstanding writing in a limited series or movie, as well as outstanding supporting actor in a limited series or movie for Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Overall Watchmen won 11 Emmys (including seven Creative Arts Emmy Awards.)

Emmys: Photos From Television's Biggest Night

Mark Ruffalo won outstanding lead actor in a limited series or movie for his dual role in HBO’s I know This Much Is True, beating out Jeremy Irons (Watchmen), Hugh Jackman (Bad Education), Paul Mescal (Normal People) and Jeremy Pope (Hollywood).

Maria Schrader won the Emmy for outstanding directing in a limited series, special or movie  for Netflix’s Unorthodox.

Uzo Aduba won outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or movie for her role as Shirley Chisholm in FX’s Mrs. America.

Jimmy Kimmel kicked off the 72nd Emmys at an empty Staples Center, and acknowledged the elephant in the room, or at least the elephant watching from home. “Right now we need fun. My god, do we need fun,” he said of these COVID times. “This has been a miserable year.”

Kimmel spoke of the importance of television in the pandemic era, calling it “a friend who’s there for us 24 hours a day.”

Kimmel saluted Emmy winner Norman Lear, calling him a “miracle.”

“The only thing I’ll be producing when I’m 98 is phlegm,” said Kimmel. 

Related: Emmys Analysis: HBO Rolls, Pop TV Makes Some Noise

Kimmel also praised Pop TV comedy Schitt’s Creek, and spoke about how network mandates said ABC has to put the show name on the screen whenever it’s mentioned, to avoid penalties for profanity. “Just in case you were wondering why network television is almost dead,” Kimmel quipped.

Jennifer Aniston gave out the outstanding lead actress in a comedy trophy. Catherine O’Hara of Schitt’s Creek won. 

“I will forever be grateful to Eugene and Daniel Levy,” she said, for giving her a character who gets to play “her ridiculous self.”

Netflix came in with 160 nominations, while HBO had 107. NBC had 47, ABC had 36, Fox had 33, Amazon had 30, Hulu had 26 and CBS had 23. 

Outstanding lead actor in a comedy went to Eugene Levy of Schitt’s Creek. “You see, I told you I was good,” he said. 

Levy thanked his wife and the cast, including O’Hara, who “evidently can make anyone she works with look good.” 

He saluted his children Daniel and Sarah, with Daniel taking “our show that we came up with and brilliantly guiding it to this little Emmy party tonight.”

Tracee Ellis Ross gave out the prize for outstanding writing for a comedy series. Daniel Levy of Schitt’s Creek got the honors. 

He thanked his father for “giving me the reins to this show...I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you.”

Levy thanked the writers for sharing their personal and often embarrassing stories, “so that the Rose family could be who they are.”

Next up was outstanding directing for a comedy series. Andrew Cividino and Daniel Levy of Schitt’s Creek got the win. Cividono saluted Catherine O’Hara and Eugene Levy, saying “their grace, their genius and their generosity bubbles through the entire set.”

Levy added that the show’s “incredible cast made it so, so easy to direct.”

Outstanding supporting actor in a comedy saw Daniel Levy once again claim the prize. “The internet’s about to turn on me,” he said. “I’m so sorry.”

He called Schitt’s Creek a “six-year master class” taught by “two brilliant comedic minds--my dad, Eugene Levy, and the magnificent Catherine O’Hara.”

Levy spoke about the show giving the cast the “safety and security to do what we wanted.”

Playing David Rose has been “the greatest experience of my life,” Levy added. 

Outstanding supporting actress in a comedy went to Annie Murphy of, yes, Schitt’s Creek. “The six years that I have spent working on this show have been the best six years of my life,” she said. 

Murphy said she’s “so proud to be part of a show that stands for love and kindness and inclusivity and acceptance.”

Jason Sudeikis honored the outstanding comedy series, which had HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm and Insecure, Dead to Me and The Kominsky Method on Netflix, The Good Place on NBC, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Amazon, Pop TV’s Schitt’s Creek and What We Do in the Shadows on FX. 

Schitt’s Creek won. Daniel Levy said the show is about “the transformational effects of love and acceptance,” and how that’s something we desperately need today. He urged people to vote and apologized for getting political. 

Eugene Levy thanked Pop TV and Netflix, and his son Daniel, “who took our fish-out-of-water story and transformed it into a celebration of inclusivity, a castigation of homophobia and a declaration of the power of love.”

When Kimmel came back on, he noted how “The Canadians have won all the Emmys tonight,” and added how America still has the Stanley Cup.

Outstanding variety talk series was given out by David Letterman. Waiting for the “virtual applause to die down,” Letterman shared some jokes from hosting in 1986 that he said he found in the pocket of his tux. The Emmy went to HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. 

Oliver thanked producers Tim Carvell and Liz Stanton and said he was happy to be working these days. “We’ve all been very fortunate to be able to do our shows and not have to stop during the pandemic,” said Oliver. 

He thanked HBO and his wife and his staff. “I miss you so much and I honestly cannot wait until we’re in the same space together,” Oliver said of the Last Week Tonight staff.  

