The 68th annual Primetime Emmy Award nominations were announced July 14, with a diverse list of nods that included Transparent, RuPaul's Drag Race and Modern Family—as well as Her Story, a web series that looks at the lives of trans women.
The trans series Her Story received a nomination for Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series. Her Story is co-written by former Chicagoan Jen Richards (I Am Cait) and Laura Zak (#Hashtag), is directed by Sydney Freeland (Drunktown's Finest), with cinematography by Berenice Eveno. Executive-produced by Eve Ensler and produced by Katherine Fisher, Her Story features predominantly LGBTQ women, on and off screen. As the series notes: "Her Story is about two trans women in Los Angeles who have given up on love, when suddenly chance encounters give them hope." Among the actors in the IndieGoGo-funded production are Richards, Angelica Ross and Fawzia Mirza. (A Windy City Times profile of the production is at www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Web-series-aims-to-tell-realistic-trans-experiences/54013.html .)
Some of the nominations are as follows:
—Outstanding Drama Series: The Americans, Better Call Saul, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, Homeland, House of Cards and Mr. Robot
—Outstanding Comedy Series: black-ish, Master of None, Modern Family, Silicon Valley, Transparent, Veep and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
—Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series: Keri Russell (The Americans), Taraji P. Henson (Empire), Claire Danes (Homeland), Robin Wright (House of Cards), Viola Davis (How to Get Away with Murder) and Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black)
—Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series: Anthony Anderson (black-ish), Will Forte (The Last Man on Earth), Aziz Ansari (Master of None), William H. Macy (Shameless), Thomas Middleditch (Silicon Valley) and Jeffrey Tambor (Transparent)
—Outstanding Reality-Competition Program: The Amazing Race, Amazing Ninja Warrior, Dancing with the Stars, Project Runway, Top Chef and The Voice
—Outstanding Host for A Reality or Reality-Competition Program: Ryan Seacrest (American Idol), Tom Bergeron (Dancing with the Stars), Jane Lynch (Hollywood Game Night), Steve Harvey (Little Big Shots starring Steve Harvey), Heidi Klum/Tim Gunn (Project Runway) and RuPaul Charles (RuPaul's Drag Race)
TheWrap said that notable snubs included Girls and The Good Wife while shows receiving their first nominations included The Americans and Master of None. Also, despite winning Best Supporting Actress two years in a row, Orange Is the New Black star Uzo Aduba was not nominated in 2016.
Beyonce's Lemonade was nominated for Outstanding Variety Special and got three other nominations, including Beyonce herself for directing. Orange Is the New Black only received one nomination, for Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series.
Game of Thrones had the most nominations with 23, followed by People v. O.J.'s 22. HBO led all networks with 94 nods.
The 2016 Emmy Awards airs on ABC Sunday, Sept. 18, with Jimmy Kimmel returning to host, having last performed the duty in 2012. For more information, see Emmys.com .
