Actors of colour nominated from three TV shows helped make up half of the overall number of nonwhite nominees at this year’s Emmy Awards.
Thirteen of the 26 actors of colour nominated by the Television Academy for 2022 Emmys had roles in Squid Game, Ted Lasso or Abbott Elementary, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Five of the nominees came from Squid Game, the drama that made history as the first non-English show to be nominated for an Emmy. Those nominees include actors Lee Jung-jae, Oh Young-soo, Park Hae-soo, Jung Ho-yeon and Lee You-mi.
Ted Lasso also scored big with nominations for actors of colour: Nick Mohammed, Toheeb Jimoh, Sarah Niles and Sam Richardson.
ABC comedy series Abbott Elementary racked up nominations for nonwhite actors as well, including Quinta Brunson, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Janelle James and Tyler James Williams.
The show received seven nominations overall, and Brunson made history as the first Black woman to receive three comedy category nominations in the same year.
Overall, however, the number of actors of colour nominated for Emmys dropped from the prior year. Roughly 24.5% of the 2022 nominees are actors of colour, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Last year, that figure was 44%.
But nominations don’t always mean wins. White actors swept supporting and lead categories in 2021, the outlet noted.
Additionally, 31 people of colour were nominated in reality hosting and acting categories this year, down from last year’s record 49 in the same categories, according to Deadline.
Deadline added that this year “came up short” in nominating Hispanic and Latino talent, with nods for only two actors: Scenes Of A Marriage actor Oscar Isaac and Euphoria actor Colman Domingo.
Only Murders In The Building actor Selena Gomez didn’t receive a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy, but did receive an Outstanding Comedy Series nomination for being an executive producer on the series.
It makes her the second Latina to ever be nominated at the Emmys for producing a comedy series.