There Was A Decline in Minority Nominees in The Emmys This Year. Here's Why That Means Less Than People Will Tell You

 

In 2021 there were more nominees of color at the Emmys that at any time before or since: 49. I learned about that recently for reasons I'll get into below but as a historian of the Emmys I think that should be taken with a grain of salt for three big reasons.

First as anyone who has a relatively good memory should know 2020 was the year of the pandemic. That delayed production of almost every major series that had been nominated in 2019. As a result we had a very interesting field of nominees across the board which is almost certainly the reason Emily in Paris was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series that year as well as the reason Lovecraft Country and Pose did as well as they did in the Outstanding Drama category. Don't get me wrong both were great shows but I'm not naïve enough to think that things wouldn't have gone differently had           Succession and Ozark been eligible that year.

Second that year had a lot of strange oddities. The biggest was that Hamilton absolutely dominated the Limited Series/TV movie acting nominees even though it was a recording of a musical. Also The Handmaid's Tale which had basically been shutout ever since winning big its freshman year got a ridiculous number of nominations that year, including seven in the supporting actor and actress category. Even the most devoted fans of that series found that hard to justify.

And thirdly and most importantly with the exception of Courtney B. Vance for Outstanding Guest Actor for Lovecraft Country none of them won as The Crown swept every major drama category, Ted Lasso and Hacks divided all the comedy awards and Mare of Easttown was the big winner in Limited Series. All of the credit the Emmys might have earned for its record nominees of people of color was immediately shunted aside and the hashtag #EmmysSoWhite began to trend minutes after the broadcast. Never mind that Michaela Coel had that night become the first woman of color to win any writing awards at the Emmys; in a matter of seconds the Emmys was yet again a white's only club.

In hindsight this sums up the two worst parts of both Hollywood and the left that I have come to despise over the years on every level. It is never enough to have the greatest amount of recognition possible in history; it only counts if it happens when the world can see it. It didn't matter what the context for the record is; all that mattered was that it was set. And as a result every major minority group in Hollywood has been quietly and indirectly assailing television in particular for never living up to its standards in minorities as if Uzo Aduba and John Leguizamo are as significant to the world as Rosa Parks and Cesar Chavez. I say this as someone who admires the Emmys and does believe representation should matter but I'm also smart enough to know where it ranks in the world of importance. The achievements of Martin Luther King and Betty Friedan are significant milestones in history; the victories of Liza Colon-Zayas and Ayo Edebiri are little more than the answers to a Final Jeopardy that might stump the contestants.

Now before everyone jumps on me: I do agree that representation and diversity are important. I believe we need representation of all races, genders and sexual orientation everywhere in America. Politics is the most important place at a federal and state level. After that, education should probably be next. Then corporations and other businesses. I'm relatively sure that roles and behind the scenes recognition in the entertainment industry should be at the bottom of the list of priorities for society.

I also understand why it matters to certain people and that's because of the toxic manboy attitude of the internet to so much of Hollywood and, well, everything else that doesn't fit a white, cis male attitude in our society. I get that, I know firsthand how toxic they can be on line. And I do agree that things have to change. I have yet to be convinced as to how representation in the television shows I watch will lead to a better America. I'm not necessarily sold on the idea they will make a better entertainment industry. As far as I can tell, so much of the push by minority actors across the board is so that a bunch of millionaires can get better roles so that they might someday be nominated for a shiny golden statue. I may be an idiot but I'm not sure how that improves things for minorities anywhere else in America.

And stripped away from that fact all it does is set up another in a long line of false comparisons that sound significant but are meaningless. Let's take one 'outrage'. People were irked that Diego Luna wasn't nominated for Best Actor for his work in Andor. Okay that's how awards show work. By definition your favorite actors are going to be ignored in so many series. This used to be a game and as we saw with the Oscars earlier this year, it's becoming a blood sport.

Now I heard in one writing by a LatinX organization that 'if Luna and Pascal had been nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama, it would have been the first time in Emmy history two LatinX nominees had been in the same acting category." First of all, is that now a standard for civil rights that I didn't know about? Second of all, why Luna in particular? Ramon Rodriguez has been giving great performances in Will Trent long before Andor premiered and I've been personally advocating for him to be nominated – not because he's LatinX but because he deserves it. The decision to bring up Luna shows the arbitrary nature of this.

