‘The Gilded Age’ Submits for 37 Emmys: 15 Main Actors Including Carrie Coon and Morgan Spector, Two Directors and More (EXCLUSIVE)
Will “The Gilded Age” find Emmys gold?
After its sophomore season, HBO’s historical drama “The Gilded Age” has entered the Emmy race with up to 37 nominations, Variety can exclusively reveal. This includes outstanding drama series, 15 main cast members and the season finale “In Terms of Winning and Losing,” which will represent director Michael Engler and scribe Julian Fellowes in their submissions.
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The central couple, Bertha and George Russell, played by Carrie Coon and Morgan Spector, are contenders in the lead acting categories. Coon, an Emmy nominee for the third season of the anthology crime series “Fargo” in 2017, has a solid chance of picking up her second nom, competing against contenders Anna Sawai, Jennifer Aniston and Emma Stone. Already proving to be a big year for the actress, she could find herself in the Oscar race later this year for her remarkable performance in Azazel Jacobs’ family drama “His Three Daughters,” alongside Natasha Lyonne and Elizabeth Olsen.
Spector, best known for his role as Dante Allen on the seventh season of “Homeland,” hopes to land his first major acting recognition. He’ll be vying against candidates such as Gary Oldman, Dominic West and Walton Goggins.
An onslaught of supporting players, both from series regulars and recurring actors, will compete against one another in the eight available slots each for supporting actor and actress. Emmy darlings Christine Baranski and Cynthia Nixon are in the best positions to add another nom to their stunning resumes. Baranski plays the stubborn old socialite Agnes van Rhijn; she has received an impressive 15 Emmy noms, winning her first and only in 1995 for her supporting comedy actress role in “Cybill.” She’s also been recognized for her memorable roles in “Frasier,” “The Big Bang Theory,” and “The Good Wife.”
Playing Agnes’ spinster sister, Ada, Nixon has been praised in many reviews. A five-time nominee, Nixon has taken home two Emmy statuettes: guest drama actress for “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” in 2008 and supporting comedy actress for “Sex and the City” in 2004. The pair will also compete against their co-stars Louisa Jacobson, Denée Benton, Audra McDonald, Taissa Farmiga, Donna Murphy and Kelli O’Hara.
Supporting drama actor candidates will be headlined by Emmy winner Nathan Lane, who plays the scene-stealing Ward McAllister, an arbiter of social rules and style.
“The Gilded Age” received its first nomination at the SAG Awards for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series, with all 34 actors recognized. This broke a record previously held by “Game of Thrones,” which had 32 actors nominated.
Oscar winner Julian Fellowes, known for the original screenplay “Gosford Park” (2001), is a 10-time Emmy nominee with two wins for PBS’s “Downton Abbey” for writing and outstanding miniseries or movie (before the show was categorized as a drama for the following seasons). Engler is a three-time nominee for helming episodes of “Sex and the City,” “30 Rock” and “Downton Abbey.”
Production designer Bob Shaw, who won for Season 1, will likely be in the running for another statuette. In contrast, the costumes for this second season hope for redemption from costume designer Kasia Walicka Maimone and her crew after being shut out for the first season.
The eight-episode second season, which premiered in October 2023, received strong praise from critics. Variety’s chief TV critic Alison Herman wrote: “‘The Gilded Age’ puts its budget where its heart truly lies: with the extravagant trappings of its characters’ dynastic fortunes.”
Fellowes writes and executive produces the series alongside Bob Greenblatt, Gareth Neame, David Crockett, and Michael Engler, who also directs. Sonja Warfield and Salli Richardson-Whitfield are also executive producers. The show was renewed for a third season which is expected to premiere this fall.
Read: All Primetime Emmy predictions in every category on Variety’s Awards Circuit.
The full list of Emmy submissions is below. Nomination voting opens on June 13.
Outstanding Drama Series
Lead Actor in a Drama Series — Morgan Spector
Lead Actress in a Drama Series — Carrie Coon
Supporting Actor in a Drama Series — Nathan Lane, Robert Sean Leonard, Blake Ritson, Ben Alhers, John Douglas Thompson
Supporting Actress in a Drama Series — Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Louisa Jacobson, Denée Benton, Audra McDonald, Taissa Farmiga, Donna Murphy, Kelli O’Hara
Guest Actor in a Drama Series — Darren Goldstein (206: “Warning Shots”), Michael Braugher (204: “His Grace the Duke”)
Guest Actress in a Drama Series — Laura Benanti (202: “Some Sort of Trick”), Melanie Nicholls King (208: “In Terms of Winning and Losing”)
Directing for a Drama Series — Deborah Kampmeier (204: “His Grace the Duke”), Michael Engler (208: “In Terms of Winning and Losing”)
Writing for a Drama Series — Julian Fellowes (208: “In Terms of Winning and Losing”)
Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series — Shelby Siegel (208: “In Terms of Winning and Losing”)
Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (One-Hour) — Lula Carvalho (201: “You Don’t Even Like Opera”); Manuel Billeter (207: “Wonders Never Cease”)
Casting for a Drama Series — Bernard Telsey, Adam Caldwell
Period Costumes — Kasia Walicka Maimone, Costume Designer; Patrick Wiley, Co-Costume Designer; Isabelle Simone, Assistant Costume Designer; Denise Andres and Rebecca Levin, Costume Supervisors (201: “You Don’t Even Like Opera”)
Choreography for Scripted Programming — John Carrafa (202: “Some Sort of Trick” and 206: “Warning Shots” routines)
Period and/or Fantasy/Sci-Fi Hairstyling — Sean Flanigan, Department Head Hair; Christine Fennell-Harlan, Jonathan Zane-Sharpless, Key Hairstylist
Jonathan Zane-Sharpless, Aaron Mark Kinchen, Key Hairstylists; Tim Harvey, Jennifer M. Bullock, Hairstylists (201: “You Don’t Even Like Opera”)
Period and/or Fantasy/Sci-Fi Makeup (Non-Prosthetic) — Nicki Ledermann, Department Head Makeup; Anette Lian-Williams, Jane DiPersio, Key Makeup Artist; Mareike Mohmand, Roxanne Rizzo, Makeup Artist
Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score) — Harry Gregson-Williams, Rupert Gregson-Williams (207: “Wonders Never Cease”)
Production Design for a Narrative Period or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More) — Bob Shaw, production designer; Larry W. Brown, supervising art director; Lisa Crivelli Scoppa, set decorator (205: “Close Enough to Touch”)
Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour) — Lidia Tamplenizza, supervising sound editor; Michael McMenomy, dialogue editor; Patrick Cicero, sound effects editor; Nora Linde, foley editor; Mar Heredia, loop group editor; Jonathan Schultz, music editor (201: “You Don’t Even Like Opera”)
Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour) and Animation — Teferra McKenzie, production mixer; Andy Kris, Chris Chae, re-recording mixers; Jack Heeren, foley mixer (201: “You Don’t Even Like Opera”)
Special Visual Effects in a Single Episode — Douglas Purver, Visual Effects Supervisor; Leah Orsini, Visual Effects Producer; Eric Lorenz, Visual Effects Editor; Tessa Rittersbach, Visual Effects Coordinator; Jim Ranker, Special Effects Coordinator; Becky Graham, Visual Effects Supervisor – DNEG; Vicky Gillett, Visual Effects Producer — DNEG; Prashanth Srinivasan, DFX Supervisor – DNEG; Felix B. Lafontaine, Compositing Supervisor — DNEG
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