Emmys 2016 Trivia: Amy Poehler & Tina Fey Shared A Nod & 20 Other Wild Things About This Year’s Nominations
Amy Poehler and Tina Fey made history Thursday morning. The pals were nominated in the Guest Actress in a Comedy Emmy category for hosting “Saturday Night Live.”
That’s not unusual — “SNL” hosts are nominated for Emmys all the time. But here’s what’s unique: Poehler and Fey were nominated as a single, combined entity. Earlier this year, the TV Academy accepted their joint submission, and their names appeared together on nomination ballots.
READ MORE: Emmys 2016 Nominations: ‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘Mr. Robot,’ ‘The Americans’ Get Major Nods
That’s never happened in an acting category before because, well, a person is generally one person. But this was a unique circumstance: “SNL” guest hosts are eligible for guest star Emmys – but usually even comedy teams are nominated separately. (For example, Keegan-Michael Key is nominated this year for “Key & Peele” in the supporting comedy actor category, but Jordan Peele is not.)
The closest similarly is the outstanding reality host category, where “Project Runway’s” Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn have shared a nomination.
Here are more oddities and trivia behind this year’s Emmy races.
Allison Janney and Julia Louis-Dreyfus In the Hunt: While Cloris Leachman has won eight Emmys, more than any other female performer, Allison Janney (nominated this year for both “Mom” and “Masters of Sex”) is close behind with seven. Right behind her: Louis-Dreyfus (nominated this year for “Veep”), with six.
Can “Game of Thrones” Do It Again? Last year, “Thrones” won 12 Emmys, breaking the record for most Emmys won by a series in a single season. “Thrones” has 23 nominations this year, just down slightly from 24 last year. Perhaps that record can be beat?
The “Saturday Night Live” Streak: “SNL” scored 16 nominations this year, tying its haul in 2010 for the most ever for a variety show. “SNL” has scored 209 Emmy nominations through its 41 seasons, easily making it the most-nominated program ever. (In second place is “ER” with 124.)
Seven Roles, One Emmy: Both Seth MacFarlane and Tatiana Maslany scored nominations for playing seven different roles on their TV shows. MacFarlane is nominated in outstanding voice-over performance for playing his “Family Guy” characters Peter Griffin, Stewie Griffin, Brian Griffin, Glenn Quagmire, Dr. Hartman, Tom Tucker and Mr. Spacely. Maslany was nominated as outstanding drama lead actress for playing “Orphan Black” clones Sarah, Alison, Cosima, Helena, Rachel, M.K. and Krystal.
Goodbye, Farewell and Amen: Departing series such as “The Good Wife” and “American Idol” didn’t receive Emmy love in an outstanding program category, but other exiting series did: “Downton Abbey,” one last time for outstanding drama, “Key and Peele” is competing in the Outstanding Variety Sketch category, and “Phineas and Ferb Last Day of Summer” was nominated in the Outstanding Animated Program category (opposite grown-up stalwarts “Archer,” “Bob’s Burgers,” “The Simpsons” and “South Park”).
All They Really Want To Do is Direct: Aziz Ansari (“Master of None”), Mike Judge (“Silicon Valley”), Alec Berg (“Silicon Valley”), Jill Soloway (“Transparent”), Dave Mandel (“Veep”), Noah Hawley (“Fargo”) and Ryan Murphy (“The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”) are known as being writers, showrunners and executive producers. But they all took turns directing their own shows last year – and all received directing Emmy nominations for their effort.
Battle of the Chart-Toppers: Adele and Beyonce, IT’S ON. “Adele: Live in New York City” and “Lemonade” are both up for Outstanding Variety Special. (“The Late Late Show Carpool Karaoke Prime Time Special,” featuring Adele and others, is also nominated.) Beyonce — credited as Beyonce Knowles Carter — also received a nomination in the Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special category for “Lemonade.” (Hello? Adele? Why didn’t you direct your special? Beth McCarthy-Miller, who directed “Adele: Live in New York City,” was nominated as well.)
The 1990s Were A Long Time Ago: “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” landed a nominated in the Outstanding Costumes for a Period/Fantasy Series, Limited Series or Movie, opposite programs like “Roots,” “Outlander,” “Game of Thrones” and “Downton Abbey.” After all, Marcia Clark and Johnnie Cochrane’s 1990s-era wardrobe can hardly be considered contemporary.
We’re Doing It Live: Rival live musicals “Grease: Live” and “The Wiz: Live” won’t get to battle it out in the key Outstanding Special Class category (only “Grease: Live” is nominated). But at least they will face off in the Outstanding Costumes for a Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Program, Outstanding Hairstyle for a Multi-Camera Series or Special, Outstanding Makeup for a Multi-Camera Series or Special (Non-Prosthetic) and Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control for a Limited Series, Movie or Special categories.
Autopilot: Normally pilot episodes – which require extra care and loads of direction – land a few spots in the Outstanding Directing categories for comedy and drama. Not this year. None of this year’s nominees in both categories are for a pilot.
Watch Your Back, Hector Ramirez: Camera operator Hector Ramirez has held the title for most Emmy nominations for an individual for several years; last year, he hit 74, which was a new record. This year, HBO documentary dynamo Sheila Nevins has also hit 74 noms, and the two are now tied. (Nevins already has the most wins, with 31 Emmys, of any individual ever.)
The Last Refuge of the Broadcast Networks: It’s hard out there for the traditional over-the-air networks these days when it comes to Emmy nominations. But the Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series category is a network head’s dream: “The Big Bang Theory,” “Last Man Standing,” “Mike & Molly,” “Mom” and “2 Broke Girls” are all nominated. Playing spoiler: Louis C.K.’s “Horace and Pete” is also there. Other categories will all broadcast network contenders include Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Series and Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Special.
Wait, Is “Horace and Pete” a Comedy or a Drama? Like we mentioned above, “Horace and Pete” was nominated for Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series. But the show’s Laurie Metcalf was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series.
FX vs. FX vs. FX: Guess which network is going to win the Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Limited Series or Movie category. Two episodes of “Fargo” face off with three episodes of “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.”
Battle of the Ex-Late Night Bandleaders: Former “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” bandleader Rickey Minor and former “Late Show with David Letterman” bandleader Paul Shaffer face off in the Outstanding Music Direction category this year. (Minor for “Smithsonian Salutes Ray Charles: In Performance at the White House” and Shaffer for “A Very Murray Christmas.” The late night war continues!
The Cancellation Bear Gets a Nomination, Sort Of: The Twitter account The Cancellation Bear is famous for dashing fans’ dreams when it comes to the renewal of their favorite, but low-rated, series. “Galavant” made it to Season 2, and celebrated it with the song “A New Season aka Suck It Cancellation Bear.” That tune is now nominated for the Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics award.
The Emmy Throne: How successful is “Game of Thrones”? The popular web parody “Gay of Thrones,” found on FunnyOrDie.com, is also nominated in the Outstanding Short Form Variety Series category.
Digital Saves the Day: BET didn’t receive a nomination, but BET.com did. And “Conan” didn’t get a nod in the Variety/Talk category, but the show landed a nod for Outstanding Interactive Program.
Biography Bonanza: Every program nominated in this year’s Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special profiles an icon: “Becoming Mike Nichols,” “Everything Is Copy – Nora Ephron: Scripted & Unscripted,” “Listen to Me Marlon” (Marlon Brando), “Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures” (Robert Mapplethorpe) and “What Happened, Miss Simone?” (Nina Simone).
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