The Year of Jon Hamm has paid off. The Television Academy recognized the former "Mad Men” actor, whose flurry of recent projects all seem to comment on his own iconicity, with not one but two Emmy nominations: one for outstanding lead actor, in "Fargo” (as ultraconservative sheriff and patriarch Roy Tillman), and another for outstanding supporting actor, for his work as sketchy billionaire Paul Marks in "The Morning Show.” In fact, nominations for the 76th Emmy Awards, announced Wednesday morning, were so thoroughly unsurprising they may as well have been scripted.
"Shogun,” an obvious favorite for best drama, got 25 nominations, including lead actress for Anna Sawai and lead actor for Hiroyuki Sanada. "The Crown” (which sometimes felt custom-made for these awards, and has indeed won 21) received a healthy send-off with 18. And "The Bear,” which cleaned up at the delayed 75th Emmy Awards show back in January, broke the record this time - beating "30 Rock” for most nominations for a comedy series in a single year, with a whopping 23 nominations.
Of course, Andrew Scott got nominated for his work in "Ripley.” Of course, Richard Gadd got nominated for the runaway Netflix hit "Baby Reindeer.” (The limited series, which has courted controversy - and a lawsuit - received 11 nominations.
) It was practically a given that Jean Smart would be nominated for "Hacks,” Juno Temple for "Fargo,” and Jodie Foster and Kali Reis for "True Detective: Night Country.” But t.