Palisadians Nominated for 71st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards

By JAMES GAGE | Reporter

Airing September 22 on FOX, the 71st annual Primetime Emmy Awards are packed with Palisadians.

This year’s awards will welcome back Emmy queen Julia Louis-Dreyfus, nominated again this year in the category of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Selina Meyers in NBC’s political romp “Veep,” which officially drew to a close after its seventh season.

Louis-Dreyfus was absent from last year’s Emmy Awards while undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

“Veep” is again nominated in the category of Outstanding Comedy Series, up against last year’s winner Amazon’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” sitting pretty with 20 nominations.

Shockingly, Chuck Lorre’s “The Big Bang Theory” was snubbed in its final season, though Mark Cendrowski was nominated in the category of Directing for Comedy Series for one of its episodes.

Duking it out against “Veep” is HBO’s “Barry” written and produced by Palisadian Alec Berg and starring Palisadians Bill Hader and Henry Winkler. Hader’s brooding hitman earned him a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series this year, along with a nomination for Oustanding Directing for a Comedy Series and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series.

Hader will have to clear some mantle space this year—the actor, with 18 nominations and two wins under his belt, will likely be adding to his hardware collection. Winkler, in his role as Gene Cousineau, is nominated this year in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a comedy series, which he won last year.

The award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series is all but guaranteed to go to a Palisadian as Hader vies to stay on top competing alongside fellow Palisadians Don Cheadle, nominated in the category for his starring role as Mo Monroe on “Black Monday,” and Ted Danson for his role as Michael on “The Good Place,” which was also nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series.

In the drama department, Amy Adams, who got her start at Theatre Palisades, is nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series for her role as Camille Preaker on HBO’s “Sharp Objects,” which is also nominated for Outstanding Limited Series.

“Big Little Lies” starring Palisadians Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern, and former Palisadian Nicole Kidman, unfortunately aired outside the qualification period for this year’s awards—otherwise the show would likely hit the jackpot.

The rest of the drama awards this year will be a tireless procession into the coffers of “Game of Thrones,” which was nominated a record-setting 32 times.

Pacific Palisades former Honorary Mayor Anthony Hopkins was another surprising snub this year, getting nothing for his role as King Lear in the Amazon adaptation of the Shakespearian classic, though the production was nominated in the category of Outstanding Television Movie.

On the unscripted side of things, TBS’ “Conan” was not nominated for Outstanding Variety/Talk Series, but instead made the cut for Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media. O’Brien also picked up a nomination for his “Conan Without Borders” program, which won the category last year.

Adam Sandler also picked up a couple nominations both for his Netflix special “Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh” and for hosting “Saturday Night Live” in May.

While plenty of favorites made the list and plenty others did not, this year’s awards show will be one of historic proportions as juggernauts like “Game of Thrones” and “Veep” sing their swansongs, leaving the door wide open for fresh, new contenders.