The biggest night in television! The 74th Primetime Emmy Awards is returning to its usual home in Los Angeles this year — but there are some major changes afoot.
The 2022 Emmys will air live from the Microsoft Theater on Monday, September 12, after two years in which the coronavirus pandemic necessitated that the show was held elsewhere. Before 2020, the Primetime Emmys had been held at the downtown L.A. theater since 2008.
While the venue will look familiar, the behind-the-scenes rules have undergone a major shift. In December 2021, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced that “Daytime” and “Primetime” categories would be readjusted to align with the way streaming has upended traditional ideas of air time.
Talk shows, for example, will be split between the two categories based on “format and style characteristics reflective of current programming in the daytime or late night space.” Categories for morning shows have been moved from the Daytime Emmys to the News & Documentary Emmy Awards, or to daytime talk show categories, depending on the format.
Some things, however, will remain the same — like HBO’s complete dominance of the nominees list. The network and its HBO Max streaming counterpart scored 140 nods across all the categories, marking the 20th time that the HBO brand has earned the most nominations of any platform in a single year. (Netflix came in second place with 104 nominations.)
A major contribution to HBO’s massive nomination total is Succession, which is up for 25 awards. The drama also broke the record for most acting nominations — 14 — in a single year. The previous record for a drama series was held by The West Wing, which earned 12 nods in 2002, while the miniseries Roots held the overall record with 23 nominations in 1977.
Two of Succession’s nominations are in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, but Jeremy Strong and Brian Cox are up against some stiff competition. Both Jason Bateman and Bob Odenkirk received nods for their work in the final seasons of their respective shows, Ozark and Better Call Saul.
Both actors have previously won Emmys in other categories, but neither has ever prevailed as a drama actor. While the Mr. Show alum has been nominated for Saul a total of five times, he’s said that hearing the news is always a shock.
“I never took it for granted. It was always a surprise,” the Breaking Bad veteran told The New York Times in July 2022. “Certainly the first two years, I couldn’t believe it. But I think [the latest nomination] means more. I have a richer appreciation for the people, the level of quality that the writers have brought and the show has kept up.”
Keep scrolling for everything to know about the 2022 Emmys.