Historic Emmy nominations achievements: ‘The Bear,’ ‘The Morning Show,’ ‘Only Murders’ …

The 76th Primetime Emmy nominations were announced on Wednesday morning, July 17, by Emmy winners Tony Hale and Sheryl Lee Ralph. It was a year of tremendous turnover with academy favorites like “Succession” and “Ted Lasso” going off the air and other programs like “The White Lotus” and “The Last of Us” going on hiatus. That opened the door for new and returning shows to achieve historic windfalls.

“The Bear” sets new record — With 23 nominations, “The Bear” is now the comedy series with the most nominations in a single year. The previous record holder was “30 Rock,” which was nominated 22 times in 2009. What’s especially impressive about the show’s total is that it could have done even better. It didn’t max out its potential in acting categories, for instance, missing potential supporting acting bids for Abby Elliott and Oliver Platt. Perhaps season three will big bigger still in 2025.

“Shogun” comes close to “NYPD Blue’s” record — Not quite an all-time total, but close. “Shogun” picked up 25 nominations for its first season, more than any other program this year. That number is just two bids shy of “NYPD Blue,” which holds the record for the most nominations for a first-season drama series with 27 in 1994.

“The Morning Show” finally breaks into Best Drama Series — After three seasons, Apple TV+’s flagship drama “The Morning Show” achieved its first ever nomination for Best Drama Series. But that’s not all. With 16 total nominations, the show has achieved its best showing yet.

“Only Murders in the Building” scores its biggest nominations total ever — Also in its third season, this Hulu comedy mystery series did better than ever, exceeding 20 nominations for the first time (it received 21, to be exact). That included the return of Steve Martin in Best Comedy Actor and a first-time nomination for Selena Gomez as Best Comedy Actress. Series newcomers Meryl Streep and Paul Rudd were also nominated in supporting categories.

“Palm Royale” is the biggest new comedy of the season — With 11 nominations, this series was the most recognized new comedy of the year. It’s also the only freshman program to be nominated for Best Comedy Series.

“True Detective” achieves its best season yet — The fourth iteration of the anthology series, subtitled “Night Country,” was the most successful yet, achieving 19 nominations, more than any other limited series this year. That’s significantly better than the 12 nominations received by the show in its first season starring Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey in 2014, when the show competed as a drama.

“Saturday Night Live” rebounds — The venerable sketch comedy series received a respectable nine nominations last year, but this year it almost doubled that total, jumping back up to 17. That extends the show’s record as the most nominated continuing series of all time.

“Reservation Dogs” gets a farewell hug — After years of critical acclaim and multiple plaudits from other awards bodies, the show finally broke into Best Comedy Series for its third and final season. As a bonus, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai received a surprise nomination for Best Comedy Actor.

“Slow Horses” gets on the board — Arguably the biggest leap for any returning show was achieved by “Slow Horses,” which went two seasons without a single Emmy nomination and has now scored five nominations, including Best Drama Series and Best Drama Actor (Gary Oldman), for its third season.