The top contender for Outstanding Comedy Series that won Nathan Lane his first Primetime Emmy after a record seven Outstanding Guest Actor nominations is now hoping to bring more of his actors to the front with his Emmy nominations.
IndieWire can exclusively confirm that in addition to “Only Murders in the Building” stars Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez all filing for Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress in a Comedy Series as expected, the Hulu hit series has Lane , James Caverly, Shirley MacLaine, Jane Lynch, Tina Fey, Amy Schumer and Da’Vine Joy Randolph are all in the running for Outstanding Guest Actor and Actress in a Comedy Series.
While Emmy winners Shirley MacLaine and Amy Schumer joined the show in season two, with the former playing a mysterious, grumpy, grieving mother and the latter playing an exalted version of herself, Lynch and Fey are both returning contenders (Lynch was also nominated for an Emmy last year for her role as Martin’s character’s stunt double in season one).
Even though her character Bunny was the victim of a fatal twist at the end of season one, Jane Houdyshell still got to expand the cantankerous boss of the Arconia board of directors backstory in the final season. She joins Cara Delevingne, who appeared as the love interest of Selena Gomez’s character in Season 2, in the nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Meanwhile Michael Cyril Creighton, who returned as Howard Morris, Arconia’s resident cat with all the gossip, filed up for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series alongside Michael Rapaport as Detective Kreps.
Notably absent from the show’s Emmy nominations are the two actors who played the killers revealed from the first and second seasons’ murder mysteries.
“Only Murders in the Building” received 17 Emmy nominations last year for its debut season. Some behind-the-scenes categories he presents for season two include the two below-the-line categories he won last year: Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Program (half hour) and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (half an hour) now) and Animation, as well as offerings for Casting, Cinematography, Contemporary Costumes, Single-Camera Picture Editing, Contemporary Hairstyling, Contemporary Makeup, Music Composition, and Sound Editing.
For Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series, “Only Murders in the Building” presented the season 2 finale “I Know Who Did It,” written by showrunner John Hoffman, Matteo Borghese, and Rob Turbovsky. Hoffman also entered for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for his work on the first two episodes of season two, as did executive producer Jamie Babbit, who directed the penultimate episode and the aforementioned closer.
Rounding out the Emmy nominations for “Murders in the Building” Season 2 are entries in two new categories. The Producers Guild Award-winning after show “Only Murders in the Building: One Killer Question” will now compete for an Outstanding Short Form Comedy, Drama or Variety Series nomination, while co-creator and star Steve Martin will try his luck at a third category on behalf of the show this year, submitting “Angel in Flip Flops,” the catchy 80s-inspired tune she co-wrote with Kirker Butler for Season 2, in the Outstanding Music & Lyrics category.
Voting for Emmy nominations begins June 15.
