A billboard for the series "The Bear" looms over Sunset Boulevard the night before nominations are announced for the 2024 Prime Time Emmy Awards, in Los Angeles, California, U.S. July 16, 2024. REUTERS/David Swanson
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Historical drama "Shogun," the sweeping story of a struggle for power in feudal Japan, racked up 25 nominations on Wednesday to lead this year's contenders for television's Emmy Awards.
The first season of the FX network series will compete for best drama, the top Emmy trophy, with the final installment of Netflix's British royal saga "The Crown," "The Morning Show" from Apple TV+, among others.
Another FX show, nail-biting restaurant tale "The Bear," earned 23 nominations, a record for a comedy. Its second season will compete again for best comedy, a category it won at the last Emmys.
Other comedy nominees included ABC's "Abbott Elementary," set in an underfunded Philadelphia school, and HBO's "Hacks" about a septuagenarian comedienne and a millennial writer.
"Baby Reindeer," the Netflix series about a bartender stalked by a customer, was nominated for best limited series, one of its 11 nods. Creator and star Richard Gadd has said the tale reflects a true story, though a defamation lawsuit argues its portrayal of the stalker is exaggerated.
Competitors for limited series include FX's "Fargo" and HBO's "True Detective: Night Country."
Netflix topped all networks with 107 nominations, including 18 for "The Crown." FX followed with 93 nods, just ahead of the 91 for Warner Bros Discovery's HBO and streaming service Max.
Winners of the Emmys, the highest honors in television, will be announced at a red-carpet ceremony broadcast live on Walt Disney's ABC on Sept. 15. The honorees will be chosen by the nearly 22,000 performers, directors, producers and other members of the Television Academy.
The last Emmys were held just six months ago, in January, when strikes by Hollywood writers and actors prompted a delay in last year's ceremony.
For the upcoming awards, 36 nominated performers are first-time nominees.
They include five "Shogun" actors, including Japanese stars Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai in the lead drama actor and actress categories. The series, a remake of a 1980 miniseries, is set in the year 1600 with dialogue in English and Japanese.
Oscar winner Jodie Foster scored her first Emmy nomination as an actor for "True Detective," a series set in Alaska and filmed in Iceland. Foster thanked the team that brought the series to the screen.
"We couldn’t love and trust one another more, after holding on for dear life through the snow, finding our way in the dark," she said in a statement.
Other acting nominees include "The Bear" stars Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri, two previous winners, who will compete for best comedy actor and actress.
"Curb Your Enthusiasm" star Larry David, who plays a curmudgeon unafraid to deliver blunt critiques of bothersome behavior, was nominated for lead comedy actor and the series for best comedy.
"It warms my heart to see that misanthropy is finally being recognized as an art form," David said in a statement.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Additional reporting by Dawn Chmielewski;Editing by Aurora Ellis)