Furthermore Sterling K. Brown is also nominated in this category for Paradise. Does Brown not count as a person of color in this regard because I'm pretty sure he'd beg to differ? And since we're talking about actors who were ignored Zahn McLarnon has been giving great performances in Dark Winds for three seasons. I advocated for him in this category. If he'd been nominated instead, would the outrage machine be turning there for the LatinX group? Don't answer, I think I know.

Similarly there was some noise about Selena Gomez being ignored for Only Murders in the Building. Now there are three women of color nominated in this category: Uzo Aduba, Quinta Brunson and Ayo Edebiri. I'm relatively sure this is the first time this has happened in the history of this category. Furthermore Edebiri and Brunson are nominated in two separate categories: Brunson for acting and writing, Edebiri for acting and directing. That would have been unheard of even five years ago. So why aren't we celebrating that as the triumph it is and are instead outraged that Gomez was excluded? Steve Martin wasn't nominated either but no one seems as upset about that.

Nor is that the only category which has majority minority representation. Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy has three African-American nominees: Janelle James and Sheryl Lee Ralph for Abbott Elementary and Jessica Williams for Shrinking. Combined with Liza Colon-Zayas for The Bear four of the seven nominees in that category are minorities. That is something I couldn't foresee any Emmy category accomplishing even five years ago.

Furthermore there have been some significant historical records. Aduba has become the first African-American actress to be nominated for acting in three different series. She's also been nominated every acting category available for an actor at the Emmys save for lead actress in a Limited Series/Movie. She's done all this in twelve years. Furthermore Sterling K. Brown received his eleventh Emmy nomination, which ties him with Andre Braugher for most Emmy nominations for an African-American Actor. He's done this in nine years; Braugher needed 27.

There is also continued recognition for the LGBTQ+ community. Jeff Hiller and Michael Urie both received their first Emmy nominations and Hannah Einbinder was nominated for the fourth time. Bowen Yang was nominated again for Saturday Night Live. Bella Ramsey was nominated for Best Actress for The Last of Us – and made it very clear that even though they identify as non-binary, they have no problem being nominated as an actress because "I respect women."  Two different bi-racial actresses were nominated this year: Rashida Jones for Black Mirror and Ruth Negga for Presumed Innocent and as someone who was a fan of both their work this year, I was thrilled they were nominated – because their performances merited it.

I mention all of this for two different but related reasons. The first is that compared to ten years ago the television industry has become far more diverse when it comes to recognizing people of color in a way they just weren't before at every level. I remember what a big deal it was in 2015 when Aduba, Regina King and Viola Davis all won Emmys for three different series. That year was historically significant; now it's become the norm more than the aberration. And purely on a creative level the presence of all these new voices have added some truly exceptional television over the last decade, some of which I have little doubt will lead to some of the greatest series in history.

Second and more importantly, despite what Hollywood and the social media will no doubt be telling us for the next several months, compared to so many of the societal problems the country and the world faces today where these issues are significant, representation at a awards shows is very, very low on importance. I'm kind of surprised there are people who think otherwise. I've often attached more importance to awards then is merited, but even at my most naïve level I never mistook the Emmys for being significant beyond the field of television or even Hollywood. I don't believe they're a meritocracy but I also don't think they're important beyond their bubble. The people who think they do are stuck in their own.

There is a chance – a good one this year – that like in 2021, not a single Emmy will go to a performer of color. And just like that night, it doesn't mean that the Emmys are becoming fundamentally a place of white supremacy, though I have no doubt people will argue it because that's where our society is these days. Progress, despite everything you will hear from so many people online, has always been a marathon not a sprint. The Emmys is not going backwards despite whatever statistics certain groups are going to argue, it is going forward and it will continue to go forward.

 And if you truly think that the only way to prove it is for there to be a multitude of winners of color on Emmy night, well, your egos are as fragile as so many of the performers who are agitating about it these days. And you'd do well to remind yourself as they also need reminding, that there are far more important things to worry about in the world then whether someone of color wins Best Actor in a Drama.