The nominations for the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards have been announced and you may be surprised to see how often Chicagoland is represented this year.
Between The Second City alums, actors born in Chicago and shows set in Chicago, we’ve got the rundown on how our city can claim representation within the nominations.
Bob Odenkirk
Born and raised in the Chicago area, Bob Odenkirk is a Second City alum. Odenkirk is currently starring in the AMC show Better Call Saul as the unscrupulous lawyer Saul Goodman. The show boasts seven Emmy nominations, including one for Odenkirk for Lead Actor along with co-star Rhea Seehorn for Supporting Actress. The show also earned nominations for Best Drama Series, Music Supervision, Sound Editing For A Comedy Or Drama Series, Sound Mixing For A Comedy Or Drama Series, and Writing For A Drama Series.
Ozark
The Netflix show follows a Chicago man (Jason Bateman) involved in laundering drug money who uproots his family to a resort near the Lake of the Ozarks. In the first season several scenes were filmed in Chicago at locations including BP Pedestrian Bridge in Millennium Park and a building on the corner of East Lake Street and North Garland Court in Downtown. The most recent season had Atlanta stand in for the scenes set in Chicago. Ozark racked up 13 nominations in the categories of Drama Series, Drama Lead Actor (Jason Bateman), Drama Lead Actress (Laura Linney), Drama Supporting Actress (Julia Garner), Drama Guest Actor (Tom Pelphrey), Production Design, Casting, Cinematography, Directing, Contemporary Makeup (Non-Prosthetic), Music Supervision, Writing and Sound Mixing.
Jane Lynch
Chicago’s own, Jane Lynch, who sat down in an interview with Reel Chicago’s editor Barbara Roche earlier this year was nominated for Guest Actress for her performance in Only Murders in the Building. Lynch grew up in suburban Chicago. As a teenager, she performed with her high-school choir, and she later attended Illinois State University, where she received a bachelor’s degree in theatre. The show earned a total of 17 nominations including, Comedy Series, Lead Actor In A Comedy Series (Martin Short), Lead Actor In A Comedy Series (Steve Martin), Guest Actor In A Comedy Series (Nathan Lane), Production Design, Casting For A Comedy Series, Contemporary Costumes Directing For A Comedy Series (Cherien Dabis), Directing For A Comedy Series (Jamie Babbitt), Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Comedy Series(2x), Main Title Design, Music Composition For A Series (Original Dramatic Score), Original Main Title Theme Music, Sound Mixing For A Comedy Or Drama Series (Half-Hour), Writing For A Comedy Series – (John Hoffman & Steve Martin), as well as Jane Lynch’s nomination.
Laurie Metcalf
Laurie Metcalf was born in Carbondale, Illinois, but made her way to Chicago and began her career with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company. She was nominated for Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance in the HBO Max series Hacks. The show is nominated for a total of 17 awards including Comedy Series, Lead Actress (Jean Smart), Supporting Actress (Hannah Einbinder), Guest Actress in a Comedy Series (Jane Adams, Harriet Sansom Harris, Kaitlin Olson, along with Laurie Metcalf), Guest Actor in a Comedy Series (Christopher McDonald), Production Design, Casting, Cinematography For A Single-Camera Series, Contemporary Costumes, Directing (Lucia Aniello), Single-Camera Picture Editing, Hairstyling, Sound Mixing, and Writing For A Comedy Series.
Brendan Hunt and Jason Sudeikis
Ted Lasso creators, writers, and stars Brendan Hunt and Jason Sudeikis BOTH hail from Chicagoland. In 2021, when Sudeikis accepted his Emmy award, he even gave a shout out to Chicago in his acceptance speech, thanking his “mentors and teachers” in Chicago. Brendan Hunt grew up in Chicago and attended high school at Kenwood Academy and then studied theater at Illinois State University, before returning to Chicago where he met Sudeikis doing improv at The Second City in Chicago in the late ’90s. Ted Lasso earned 20 Emmy nominations in total including Comedy Series, Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (Jason Sudeikis), Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (Brett Goldstein, Toheeb Jimoh, Nick Mohammed), Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (Sarah Niles, Juno Temple, Hannah Waddingham), Guest Actress in a Comedy Series (Harriet Walter), Guest Actor in a Comedy Series (Sam Richardson, James Lance), Writing, Directing, Production Design, Casting, Single-Camera Picture Editing (x2), Hairstyling, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing.
Rachel Brosnahan
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel star Rachel Brosnahan was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but she grew up in Highland Park since she was 4 years old, so we can go ahead and claim her as one of ours. Brosnahan is nominated for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and the show is nominated for a total of 12 nominations including Comedy Series, Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (Alex Borstein), Supporting Actor (Tony Shalhoub), Production Design, Cinematography, Period Costumes, Period Hairstyling, Period Makeup, Original Music, Music Supervision, Sound Mixing, and Brosnahan’s lead actress nomination.
Station Eleven
The HBO limited series Station Eleven follows the post-apocalyptic aftermath of a deadly pandemic in Chicago, and how the survivors go on with their lives. The series was filmed in the Chicago area including Sheridan Park, Hyde Park, Streeterville’s Lake Point Tower, and South Shore. Ironically, filming stalled temporarily while we endured an actual pandemic, but eventually they were able to finish filming the show which has now been nominated for seven Emmy awards including Lead Actor (Himesh Patel), Cinematography, Directing, Editing, Music Composition, Sound Editing, and Writing.
The 74th Primetime Emmy Awards will air on Monday, Sept. 12, 2022 at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT/7 p.m. CT.
Joia DaVida reports on the entertainment industry in both Chicago and Los Angeles.