Outstanding lead actress in a limited series or movie went to Regina King of HBO’s Watchmen. “This is so freakin’ weird,” she started. 

“It’s an honor to be in this category with you,” she said of her fellow nominees. “I truly love being a thespian.”

“Have a voting plan,” King added, urging viewers to “be a good human.” 

Lead actor in a limited series or movie was given to Mark Ruffalo of HBO’s I Know This Much Is True. Ruffalo thanked director Derek Cianfrance for “a great collaboration” and his fellow cast for bringing out the best in each other with their “career-defining performances.”

“I can’t be up here right now without you being there,” he added. 

Ruffalo credited the show’s crew for their “grit, determination, dignity and class.”
He said the show is about family. “We are stronger together when we love each other and respect each other’s dignity,” he said, urging viewers to “vote for love and compassion and kindness.”

Outstanding writing for a limited series or movie was given out by Randall Park. Damon Lindelof and Cord Jefferson won for their work on Watchmen. 

Jefferson singled out his therapist. “I am a different man than I was two years ago,” he said.

Jefferson also mentioned the African-American men and women who died in the Tulsa massacre of 1921. “I think we should never forget them,” he said. 

Outstanding directing for a limited series or movie was claimed by Maria Schrader of Netflix’s Unorthodox. “Being nominated for the Emmys already felt like a coronation,” she said. “I’m speechless.”

She credited Netflix and its execs for “accompanying it with so much knowledge and support.”

She described Unorthodox as “adventurous and powerful and at the same time a delicate story.”

Outstanding supporting actor in a limited series went to Yahya Abdul-Mateen II of Watchmen. He thanked HBO and Damon Lindelof “for your words, for your creativity.”

Watchmen is “a story about trauma, about the lasting scars of white domestic terrorism and police corruption,” he said, “and a guy who came down to Earth to reciprocate to a black woman all the love she deserved.”

“I’m so proud that i was able to walk into those shoes,” Abdul-Mateen added.

Outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or movie was given to Uzo Aduba of FX on Hulu’s Mrs. America. “I love you, ladies, you are all exceptional,” she said of her castmates. 

She offered a “tremendous thank you to FX,” to former Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, who she plays in the series, and “everyone who came together to tell this brilliant story.”

“Thank you beyond words,” Aduba added. 

Anthony Anderson gave out the Emmy for outstanding limited series. HBO’s Watchmen got the prize. Damon Lindelof thanked HBO and Warner Bros. “for their unblinking support.” 

He also thanked “every single person who invested nine hours of their life into Watchmen.”

Lindelof singled out the “victims and survivors in Tulsa in 1921.”

Kimmel noted Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s death, calling her a “tireless champion of equality and justice.” H.E.R. sang “Nothing Compares 2 U” as the tribute to Hollywood’s deceased rolled. 

Several times throughout the night, essential workers, not Hollywood stars, announced Emmy nominees. Those included a nurse, a UPS driver and a teacher. 

Next was outstanding competition program. RuPaul’s Drag Race on VH1 won. 

“We love making television,” said RuPaul. “It is an honor to make television. All the kids get to tell their stories on our show and it’s beautiful.”

Tyler Perry got the Governor’s Award from the Television Academy board. Chris Rock and Oprah Winfrey spoke on behalf of Perry. “It takes extraordinary grit and determination to navigate the rough terrain that often life can give you,” said Winfrey. “My friend Tyler Perry has done that against all odds.”

Rock spoke about Perry living in his car before he made it. “And of course Hollywood welcomed an independent black man with open arms,” said Rock. “Wait. I misread that.”

Winfrey called Perry a maverick and an innovator. 

Perry spoke about a quilt his grandmother gave him when he was a teen. He didn’t like it much and used it for odd jobs, such as drying off a wet dog. Years later, he saw a similar quilt in an antique shop. The shopkeeper explained how it was made of patches representing stages of the maker’s life. “I didn’t even recognize the value in my grandmother’s quilt,” said Perry. 

Perry said, “We all sew our own quilts with our thoughts, our behaviors, our experience and our memories.”

Speaking of his studio headquarters in Atlanta, Perry said, “We’re all coming together to add patches to a quilt as diverse as it can be.” 

Outstanding lead actor in a drama went to Jeremy Strong of HBO’s Succession. Strong, who plays Kendall, singled out the people who have “been there for me and believed in me when something like this felt basically impossible,” including family. 

He mentioned a Stephen Dunn poem about a book so good the reader finishes it for the rest of their life. “This job is that for me,” he said. 

Outstanding lead actress in a drama went to Zendaya of HBO’s Euphoria. “This is pretty crazy,” she said. 

Of the show’s cast and crew, Zendaya said, “I’m so lucky to go to work with you every day and so inspired by what you do.”

Amid these tough times, Zendaya said “there is hope in the young people.”

Kimmel quipped, “She’s younger than Baby Yoda.”

Outstanding writing for a drama went to Jesse Armstrong of Succession. 

“I love writing for this show so very much, and for this amazing cast and crew,” he said from London.

Outstanding directing for a drama went to Andrij Parekh of Succession. “The show’s been such a professional dream,” he said. 

Parekh dedicated his Emmy to “all the kids whose names, like mine, are difficult to pronounce.” 

Outstanding supporting actor in a drama was claimed by Billy Crudup of Apple TV+’s The Morning Show. He thanked “everybody at Apple for the wonderful opportunity.”

“I’m glad to have delivered something for you,” he said. 

Outstanding supporting actress in a drama went to Julia Garner of Netflix’s Ozark. 

“I’m shocked, to be honest,” she said. 

Garner made a point of showing “gratitude to all the women in this category. You are the reason why I’m acting in the first place.”

Finally, outstanding drama was given out by Sterling K. Brown. It was between Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, AMC’s Better Call Saul, Netflix’s The Crown, Stranger Things and Ozark, BBC America’s Killing Eve, Disney+’s The Mandalorian and HBO’s Succession. 

Succession got the honors. 

“This is such a very nice moment,” said Armstrong, who lamented not being able to share it with his cast and crew and fellow writers and producers. “This is a wonderful achievement for the whole group.”

Armstrong gave out a series of “un-thank you’s” to COVID, President Trump for his “crummy and uncoordinated response” to COVID, Boris Johnson for the same, “nationalist and quasi-nationalist governments” for getting in the way of combating the virus, and “the media moguls who keep them in power,” said Armstrong. 

 HBO, led by its drama series Watchmen, drew the most TCA Awards wins, the Television Critics Association announced Monday.

The TCA Awards, which are usually announced during a July live ceremony but this year was not held in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic, honored HBO with six awards, topping all other cable, broadcast and streaming networks. Pop TV was the only other network to earn multiple awards, drawing two awards for its comedy series Schitt’s Creek.

HBO’s Watchmen won four awards, including an Individual Achievement In Drama honor for series star Regina King as well as an Outstanding Movie, Miniseries, Or Special; Outstanding New Program, and the Program Of The Year award, said TCA. 

CBS’ iconic series Star Trek earned the organization’s Heritage Award, while longtime Jeopardy! Host Alex Trebek was honored with the Career Achievement award. 

“Entertainment and culture are intertwined and in this challenging year, never has that intersection been more crucial as both a mirror to examine tough reflections and a rabbit hole to escape the noise and scares outside our homes. The 2019-2020 television season was both a challenge and a balm,” said Sarah Rodman, TCA President and executive editor at Entertainment Weekly in a statement. “This year offered up many high-quality options appealing to a wide swath of audiences with eclectic subjects ranging from sports and superheroes, to side-splitting sitcoms, darkly fascinating dramas, insightful documentaries, kid-friendly series, and more. We are excited to see what the future of television has in store, and we look forward to celebrating in-person next year as we come together to honor this medium that means so much to all of us.”

The full list of TCA Awards winners appears below: 

Individual Achievement In Drama: Regina King (WATCHMEN, HBO)

Individual Achievement In Comedy: Catherine O’Hara (SCHITT’S CREEK, Pop TV)

Outstanding Achievement In News and Information: THE LAST DANCE (ESPN)

Outstanding Achievement In Reality Programming: CHEER (Netflix)

Outstanding Achievement In Youth Programming: MOLLY OF DENALI (PBS Kids)

Outstanding Achievement In Sketch/Variety Shows: A BLACK LADY SKETCH SHOW (HBO)

Outstanding New Program: WATCHMEN (HBO)

Outstanding Achievement In Movie, Miniseries, Or Special: WATCHMEN (HBO)

Outstanding Achievement In Drama: SUCCESSION (HBO)

Outstanding Achievement In Comedy: SCHITT’S CREEK (Pop TV)

Program of the Year: WATCHMEN (HBO)

Career Achievement Honoree:Alex Trebek

 Heritage Award: STAR TREK (CBS)

On this season of HBO’s Insecure, Molly (Yvonne Orji) gets angry when she goes to get a towel at an exclusive Mexican resort and is asked to show her room key when a white woman who just did the same thing is handed a towel without question. When Molly returns, pissed off, to her Asian-American boyfriend and his brother, they write her off as an angry Black woman. Which just makes her all the angrier. 

That particular episode aired the night before George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis at the hands of police officers. Soon after, protests against police brutality and systemic racism erupted across the country. It was in the middle of that charged environment that the TV Academy announced the 72nd Annual Primetime Emmy nominations, on July 28. And for once in the difficult year that’s been 2020, there was some good news. 

Of the 102 acting nominations among the series, limited series and TV movie categories, Black performers scored 35 nods or 34.3% of the total acting nominations. (Maya Rudolph earned three nominations, while Sterling K. Brown and Giancarlo Esposito each snapped up two.) That number is the all-time high for Black actors. The previous best was 27.7% in 2018, which fell to 20% in 2019. 

Additionally, three of the six nominees for animation voice-over performance — Big Mouth’s Rudolph, Central Park’s Leslie Odom Jr. and Crank Yankers’ Wanda Sykes — and half of the 10 short-form acting nominees are Black.

