Matt Berry, Idris Elba, other surprises at the 2024 Emmy nominations

It speaks somewhat to the predictability of the Emmys that one of the biggest surprises in this year’s nominations was the fact that a series that set a new record for comedy nominations in a single year (“The Bear”) wasn’t even more dominant than it was – landing a mere 10 acting bids spread through the lead, supporting and guest comedy categories and missing out on that record of 14 for “Succession.” But beyond that, there were some mild surprises and a few somewhat less mild ones, including the semi-dominant performance of the first-year drama “Fallout” (scoring 16 bids, tying it for seventh among all shows) and “Reservation Dogs” finally scoring its first comedy series nom in its third and final season.

Here are a few of the others:

—Matt Berry landed his first-ever lead comedy actor nomination for “What We Do in the Shadows,” beating out (among others) Kelsey Grammer for the reboot of “Frasier,” Theo James for “The Gentlemen” and Jharrel Jerome for “I’m a Virgo.” It was a bid few could see coming. He was picked no higher than 11th place at Gold Derby with 100/1 odds.

–In the same category, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai overcame 66/1 odds at Gold Derby to make the nominee cut for “Reservation Dogs” – also his first nomination.

—Idris Elba wasn’t expected to land a lead drama actor bid for his Apple TV+ real-time seven-part drama “Hijack,” but he did, overcoming 100/1 odds at GD.

–Another surprise was the exclusion of “The Curse” from both the drama series list and, in particular, Oscar winner Emma Stone in actress. Evidently, voters simply found the show too offbeat and weird to honor. Or as my colleague Denton Davidson suggests, they don’t watch Showtime.

–If any actor from “Fargo” was going to be nominated in supporting for a movie or limited series, it was expected to be Joe Keery. Instead, it was 80/1 longshot Lamorne Morris scoring his first-ever Emmy bid.

And as mentioned here at the top, it was somewhat surprising that 23-time nominee (and 10-time winner last year) “The Bear” wasn’t even more dominant in the acting categories. Both Oliver Platt and Matty Matheson had been tapped for supporting comedy actor, only to miss the cut. Ditto Abby Elliott in supporting actress and Sarah Paulson and John Mulaney in guest actress and actor, respectively.

It’s also worthy of note that in what was arguably the most competitive single category – Best Limited Series – the list of five proved utterly predictable, with such worthy shows as “Masters of the Air,” “Fellow Travelers” and “All the Light We Cannot See” missing out along with “Feud: Capote vs. the Swans.”

The 76th Emmy Awards will be handed out in a live ceremony September 15 from the Peacock Theatre at L.A. LIVE and broadcast live on ABC at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET.

Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?

SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions