HBO drama “Succession,” the story of a cutthroat fight for control of a family’s media empire, led the nominees for television’s Emmy awards on Wednesday with 27 nods for the show’s final season.
The two-time best drama winner “Succession” will vie for the trophy again alongside fellow HBO show “The Last of Us,” a dystopian video-game adaptation that landed a second-best 24 Emmy nominations.
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Nominations for the highest honours in television were announced as Hollywood was in the throes of labour tensions that may delay the Emmys ceremony beyond its normal September date. Film and TV writers walked off the job two months ago, and actors may strike soon.
“Thank you to the Television Academy for sending us off in such style,” said “Succession” supporting actor nominee Alan Ruck. The show about the dysfunctional Roy family ended its four-season run in May.
Others competing for best drama included HBO’s “Game of Thrones” prequel “House of the Dragon,” the vacation-gone-wrong story “The White Lotus and “Star Wars” series “Andor.” Previous nominees “Better Call Saul,” “Yellowjackets” and “The Crown” are also in the mix.
HBO, a unit of Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O), outpaced all networks with 127 total nominations. Netflix landed 103 nods.
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In acting categories, “Succession” patriarch Brian Cox will compete with two of his warring TV sons – Jeremy Strong and Kieran Culkin – for best drama actor. Sarah Snook, another Roy sibling, is considered the favorite to win best drama actress.
Winners will be chosen by the roughly 20,000 members of the Television Academy.
As of Wednesday, the Emmys ceremony was scheduled to take place on September 18 and air live on the Fox (FOXA.O) broadcast network. Organizers will decide closer to that date on whether to reschedule, an academy spokesperson said.
“We hope the ongoing guild negotiations can come to an equitable and swift resolution,” Frank Scherma, chairman and CEO of the Television Academy, said at the start of the nominations announcement.