Not Overlooked This Year

Asked for immediate reactions, This Is Us’ and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s Brown summed it up by saying: “It’s f---ing dope. It’s really f---ing dope.” 

Besides being nominated twice this year, Brown has earned a total of seven Emmy nominations and two wins since his breakout role as Christopher Darden in FX’s The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story. When he won the Golden Globe in 2018 for best leading actor in a TV drama for playing Randall Pearson on NBC’s This Is Us, it marked the first time an African-American man had won that award in the Globes’ 75-year history. 

“You cannot deny that … Black Lives Matter and the desire for criminal justice reform has influenced how people have voted for sure,” Brown told B+C. “I think that’s OK. I don’t think any Black folks who are nominated want to be nominated unless they truly deserve to be nominated. I think the Academy has recognized people who are putting in the work. I hope they continue to do that year in and year out.” 

While Brown plays a Black man who was adopted by a white family as a baby and often struggles with his identity and place in the world as a result, The Good Place’s William Jackson Harper’s role as the brilliant but indecisive and anxious Chidi had little to do with race. Still, how race affects the casting process is something Harper constantly considers. 

“There’s a lot of really good work being done by actors of color and when it comes to awards that can get overlooked,” said Harper, who is nominated for best supporting actor in a comedy. “This year, in regard to Black actors, that work is not being overlooked.” 

Another key marker of the moment was that HBO’s limited series Watchmen scored the most nominations this year, with 26, including mentions for outstanding limited series and a lead actress nod for Regina King. Watchmen’s competition among limited series is Hulu’s Little Fires Everywhere, FX’s Mrs. America and Netflix’s Unbelievable and Unorthodox. Netflix was by far the entity that earned the most nominations this year with a record-setting 160, followed by HBO with 107.

Watchmen’s cast dominated the category of supporting actor in a limited series with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jovan Adepo and Louis Gossett Jr. all nominated. (Tituss Burgess also grabbed a nomination for Netflix’s movie, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend, meaning that four of the category’s six slots were filled by Black men.) 

“I was overjoyed to see the amount of Emmy nominations to Black actors this year,” Lucinda Martinez, executive VP of multi­cultural marketing, brand and inclusion strategy, WarnerMedia Entertainment, said. “To me, it represents excellence that is often overlooked. I hope this isn’t performative, but rather the Television Academy becoming more inclusive and self-aware as an organization of their past exclusionary practices, whether intentional or not.” 

A key part of Watchmen’s storyline, an extension of the story told in the iconic graphic novel of the same name, is the 1921 Tulsa Massacre, in which a wealthy Black neighborhood was firebombed. There’s also a shadowy vigilante group, known as the Seventh Kalvary, that’s influenced by the Klu Klux Klan. The entire series, which premiered in October 2019 and concluded in December, now feels prescient.

“I hope that, at a minimum, these fictional stories raise awareness even if not always intended,” Martinez said. “It was surprising to many of us how the Tulsa Massacre on Watchmen was revelatory to so many viewers. How many people, including Black viewers, were unaware of the history of the Tulsa riots? By simply raising awareness about the injustices that have occurred allows for more enlightened dialogue around the solutions that need to happen if we do want to see systemic change happen.” 

Stories That Relate

Other nominated shows, such as Insecure and ABC’s Black-ish, tell relatable stories that happen to include Black performers and are created and produced by Black creators and showrunners. Both series were nominated outstanding comedy series, along with Pop TV’s Schitt’s Creek, NBC’s The Good Place, Netflix’s Dead to Me and The Kominsky Method, Amazon Prime Video’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and FX’s What We Do in the Shadows. Among critics and experts, Schitt’s Creek, which aired its seventh and final season this year, is the favorite to win.

On the drama side, the outstanding series nominees are notably less diverse: AMC’s Better Call Saul, Netflix’s The Crown, Ozark and Stranger Things, Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, BBC America’s Killing Eve, Disney Plus’s The Mandalorian and HBO’s tale of filthy-rich white people and odds-on favorite, Succession. A stark miss in this category is FX’s Pose, although last year’s winner of lead actor in a drama, Billy Porter, is nominated again this year.

“Who is the target demo for any of these shows?” Orji said. “Insecure is for people who enjoy good, well-rounded characters. I watch Succession and I’m like, ‘Yo, these rich people really got a lot of problems.’ You get into shows because you understand the characters’ motivation, drive and humanity.”

To that end, most roles don’t call for an actor of a certain race to play a certain part. Black actors find that to be changing, bit by bit, but there is always room for improvement. In the age of streaming there are far more platforms, creating space to tell more diverse stories. Actors of color look forward to being able to take advantage of that.

“For performers of color, there are just fewer opportunities in general,” Harper said. “It doesn’t feel like people are intentionally trying to keep performers of color out, but there are a dearth of opportunities for them. 

