2023 Emmys: Our Wishlist of Black Nominees

Shows like Abbott Elementary, Succession, Barry, and Ted Lasso are pretty much locks for Emmy nominations. However, if the Television Academy looks deeper, they will discover some spectacular Black artists and series that deserve to be nominated. As Hollywood prepares to celebrate nominees for the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards, take a look at the Black actors and series we’d love to see receive Emmy nominations.

Andre Braugher – The Good Fight

Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Andre Braugher has been nominated for 11 Emmys and he deserved every single one. In the Paramount+ legal drama The Good Fight, he played clever, bombastic attorney Ri’Chard Lane. However, it was in his character’s quiet, vulnerable moments that he reminded us how brilliantly adept he is at destroying us. With Succession’s Nicholas Braun, Kieran Culkin, and Matthew Macfadyen possibly splitting the vote, this could be Braugher’s time.

Ego Nwodim – Saturday Night Live

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

SNL lost eight cast members ahead of Season 48. The glue that held things together was Ego Nwodim. Even in the most absurd, over the top sketches, she feels like the only one making sense. She’s the audience’s proxy into the madness.

Taraji P. Henson – Abbott Elementary

Guest Actress in a Comedy Series

Taraji is absolutely hilarious as Janine’s mom. She takes elements of her most famous role, Cookie Lyon, and effortlessly brings them to Abbott Elementary’s ridiculously fun style. The scene between she and Sheryl Lee Ralph’s Barbara is an absolute masterpiece.

Quinta Brunson – Saturday Night Live – NBC, Peacock

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series

Her experience on A Black Lady Sketch Show made Quinta Brunson a natural on SNL. She felt like someone who was making their fifth or sixth appearance, not a first-timer.

The Best Man: The Final Chapters – Peacock

Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series

For day one fans of the franchise, The Best Man: The Final Chapters delivered a satisfying end to the film series and also allowed us to see more mature versions of these characters. They grew into real adults, the same way their fans had.

Moses Ingram – Obi-Wan Kenobi – Disney+

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

As Reva/Third Sister, Moses Ingram gave a heartbreaking performance as a woman whose only purpose in life was revenge. It was all she had holding her together, so when she gave it up, it broke her. Ingram deserves all the awards for the chilling, all too real description of what happened at the Jedi Temple on the day Anakin Skywalker carried out Order 66.

Snowfall – FX, Hulu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ckvr_HyoCo8

Outstanding Drama Series

The final season of this FX drama really saved the best for last. From Damson Idris embodying Saint’s desperation, to the writers and directors making sure every episode counted, Snowfall Season 6 kept its foot on the gas until its very last moments.

Michael Hyatt as Cissy Saint – Snowfall – FX, Hulu

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Michael Hyatt has been so good as Saint’s mother Cissy, she sometimes gets lost when people talk about the show. But in Snowfall Season 6 as her son became increasingly reckless and desperate, Cissy found new levels of strength and resolve, that gave Hyatt a chance to showcase who the real boss of The Family was.

Amin Joseph as Jerome Saint – Snowfall – FX, Hulu

Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Jerome was always the voice of reason that could talk Saint down when he went too far, but his nephew’s thirst for power pushed him to cut off the man he thought of as his son. In a devastating moment, Jerome recognized that the boy he raised was lost to him.

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story – Netflix

Outstanding Drama Series or Limited Series

What made Queen Charlotte stand out from the first two seasons of Bridgerton was how it focused on both Charlotte and Agatha’s obstacles as Black women in a world that didn’t want them to succeed. In the end, they chose not to compromise, because that was the only way they would get the Ton to respect them.

India Amarteifio as young Queen Charlotte – Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story – Netflix

Lead Actress in a Drama Series or Limited Series

Golda Rosheuvel’s Charlotte has the confidence and commanding presence of a woman who has been a revered queen for decades. Amarteifio brilliantly balances that confident exterior with the loneliness of a woman surrounded by strangers and stuck in a marriage she did not choose.

Arsema Thomas as young Agatha, Lady Danbury – Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story – Netflix

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series or Limited Series

The Lady Danbury we know in Bridgerton rules over the Ton, but here she’s just barely received a title and must fight to protect her position once her husband dies. This is Agatha when she’s learning to become the most feared socialite in town and Thomas gives a fascinating glimpse at how a woman in this world discovers her independence.

Keke Palmer – Saturday Night Live – NBC, Peacock

Guest Actress in a Comedy Series

Not only did Keke announce her pregnancy to the world during her SNL hosting debut, she gave one of the best first time performances in the show’s 48 seasons. She was up for whatever the show threw at her, with the Nope star’s years of experience carrying her to a hilarious 90 minutes of work.

Dominique Fishback – Swarm – Prime Video

Lead Actress in a Limited Series

Dominique Fishback is simultaneously scary, funny and heartbreaking as an obsessed superfan in Swarm. She doesn’t give one performance, she gives three or four completely different performances across the series’ seven episodes.

A Black Lady Sketch Show – HBO, Max

Outstanding Variety Sketch Series

This isn’t so much about the show being nominated, but it finally getting the win. Since it’s always up against longtime favorite Saturday Night Live, A Black Lady Sketch Show hasn’t won yet, but it’s time for these talented women to be honored for the fresh voice they’re bringing to sketch comedy.

Megan Thee Stallion – She-Hulk: Attorney at Law – Disney+

Guest Actress in a Comedy Series

I understand that this is a longshot, especially since she played a heightened version of herself, but the way she plays into the “Megan Thee Stallion” mystique is clever and a lot of fun for fans.

S. Epatha Merkerson as Joyce Harris – Poker Face – Peacock

Guest Actress in a Drama Series

In a perfect world, we could give joint nominations to S. Epatha Merkerson and Judith Light as Joyce and Irene, two senior community residents with dark pasts. The way they play off of each other and series star Natasha Lyonne—who also deserves a nod—is seamless and a joy to watch.

Brian Tyree Henry – Atlanta – FX, Hulu

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

The absurdity of Atlanta allows Brian Tyree Henry’s Alfred to move between drama and comedy. You never know what to expect from the comedy, but we always know Henry is going to deliver something brilliant and new.

Danielle Pinnock as Alberta Haynes – Ghosts – CBS, Paramount+

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjwo4jUDYb8

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

As the mystery surrounding Alberta’s murder became a central plot of Ghosts Season 2, Danielle Pinnock unveiled the vulnerability and sadness beneath Alberta’s sassy exterior. Once the secret was revealed, her feelings of betrayal and hurt were palpable in Pinnock’s devastated, yet comedic reaction.