By Ron Wynn
NASHVILLE, TN — The 2022 Emmy nominations were both historic and controversial. Several Black stars, including some notable women, received their first Emmy nominations. But there was also surprise that a long-running show which just finished its run was virtually shut out of award consideration.
First time Black Emmy nominees included Quinta Brunson, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Sanaa Lathan, Chadwick Boseman, Jerrod Carmichael, Colman Domingo, Janelle James and Tyler James Williams. Brunson is nominated for multiple Emmys as both a star and the creator of “Abbott Elementary.” Ralph is also nominated as Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role in that same series.
There are also returning nominees in Zendaya, Issa Rae and Donald Glover, all nominated again for their roles in “Euphoria,” “Insecure” and “Atlanta” respectively. This will be the 74th edition of the Emmys, with the show “Succession” getting the most nominations with 25.
But the controversy came via the absence from any major nominations of the ABC show “Black-ish.” the program concluded an eighth season, but was shut out of major award consideration. The show’s star Anthony Anderson used the platform of being guest host on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” to make public notice of the omission.
His monologue included a complaint about “Black-Ish” being ignored and even referenced such shows as “Barry” and “What We Do in the Shadows?” The full Anderson monologue soon went viral and is now available via The Wrap’s website. For the record, during its tenure “Black-ish” earned 26 Emmy nominations, but only one win. That was for Contemporary Hairstyling in 2020. Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross and the show itself were all nominated in 2021, but none of them won.