“I do think about it. As a Black actor, you do look at who else is cast, where on that call sheet you are going to be and, if you have a Black lead, will there be another significant Black lead?” he added. “The math of who’s going to be playing what part really figures into how you feel about your chances. I don’t know that a lot of actors have to think about it in that way.” 

When it comes to getting awards recognition, that number shrinks even further for performers of color. “There are only a certain number of roles that mandate the kind of performances that merit awards attention,” Brown said. “You can only get nominated if you have something to do. I’m encouraged by that. There have been times in the past where I’ve seen Hollywood maybe trying to placate Black folks. This [moment] feels different to me.”

While Black actors netted by far the highest number of nominations among groups that are not white, other notable nominations went to Ramy Youssef, star of his eponymous comedy, Ramy, along with two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali, a Black performer who was nominated for best supporting actor in a comedy for playing Sheikh Ali Malik. Hulu’s Ramy marks the first time a Muslim-American comedy has earned nominations.

Still Work to Do

While all of the actors were mostly thrilled to be nominated, they noted that there’s more work to do — such as bringing more people of color into the pipeline, developing talent and thinking outside the box when it comes to everything from casting to cinematography to directing. “It’s interesting and a little sad that in 2020 we’re still having these kinds of firsts,” Orji said. “If Joe Biden picks a Black woman as his running mate, really? It’s a big deal, but we’ve been having the civil-rights movement for years now.

“For me, the bigger and larger issue is not to celebrate the most Black performers,” she added. “Where are we in terms of directors, cinematographers, writers — not just the people that we see on-screen, but also the people behind the scenes. What are we doing to circumvent that and not just in the entertainment industry?” 

What that requires is hiring people of color across the board so there is representation in the boardroom as well as on set, Orji said. “I think that true diversity and true progress is when you can have a woke white person as the VP of inclusion and you can have a Black person as the VP of programming,” Orji said. “What you find so often is, you have this Black woman as the head of diversity and inclusion, and you think, ‘That’s great, you want the Black person to patrol Black things.’ We need to have an equal number of people of color on this [project] because it makes the show better, because it makes this organization and company function at a better level. For me, at least, that’s progress.” 

It also requires getting people of color in the writers’ room and behind the camera, said Brown, who has his own production company, Indian Meadows Productions. One of the company’s chief mandates is to ensure diversity and inclusion across all of its projects. “In terms of championing marginalized voices, there’s a specific pipeline to get to be a showrunner,” Brown said. “It’s not an easy thing to get into. And then you are trying to make sure that you have women, people of color, gay, lesbian and trans representation. Executives will say, ‘these people don’t have enough experience,’ but at some point in time, someone has to say, ‘we believe in this idea’ and take a chance.” 

HBO’s Martinez concurred that breaking into the system remains difficult: “There is still a lot of existing inherent systemic bias in how we greenlight our shows, who decides what stories get told and which stories get supported with marketing dollars and promotion. We have to pay attention to the areas where we may be inadvertently participating in rigging it to exclude others. It’s time to come together as an industry and collectively decide we can and should do better.”  

 The 72nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards air Sunday, Sept. 20, on ABC in a virtual ceremony hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. 

Netflix obliterated its broadcast, cable and streaming competitors with a whopping 160 Emmy Award nominations, the Television Academy announced Tuesday morning.

HBO, which topped Emmy nominations last year, was a distant second with 107 nominations. NBC was third with 47 nominations, followed by ABC’s 36 and Fx’s 33 nods.

HBO’s The Watchman (pictured) drew the most nominations for any show with 26, including one in the best limited series category along with HBO's Little Fires Everywhere, FX's Ms. America, and Netflix's Unbelievable and Unorthodox.

Prime Video's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel finished second with 20 nods as it looks to reclaim its 2018 win in the category.  Maisel will go up against HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm and Insecure; Netflix’s Dead To Me and The Kominsky Method; NBC’s The Good Place, Pop TV’s Shitt’s Creek and FX’s What We Do In the Shadows.

Netflix’s Ozark and Stranger Things drew 18 nominations, and will go head-to-head in the best drama series against category veterans Better Call Saul (AMC), The Crown (Netflix), Killing Eve (BBC America), The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu) and Succession (HBO), as well as newcomer The Mandalorian (Disney Plus).

Actress Zendaya earned a surprise nomination in the best actress in a drama series category for role in HBO’s freshman series Euphoria. Also posting surprisingly strong showings were upstart streaming services Apple TV Plus and Disney Plus, which generated several high-profile nominations.

Apple TV garnered 18 nominations, including nods in lead actor/actress categories for Jennifer Aniston and Steve Carell (The Morning Show), while Disney Plus drew 19 nominations, including a best drama series nod for The Mandelorian. 

The 72nd Emmy awards will be telecast live on ABC Sept. 20. 

