“Fleabag” is finally getting the recognition it deserves stateside. The exquisite second and final season of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s dark comedy made an unexpectedly big impact on Emmy voters. The 2019 Emmy nominations are in, and “Fleabag’s” 11 nominations include Comedy Series, Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Waller-Bridge), and Comedy Writing (Waller-Bridge).
Waller-Bridge-created spy thriller “Killing Eve” also made quite an impression on voters. The second run of the BBC America title is up for Drama Series, Drama Directing (Lisa Brühlmann), and Drama Writing (Emerald Fennell), among other honors. Sandra Oh, who received a nod last year, is in the running for Lead Actress in a Drama Series, and this year she’s joined by co-star Jodie Comer.
With a new HBO series and “Bond” film on the way, Waller-Bridge is by no means struggling to find opportunities, but we’re hopeful that the Emmy love opens even more doors for the multi-hyphenate.
Other series by and about women to make a mark include Netflix’s “Russian Doll” and Amazon’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” The former is being recognized for Comedy Series and Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Natasha Lyonne). The “Groundhog Day”-esque story about a woman who keeps reliving her birthday party is also nominated twice in the Writing for a Comedy Series category, with Leslye Headland and Allison Silverman repping the show. “Maisel’s” many nominations include Comedy Series, Directing for a Comedy Series (Amy Sherman-Palladino), and Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Rachel Brosnahan). Sherman-Palladino and Brosnahan won their respective categories last year.
We were disappointed to see that all six nominees the in Lead Actress in a Comedy Series category are white. The Lead Actress in a Drama Series and Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie categories are more inclusive, with Viola Davis (“How to Get Away With Murder”) and Oh appearing up for the former and “When They See Us” co-stars Aunjanue Ellis and Niecy Nash in the latter.
“When They See Us,” Ava DuVernay’s critically acclaimed miniseries about the so-called “Central Park 5,” is in the running for a number of awards such as Limited Series, Directing for a Limited Series (DuVernay), and Writing for a Limited Series (DuVernay and Michael Starrbury).
“Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé” netted six nominations, including Variety Special (pre-recorded) and Directing for a Variety Special (Beyoncé and Ed Burke).
Head over to CNBC to see all of the nominees, which include Marti Noxon’s adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s “Sharp Objects” and Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle’s coming-of-age comedy “Pen15.”