The nominations for the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards were announced Wednesday morning, and Succession scored an impressive performance by garnering three nominations in the coveted Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series category.
That marks a record for the awards show and series, as no other show has landed three actors in the lead actor category in the same year before.
Brian Cox, who plays series patriarch Logan Roy, will be up against his costars Jeremy Strong, who plays his ambitious son Kendall Roy, and Kieran Culkin, who plays his more troubled younger son Roman.
Created by Jesse Armstrong, the series follows the fate of the Roy family, who own a media and entertainment conglomerate headed by the dashing Logan Roy. He struggles to maintain control of his empire in the dark comedy drama as his adult children vie to succeed him.
While Succession and other shows were held in high esteem, the hugely popular Kevin Costner lead series Yellowstone was once again rejected in the drama series and lead actor categories.
Triple Crown: Brian Cox (pictured) made history alongside his Succession costars Jeremy Strong and Kieran Culkin as the show became the first in history to place three actors in the category; seen in March in Stockholm, Sweden
Shakespearean power grab: Kieran plays the youngest son of media mogul Logan Roy (Cox), while Jeremy Strong portrays his older, ambitious son who wants to succeed him first and foremost
Joining the boys’ club was Sarah Snook, who plays Roy’s only daughter Shiv. She earned a coveted nomination for Best Leading Actress in a Drama along with Stacked Field.
The supporting acting categories were also filled with Succession regulars. Matthew Macfadyen, who plays Shiv’s husband Tom Wambsgans, was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in A Drama Series, as were Nicholas Braun (comic cousin Greg), Alan Ruck (eldest son Connor Roy) and Alexander Skarsgård as technical director Matsson.
The show also earned numerous nominations in behind-the-scenes categories.
Succession was a big winner at last year’s ceremony, where it took home four awards, including Outstanding Drama Series.
The fourth and final season of Succession will face stiff competition in the Outstanding Drama Series category against other hit HBO series, The White Lotus, The Last Of Us and the Game Of Thrones prequel House Of The Dragon.
The Bob Odenkirk prequel series Better Call Saul, starring Breaking Bad, also scored a nomination in the critically acclaimed final season category.
The show has been nominated 46 times at previous ceremonies, but shockingly has never won an Emmy in any category, despite the show’s avid fanbase and near-universal critical approval.
Other drama nominees include Disney+’s Star Wars series Andor, Netflix’s hit royals series The Crown and Showtime’s breakthrough thriller Yellowjackets.
Dominating the categories: Joining the boys’ club was Sarah Snook, who plays Roy’s only daughter Shiv. She earned a coveted nomination for Best Leading Actress in a Drama
Sweeping the nominations: Alexander Skarsgård (second from left), Nicholas Braun (second from right) and Matthew Macfadyen (R) were all nominated for supporting actor in a drama for Succession
Strong Field: Melanie Lynskey continued her acclaimed Yellowjackets run with a nod for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, while Bella Ramsey was nominated for HBO’s The Last Of Us
HBO could already be one of the big winners of the iconic ceremonies with a total of 74 nominations.
Alongside the three Succession nominees, HBO continued to dominate the category with a nod to The Last Of Us star Pedro Pascal, while Jeff Bridges added some classic Hollywood charm with his nomination for FX’s The Old Man and Odenkirk scored a nomination for his finale. run on Better Call Saul.
In Leading Actress in a Drama category, Bella Ramsey helped HBO’s odds by scoring a nomination for the zombie horror series The Last Of Us.
Melanie Lynskey continued her critically acclaimed Yellowjackets run with a nod, while Sharon Horgan from Bad Sisters, Elisabeth Moss from The Handmaid’s Tale and Keri Russell from the Netflix show The Diplomat were all nominated.
The hit comedy series Abbott Elementary was one of the major nominees in the Outstanding Comedy Series category, and its creator, showrunner, writer, and star Quinta Brunson was nominated in the Lead Comedy Actress category for playing aspiring school teacher Janine Teagues.
She also earned a nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her episode of Saturday Night Live.
Natasha Lyonne was also nominated for her critically acclaimed Peacock detective series Poker Face, as was Christina Applegate – who has recently spoken about possible early retirement due to her battle with multiple sclerosis – for Netflix’s Dead To Me.
Rachel Brosnahan was nominated to play the title character in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Jenna Ortega rounded out the nominees for her title role in the Addams Family spin-off series Wednesday.
Quadruple Threat: Abbott Elementary was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series, while creator and star Quinta Brunson (pictured) was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress
A survivor: Natasha Lyonne was also nominated for her acclaimed Peacock detective series Poker Face
Fresh face: Jenna Ortega scored a nomination for Wednesday; pictured in February in LA