Below is a partial list of Primetime Emmy Awards nominations. Click here to see more nominations: 

Outstanding drama series

"Better Call Saul" -- AMC

"The Crown"  -- Netflix

"The Handmaid's Tale" -- Hulu

"Killing Eve" -- BBC America

"The Mandalorian" -- Disney Plus 

"Ozark" -- Netflix

"Stranger Things" -- Netflix 

"Succession" -- HBO

Outstanding lead actor in a drama series

Jason Bateman ("Ozark")

Sterling K. Brown ("This Is Us")

Steve Carell ("The Morning Show")

Brian Cox ("Succession")

Billy Porter ("Pose")

Jeremy Strong ("Succession")

Outstanding lead actress in a drama series

Jennifer Aniston ("The Morning Show")

Olivia Colman ("The Crown")

Jodie Comer ("Killing Eve")

Laura Linney ("Ozark")

Sandra Oh ("Killing Eve")

Zendaya ("Euphoria")

Outstanding comedy series

"Curb Your Enthusiasm" -- HBO

"Dead to Me" -- Netflix

"The Good Place" -- NBC

"Insecure" -- HBO

"The Kominsky Method" -- Netflix 

"The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" -- Prime Video

"Schitt's Creek" -- POp TV 

"What We Do in the Shadows" -- FX 

Outstanding lead actor in a comedy series

Anthony Anderson ("Black-ish")

Don Cheadle ("Black Monday")

Ted Danson ("The Good Place")

Michael Douglas ("The Kominsky Method")

Eugene Levy ("Schitt's Creek")

Ramy Youssef ("Ramy")

Outstanding lead actress in a comedy series

Christina Applegate ("Dead to Me")

Rachel Brosnahan ("The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel")

Linda Cardellini ("Dead to Me")

Catherine O'Hara ("Schitt's Creek")

Issa Rae ("Insecure")

Tracee Ellis Ross ("Black-ish")

Outstanding limited Series

"Little Fires Everywhere" -- Hulu

"Mrs. America" -- FX 

"Unbelievable" -- Netflix 

"Unorthodox" -- Netflix 

"Watchmen" -- HBO

Outstanding lead actor in a limited series or TV movie

Jeremy Irons ("Watchmen")

Hugh Jackman ("Bad Education")

Paul Mescal ("Normal People")

Jeremy Pope ("Hollywood")

Mark Ruffalo ("I Know This Much Is True")

Outstanding lead actress in a limited series or TV movie

Cate Blanchett ("Mrs. America")

Shira Haas ("Unorthodox")

Regina King ("Watchmen")

Octavia Spencer ("Self Made")

Kerry Washington ("Little Fires Everywhere")

Outstanding reality/competition series

"The Masked Singer" -Fox 

"Nailed It" -- Netflix

"RuPaul's Drag Race" -- VH1

"Top Chef" -- Bravo

"The Voice" -- NBC

Outstanding variety talk series

"Daily Show with Trevor Noah" -- Comedy Central 

"Full Frontal with Samantha Bee" -- TBS 

"Jimmy Kimmel Live!" -- ABC 

"Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" -- HBO

"Late Show with Stephen Colbert" -- CBS 

HBO and streaming service Netflix drew the most TCA Awards nominations among networks and streaming services, the Television Critics Association announced Thursday.

HBO garnered 16 TCA Award nominations to top all services for the second consecutive year, while Netflix generated 10 nods -- the only two networks to earn double-digit nominations, according to the TCA. More than 200 professional television critics and journalists from the United States and Canada voted for programming showcased on broadcast, cable and streaming outlets.

HBO’s drama series Watchmen and Netflix’s Unbelievable each garnered four nominations to lead all shows, said the organization.

“This was an incredible year for television, offering a variety of groundbreaking new series with fresh perspectives and renewed vigor for some veteran favorites,” said Sarah Rodman, TCA president and executive editor at Entertainment Weekly. “Although we sadly will not have the opportunity to gather to honor these creative achievements in person, we look forward to sharing our selections for the season’s top programs when the winners are unveiled later this summer.”

TCA Awards winners will be announced later this summer, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there will not be a formal in-person awards presentation.

The list of 2020 TCA Awards nominees are as follows:

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA

Cate Blanchett, “Mrs. America” – FX on Hulu

Kaitlyn Dever, “Unbelievable” – Netflix

Regina King, “Watchmen” – HBO

Mark Ruffalo, “I Know This Much Is True” – HBO

Rhea Seehorn, “Better Call Saul” – AMC

Jeremy Strong, “Succession” – HBO

Merrit Wever, “Unbelievable” – Netflix

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY

Pamela Adlon, "Better Things" – FX

Christina Applegate, "Dead to Me" – Netflix

Elle Fanning, "The Great" – Hulu

Catherine O'Hara, "Schitt's Creek" – Pop TV

Issa Rae, “Insecure” – HBO

Ramy Youssef, "Ramy" – Hulu

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN NEWS AND INFORMATION

"60 Minutes" – CBS (2012 Winner in Category)

“Frontline” – PBS (Eight-time Winner in Category)

