The nominees: The Alienist, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, Godless, Genius, Patrick Melrose
The verdict: With Big Little Lies out of the running until next year, there’s no clear frontrunner here. While The Assassination of Gianni Versace didn’t have quite the impact of its Emmys-sweeping predecessor The People v OJ Simpson, it was still a sharply written and lusciously cinematic exploration of a serial killer and his victims, and could well take the prize.
Lead Actor in Limited Series or Movie
The nominees: Antonio Banderas (Genius), Darren Criss (The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story), Benedict Cumberbatch (Patrick Melrose), Jeff Daniels (The Looming Tower), John Legend (Jesus Christ Superstar), Jesse Plemons (Black Mirror: USS Callister)
The verdict: Darren Criss’s mesmerizing performance as serial killer Andrew Cunanan felt like a shoo-in for this award when the show premiered back in January, and that hasn’t substantially changed. Cumberbatch is an Emmys mainstay at this point; he’s been nominated on a near-annual basis since 2012, and his work in Patrick Melrose is stellar, so he could be Criss’s biggest competition.
“The Assassination of Gianni Versace”: With 18 nominations, this will go down as Ryan Murphy’s final traditional TV triumph before he resurfaces on Netflix sometime in the near future.
Oh isn’t the only significant Asian representation among the nominees though. Darren Criss, who is half Filipino, snagged a nomination for playing killer Andrew Cunanan, who in real life was also half-Filipino, in “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” on FX. This is his first individual acting Emmy nomination. He previously had a nod as a singer/songwriter on “Glee.”
Criss released the following statement on Twitter regarding his nomination: “Zorro, Dr. Strange, Harry Dunne, Todd Alquist, and Jesus Christ… pretty incredible company to keep. Humbled by your talent, Antonio Banderas, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jeff Daniels, Jesse Plemons, John Legend. I’m such a fan. Congrats! What an honor, Television Academy. Thank you so much. Truly. Wow. And a huge congrats to my fellow cast and crew of The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story! Ryan Murphy does it again!”
Either win would make great strides for Asian representation, especially in the acting categories. Only two Asian actors have won previously: Riz Ahmed in 2017 for his leading role in “The Night Of” and Archie Panjabi for her supporting role in “The Good Wife” in 2010.
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (Outstanding Limited Series)
Ryan Murphy (creator)
“Of course it’s thrilling to see this series attract so much recognition, and I am forever grateful to Tom Rob Smith for his brilliant take, to my producing partners Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson and Brad Falchuk for their collaboration and friendship, and to our talented cast who breathed such humanity into these characters. This was a heartbreaking story to tell, made more so by the fact that we continue as a culture to grapple with homophobia and shame and intolerance.”
Darren Criss (Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie)
“Zorro, Dr. Strange, Harry Dunne, Todd Alquist, and Jesus Christ… pretty incredible company to keep. Humbled by your talent, Antonio Banderas, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jeff Daniels, Jesse Plemons, John Legend. I’m such a fan. Congrats! What an honor, Television Academy. Thank you so much. Truly. Wow. And a huge congrats to my fellow cast and crew of The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story! Ryan Murphy does it again!”
Penelope Cruz (Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Limited Series Or Movie)
“What a great honor to be nominated alongside this incredible group of women. I am very grateful to the Television Academy, to Ryan Murphy and our amazing cast and crew. Donatella Versace is someone I really respect and admire and stepping into her shoes was a very inspiring adventure for me.”
Judith Light (Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Limited Series Or Movie)
“My deepest thanks to the Emmy voters and of course, the brilliant Ryan Murphy for the gift of being a part of this culture changing production; thanks to Brad Simpson, Nina Jacobsen, the crew, cast, hair, makeup, wardrobe, Tom Rob Smith for his remarkable script, Gwyneth Horder Payton and Dan Minahan for their glorious direction. My gratitude to all of them and FX is beyond words or measure.”
Tom Rob Smith (Outstanding Writing For A Limited Series, Movie Or Dramatic Special)
“This nomination is an extraordinary honor. Participating with the extraordinary team behind Americans Crime Story has been one of the highlights of my career. I owe Ryan Murphy, Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson a great deal. And FX are the best partners a writer could dream of having. I’m so thrilled.”
Édgar Ramírez (Outstanding Supporting Actor in A Limited Series Or Movie)
“I am so touched by this nomination . Portraying Gianni Versace, has been one of the most transformative experiences of my life, and I am so happy, so proud and so grateful for the enormous recognition the show has received. I am so humbled to share this joy and honor with such talented artists, who are more than friends, they are now my family.”
Ricky Martin (Outstanding Supporting Actor in A Limited Series Or Movie)
“I am beyond humbled and so honored to be nominated in this category along with Edgar Ramirez and the other amazing actors in my category. This recognition from my peers is the highest honor I could dream of. I am grateful to Ryan Murphy and the whole FX team.”
