'The Crown' leads Emmy nominations with 24 nods

The Crown and The Mandalorian led nominations on Tuesday for the Emmy Awards in a diverse field packed with newcomers and feel-good TV shows that reflected the surge in streaming during the coronavirus pandemic.

HBO and its new HBO Max streaming platform led all networks with 130 nominations, followed by Netflix Inc with 129. The Apple TV+ streaming service scored 35 nods - its best-ever showing - mostly for the heartwarming comedy Ted Lasso.

Best drama series contenders include Netflix’s British royal series The Crown for a season that focused on the early years of the disastrous marriage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

The Crown nabbed a leading 24 nods, including nine for actors such as Josh O’Connor and newcomer Emma Corrin as the royal newlyweds and Olivia Colman as a middle-aged Queen Elizabeth.

“We are all pinching ourselves that after four series, The Crown is still being embraced and enjoyed in this way,” creator Peter Morgan said in a statement.

Framing Britney Spears, a documentary that sparked new interest in the pop star’s conservatorship, and Oprah Winfrey’s explosive interview with Prince Harry and his wife Meghan both scored nominations on Tuesday for television’s highest honours.

The New York Times and Walt Disney Co’s FX network released Framing Britney Spears in February. It was Emmy-nominated for best documentary and for best picture editing for a nonfiction program.

The 74-minute documentary examined the singer’s meteoric rise to fame as a teenager, the ensuing media scrutiny and her widely publicized breakdown, as well as her life under the conservatorship and a fan movement known as #FreeBritney.

The Baby One More Time singer has lived under a conservatorship overseen by her father since 2008, when she was hospitalised for psychiatric treatment. Last month, she told a Los Angeles court that the arrangement was abusive and she wanted it to end. Another court hearing on her case is scheduled for Wednesday.

Winfrey's two-hour sit-down with Harry and Meghan in March sent shockwaves through the British monarchy when Meghan accused Britain’s royal family of raising concerns about how dark their son’s skin might be and of pushing her to the brink of suicide.

It aired on CBS and got an Emmy nomination in the best-hosted nonfiction series or special category.

In the best documentary series category, contenders include HBO’s Allen v Farrow, which explored the allegation that film director Woody Allen sexually assaulted his daughter Dylan Farrow in 1992.

Allen has repeatedly denied the allegations and called the series a “hatchet job.”

The Emmy winners will be announced at a live televised ceremony in Los Angeles on Sept 19.

Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.