"Hillary" – Hulu

"The Last Dance" – ESPN

“McMillions” – HBO

"The Rachel Maddow Show" – MSNBC

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN REALITY

"Cheer" – Netflix

“Encore!” – Disney+

“Holey Moley” – ABC

"Making It" – NBC

"Top Chef All-Stars L.A." – Bravo

"We’re Here!" – HBO

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN YOUTH PROGRAMMING

"Carmen Sandiego" – Netflix

"Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood" – PBS Kids (2016 Winner in Category)

"Molly of Denali" – PBS Kids

"Odd Squad" – PBS Kids

“Wild Kratts” – PBS Kids

"Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum" – PBS Kids

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN SKETCH/VARIETY SHOWS

“A Black Lady Sketch Show” – HBO

"The Daily Show with Trevor Noah" – Comedy Central

"Full Frontal with Samantha Bee" –TBS

"Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" – HBO (2019 and 2018 Winner in Category)

"Late Night with Seth Meyers" – NBC

"Saturday Night Live" – NBC

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN MOVIE OR MINISERIES

“Little Fires Everywhere” – Hulu

"Mrs. America" – FX on Hulu

"Normal People" – Hulu

"The Plot Against America" – HBO

"Unbelievable" – Netflix

"Watchmen" – HBO

OUTSTANDING NEW PROGRAM

"The Great" – Hulu

"The Mandalorian" – Disney+

"The Morning Show" – AppleTV+

"Never Have I Ever" – Netflix

"Watchmen" – HBO

"Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist" – NBC

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA

"Better Call Saul" – AMC (2019 Winner in Category)

“The Crown” – Netflix

“Euphoria” – HBO

"The Good Fight" - CBS All Access

"Pose" – FX

"Succession" – HBO

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY

"Better Things" – FX

"Dead to Me" – Netflix

"The Good Place" - NBC (2018 Winner in Category)

"Insecure" – HBO

"Schitt's Creek" – Pop TV

"What We Do in the Shadows" – FX

PROGRAM OF THE YEAR

"Better Call Saul" – AMC

“Mrs. America” – FX on Hulu

“Schitt’s Creek” – Pop TV

“Succession” – HBO

“Unbelievable” – Netflix

“Watchmen” – HBO

Several cable networks are commemorating Juneteenth today (June 19) by offering movies, documentaries and specials in celebration of the holiday that marks the end of slavery in America.

Original programming recognizing the holiday includes National Geographic’s simulcast of ABC Network’s Juneteenth: A Celebration of Overcoming special, which examines the legacy of the holiday through the current lens of political and social unrest that has captured global attention, according to ABC News.

AMC tonight will premiere it’s Sherman’s Showcase:  Spectacular variety special, which will honor historic African-American icons both past and present, according to the network.

This Sunday (June 21), TV One will debut its original documentary series The Beat Don't Stop, which highlights the history and legacy of Washington DC.-based Go-go music.  

Other cable networks offering content to commemorate the Juneteenth holiday include:

--HBO will provide all nine episodes of its drama series Watchmen for free tonight and through the weekend on HBO.com and on demand. The series, which stars Regina King, is set in an alternate history where masked vigilantes are treated as outlaws.

--FX Networks will air a collection of African-American based films and series including Hidden Figures and Selma, as well as marathons of comedy series black-ish and Atlanta.

--Smithsonian Channel will offer a day-long lineup of award-winning Black History documentaries, airing chronologically from pre-Civil war through Obama’s presidency, including Civil War 360: Fight For Freedom; The Green Book: Guide For Freedom; Major League Legends: Hank Aaron; The Lost Tapes Malcolm X, MLK: The Assassination Tapes; and The Obama Years: The Power of Words.

--TNT, TBS and truTV will air feature films Black Panther and Just Mercy in primetime with limited commercials. Turner will also feature reflections from distinguished guests including actor Anthony Anderson, Senator Kamala Harris and comedian W. Kamau Bell who will talk about the personal impact these films had on their lives and the culture, according to the company.

--Ovation will air a 24-hour block of films, documentaries and specials that shine a light on the significant contributions of Black artists and activists who have advanced progress for all. Content featured include such documentaries as Beyonce: Queen B; Inside the Actors Studio Alfre Woodard and Prince: Kiss The Rain. 

HBO will offer all of series Watchmen for free June 19-21 on HBO.com and on demand. The network calls it “an extension of the network’s content offering highlighting Black experiences, voices and storytellers.” HBO will also run a marathon of the series on HBO and HBO Latino starting 1 p.m. ET/PT June 19.

Set in an alternate history where masked vigilantes are treated as outlaws, Watchmen was inspired by a graphic novel authored and illustrated by Dave Gibbons and published by DC. There are nine episodes. 

Regina King plays Angela Abar, who is a lead detective in the Tulsa Police Force and a wife and mother of three. Jeremy Irons, Don Johnson, Jean Smart and Tim Blake Nelson are also in the cast. 

Damon Lindelof wrote the series and is an executive producer. 

The show premiered Oct. 20. 

White Rabbit produces the show in association with Warner Bros. Television. Lindelof executive produces along with Nicole Kassell, Tom Spezialy, Stephen Williams and Joseph Iberti. 