Finn Wittrock (Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie)
“I am so honored to be nominated today. I owe a great debt to Ryan Murphy and I would like to express a big congrats to my fellow nominees, especially my co-stars from American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace. I’m thrilled to be sharing this category with such a talented group of actors.”
His role in the TV drama “The Assassination of Gianni Versace” as a serial killer has been a big hit with audience and critics.
Now, Filipino-American actor Darren Criss has received an acting nomination for an Emmy, perhaps the highest honor in TV, it was revealed late Thursday (Philippine time).
This is the first Emmy acting nod for Criss, whose mother is from Cebu. He was nominated in 2015 in the outstanding original music category for a song he wrote for “Glee.”
In his new show, Criss plays Andrew Cunanan, the half-Filipino murderer notorious for killing five men, including famous fashion Gianni Versace, in 1997.
It has drawn positive reviews from critics, with the New York Times’ Margaret Lyons describing his performance as “impressive and haunting” in spite of her tamed views on the show overall.
TV Guide called him “magnificent,” while USA Today praised him for bringing the spree killer to life with “disturbing energy and commitment,” just to name some of the reviews.
LIMITED SERIES The Alienist The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Genius: Picasso Godless Patrick Melrose
We’re inclined to split the vote between Melrose and Versace, even though we had issues with both. If you threatened to set our closets on fire, we suppose we’d have to pick the Versace one.
LEAD ACTOR, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
Antonio Banderas, Genius: Picasso Darren Criss, The Assassination of Gianni Versace Benedict Cumberbatch, Patrick Melrose Jeff Daniels, The Looming Tower John Legend, Jesus Christ Superstar; Live in Concert Jesse Plemons, U.S.S. Callister: Black Mirror
We’re THRILLED that Jesse Plemons got a nod for that supremely creepy, but also somewhat hilarious performance. As much as we were impressed with Darren Criss and as much as we bitched about Patrick Melrose, we think Cumberbatch is probably a likely win.
Television Is Still Doing Diversity Better Than Film
In one of the most deserving nods on the list, Sandra Oh’s nomination for Killing Eve is the first time an Asian-American actress has been nominated for a drama lead. Zazie Beets’s nomination for Atlanta in the supporting comedy actress category alongside Leslie Jones for SNL is the first time two African American women have been nominated in that category. Darren Criss, who is the odds on favorite to win for his turn in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, would be the first time a Filipino-American would win in the Lead Actor, Limited Series or Movie category.
Today the 2018 Emmy nominations were announced, and while there’s not a whole lot for the horror crowd to get excited about, we do have a few of “our” people and TV shows in the mix so without further ado, here are your horror (and horror-ish) nominees.
LIMITED SERIES The Alienist The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE Jessica Biel, The Sinner Edie Falco, Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders Sarah Paulson, American Horror Story: Cult
LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE Darren Criss, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Jesse Plemons, Black Mirror, “USS Callister”
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE Adina Porter, American Horror Story: Cult Letitia Wright, Black Mirror, “Black Museum” Penelope Cruz, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Judith Light, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE Ricky Martin, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Edgar Ramirez, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Finn Wittorck, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”: When it was announced that the second season of FX’s limited-series “American Crime Story” would detail the murder of fashion designer Gianni Versace, some felt that it could not reach the heights of the first season which dealt with the O.J. Simpson murder trial. But “Versace,” which hauled in 18 nominations, was a revelation that featured a powerful performance from Darren Criss as the troubled killer Andrew Cunanan. Criss is nominated for lead actor in a mini-series or movie.
38: People of color nominated for Emmys in major categories, which more than doubles last year: Sterling K. Brown and Ron Cephas Jones, This Is Us; Tracee Ellis Ross, Anthony Anderson and Wanda Sykes, black-ish; Donald Glover, Zazie Beetz, Katt Williams and Brian Tyree Henry, Atlanta; Leslie Jones, Kenan Thompson, Tiffany Haddish, Saturday Night Live; Tituss Burgess,Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt; Jeffrey Wright and Thandie Newton,Westworld; Samira Wiley and Kelly Jenrette, The Handmaid’s Tale; Regina King, Seven Seconds; RuPaul Charles, Drag Race; W. Kamau Bell, United Shades of America: With W. Kamau Bell; Issa Rae, Insecure; Sandra Oh, Killing Eve; Trevor Noah, Daily Show; Antonio Banderas, Genius: Picasso; Penelope Cruz, Ricky Martin, Darren Criss and Edgar Ramirez, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story;Brandon Victor Dixon and John Legend, Jesus Christ Superstar; Cicely Tyson, How to Get Away with Murder; Viola Davis, Scandal; Adina Porter, American Horror Story: Cult; Letitia Wright, Black Mirror; Maya Rudolph, The Good Place; Lin-Manuel Miranda, Curb Your Enthusiasm; John Leguizamo, Waco
6: Number of Latinx performers nominated, including Antonio Banderas, Penelope Cruz, Edgar Ramirez, Ricky Martin, John Leguizamo and Lin-Manuel Miranda
ACS news 