HBO is also offering Being Serena, Whoopi Goldberg presents Moms Mabley, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, United Skates and other films and series episodes for free on HBO.com June 19-July 2. 

Two new series based on popular franchises head the list of new and returning series debuting this week.

USA Network on Oct. 15 will premiere drama series Treadstone, based on the Jason Bourne theatrical movie franchise, which follows the origins of a secret CIA black ops program. Debuting Oct. 20 is HBO’s Watchmen, based on the graphic comic book series of the same name and set in an alternate history where superheroes are treated as outlaws, according to the network.

On the streaming services front, Oct. 18 will serve as the debut date for Prime Video’s drama anthology series Modern Love, Hulu’s miniseries Looking for Alaska and Netflix’s dramedy Living With Yourself.

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting this week on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

Oct. 14 -- Letterkenny (returning series) -- Hulu

Oct. 15 -- The Purge (returning series) -- USA

Oct. 16 -- Impulse (returning series) -- YouTube

Oct. 16 -- Limetown (drama) -- Facebook Watch 

Oct. 17 -- BookTube (returning talk show) -- YouTube

Oct. 17 -- Liberty: Mother of Exiles (documentary) -- HBO

Oct. 18 -- Eli (horror movie) -- Netflix

Oct. 18 -- Wounds (horror movie) -- Hulu

HBO has set an Oct. 20 date for the premiere of its original drama series Watchmen, the network said Tuesday.

The series, which stars Regina King, is set in an alternate history where masked vigilantes are treated as outlaws. The series embraces the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel of the same name, while attempting to break new ground of its own, according to HBO.

RELATED: 'Watchmen,' 'Terror: Infamy' are History Revisited in Fiction 

Watchmen, based on the iconic graphic novel co-created and illustrated by Dave Gibbons and published by DC, is produced for HBO by White Rabbit in association with Warner Bros. Television. Executive producers for the series are Damon Lindelof, Nicole Kassell, Tom Spezialy, Stephen Williams and Joseph Iberti. 

[embed]https://twitter.com/watchmen/status/1168931663985836032[/embed]

Two new cable dramas will shine a light on two historical events revolving around racism and prejudice that have for the most part remained in the shadows of American history.

HBO’s Watchmen, which debuts this fall, is set in an alternative universe in which police officers wear masks to protect their identities against a group of white supremacists seeking to kill them. The series takes place in 2019 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where nearly 100 years earlier an angry white mob terrorized black homeowners and destroyed businesses in a thriving area known as Black Wall Street in arguably one of the worst occurrences of racial violence in American history.

Watchmen series creator Damon Lindelof said during the recent Television Critics Association press tour that reading about the Tulsa race riot in author Ta-Nehisi Coates’s 2014 essay The Case for Reparations gave him the idea to use the city as a symbolic launching pad to tackle the subjects of race, prejudice and law enforcement in his version of Watchmen, which is inspired by the classic 1980s graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.

“That was the first time that I heard about Black Wall Street and what happened in Tulsa in ’21 … that was the beginning of my education,” said Lindelof. “When I started thinking about what Watchmen was going to be and trying to think about the original source material, the book was highly political ... it was about what was happening in American culture at the time. What in 2019 is the equivalent of the nuclear standoff between the Russians and the United States? It just felt like it was undeniably race and policing in America.”

AMC’s horror anthology series The Terror: Infamy -- premiering Aug. 12 -- bases its storyline around the true-life relocation of more than 100,000 Japanese Americans from their homes into internment camps during World War II after the 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor.

The series, created and produced by Alexander Woo (True Blood), prominently features Asian-Americans both in front of and behind the camera, including 82-year old actor George Takei of Star Trek fame who experienced life at an internment camp first hand. Takei, who was five-years old when his family was incarcerated, said the series's inclusion of a supernatural entity derived from vintage Japanese ghost stories -- or kaidan -- that ultimately terrorizes the inhabitants of the internment camps, helps to highlight the real horror stories of racial prejudice and imprisonment experienced by interned Japanese Americans in the 1940s.

“It was a harrowing experience, but the kaidan adds to the intensifying of that story,” said Takei. “I hope The Terror: Infamy will remind people that [racism] is still existing today. What we have is this endless cycle, the repetition of this kind of horror and injustice being inflicted on minority people. And we see it again today on our southern borders.”

Indeed, the two series serve as a creative spotlight in which fiction brings to light dark periods in American history.

The 2019 Comic-Con International convention in San Diego is in full swing, with cable networks and streaming services offering first-look trailers of new and returning series.

The conference, which runs from July 19-July 22, showcases the latest in comics-themed television and theatrical content from such content providers as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, WarnerMedia, Disney and NBCUniversal. A sampling of those videos appear below and will be updated throughout Comic Con International’s four-day run.

Watchman -- HBO

The Man In The High Castle -- Amazon Video

Westworld -- HBO

Star Trek: Picard -- CBS All Access

Harley Quinn -- DCUniverse 

The Witcher -- Netflix

Star Trek: Discovery -- CBS All Access

The Expanse -- Amazon Video