The 2022 Emmy Nominations By The Numbers

The time has come for TV's best and brightest to gear up for another contentious awards season. Or better yet, the time has come for all of us to squabble over which TV shows actually deserve recognition and demand justice for the performers, writers, and directors who are woefully missing from the ballot. That's right — the 2022 Emmy nominations have finally been revealed! But before you totally lose your mind over the big surprises and egregious snubs, you'll need a breakdown of exactly how this year's Emmy's race is shaping up. After all, it wouldn't be a proper awards show if there weren't three huge contenders dominating the categories, and some scrappy underdogs fighting for their place in history.

For many years, "Game of Thrones" reigned supreme across the categories. With Westeros out of the running, other heavyweights stepped forward to take the top spot. Last year, that honor went to both Netflix's "The Crown" and the Disney+ show "The Mandalorian," which lead the nomination tally with 24 nods each. With neither returning in time to be in the running for 2022, the Emmy race is more competitive than ever.

Before we get into the breakdown, let's address the complicated matter of where the TV industry stands. Once upon a time, the Emmys were dominated by broadcast networks and cable TV — but the rise of streaming services have completely changed the game. Streamers are shaking up the TV landscape in a dozen major ways: The fact that an internationally produced series like "Squid Game" is among the Emmy nominees is a major step forward that owes a lot to streaming's focus on the global marketplace. But one of the biggest developments is the sheer amount of series that each streamer is churning out.

Television Academy President Frank Scherma kicked off this year's nomination announcement by saying that a record number of shows had been submitted. Sure enough, the volume of series is being reflected in the nomination pool. Usually, returning nominees have an easy time keeping the pattern going, but this year, many were edged right out of the running. "Cobra Kai," "black-ish," "Emily in Paris," "This Is Us," and "Bridgerton" were nowhere to be seen. So who still managed to rise to the top?

If we're looking at the big picture, then HBO (& HBO MAX) rose to the top with 140 nominations. From there, the drop-off gets steep — Netflix follows with 105 nods, then Hulu is behind with 58 and Apple TV+ follows with 52 nominations. Disney+ lags behind that with 34 nominations, and Amazon Prime Video is on its heels with 30. Networks like CBS, NBC, ABC and FX are in the low double digits, then comes Paramount+ brings up the rear with 11 nominations, by far the lowest of all the streamers.

If you think the Roy family is ruthless when they're going up against each other, then watching them unite will shake you to your core. "Succession" has absolutely dominated the nominations tally, with 25 total nods and an apparent chokehold on all the acting categories. While no one's denying how incredible the latest season of "Succession" was, its success in the acting categories probably has a lot to do with Emmy's voting procedure. Members aren't limited when it comes to the number of votes they can cast and instead are told to "vote for all entries in this category that you have seen and feel are worthy of a nomination" (via TheWrap). Since they don't have to pick and choose, this means a single, very popular show has a good chance of dominating the acting categories — which is how we end up with a situation where three "Succession" actors are in a single category.

Among those nominated are Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong, both up for Best Actor in a Drama Series, while Kieran Culkin and the dynamic duo of Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) and Cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun) are up for Best Supporting Actor. Sure, the idea that Culkin's Roman Roy is a supporting role rather than a lead character is insane, but the Best Actor category is so stacked that swapping his category gave him a much better chance at winning. The nominations for "Succession" also include some love for longtime cast member J. Smith Cameron, guest directors Cathy Yan and Lorene Scafaria, and guest stars including Adrien Brody, Alexander Skarsgård, Sanaa Lathan, and more.

Evidently, satirical dramas about the rich and the ruthless are all the rage. Even though "The White Lotus" feels like it happened ages ago, it's indeed a big part of this year's Emmy season, standing tall with a whopping 20 nominations. But as usual, "Ted Lasso" proves that there's more to the world than cynicism by tying for second place with 20 nominations of its own. Between them, the two series are at the top of their respective categories by a mile — Comedy for "Lasso," and Limited or Anthology Series for "Lotus."

Much like "Succession," both of these shows got lots of love when it came to the acting categories: The stacked cast behind "The White Lotus" earned five of the seven nominations for Supporting Actress and three of the seven for Supporting Actor. This includes nods for Jennifer Coolidge, Natasha Rothwell, Alexandra Daddario, Murray Bartlett, Jake Lacy, Steve Zahn, Connie Britton, and Sydney Sweeney, who was also nominated elsewhere for her performance in "Euphoria." "The White Lotus" is also up for Best Limited or Anthology Series, and creator Mike White is up for his role as director and writer on the series.

Over in the land of kindness and European football, "Ted Lasso" is dead set on earning the Emmy sweep that everyone expected last year. Just like last year, "Lasso" has 20 nominations and the chance to sweep the comedy categories entirely. In the end, they walked away with seven awards in 2021, but given the way love for this show only continues to grow, maybe this time they'll take the whole lot.

"Only Murders In The Building" is taking the world by storm. Word-of-mouth helped the series spread like wildfire and now everyone seems in agreement that the beloved Arconia is the place to be if you're craving mysteries, friendship, or fabulous coats. As far as freshman comedies go, "Only Murders" has the strongest showing with 17 nominations, including for "Outstanding Comedy Series."

In the acting categories, the series is missing only one member of its crime-solving trio: both Steve Martin and Martin Short landed acting nods, but Selena Gomez didn't get any love despite her incredible performance as Mabel. But she still managed to make history: Gomez is nominated as a producer of the series, making her the second Latina woman to score a producing nomination in the comedy category (after Salma Hayek).

"Only Murders" has an uphill battle to success, though. Not only is "Ted Lasso" standing in the way, the series is also up against comedy veterans thanks to the continued success of "Hacks," which won three Emmys last year, locking "Ted Lasso" out of a full sweep of the comedy categories. "Hacks" rivals "Only Murders" by tying with 17 total nominations.

Surprise, surprise: After becoming the most-tweeted about show of the decade and having its viewership skyrocket beyond expectations, "Euphoria" continues to capture everyone's attention. Is it because this show has an uncanny ability to lock you in an hour long state of panic-fueled, rapt attention? Possibly. Or maybe it's just that Zendaya-branded star power. Whatever the reason, "Euphoria" has 16 Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series and acting nods for Sydney Sweeney, Colman Domingo, Martha Kelly, and Zendaya. Obviously, these former Disney pop stars can't help but make history at the Emmys — Zendaya is now a five-time Emmy nominee and at 25, this makes her the youngest two-time lead acting nominee ever AND the youngest woman ever to be nominated for producing at the Emmys.

Dye your hair pink and let the melon party begin! "Squid Game" and "Severance" are thriving after their debut seasons and are both up for Outstanding Drama Series. Between these two formidable groups of unsuspecting participants, it's hard to say who will come out on top. On the bright side, since they're both set to come back for a second season, they're already poised for a second shot at victory!

"Squid Game" and "Severance" have 14 nominations each, and they share that sizable tally with the likes of "Barry" and "Dopesick." The love for "Barry" is no big surprise — everyone's been happily boarding the hype train and critics seem to agree that Bill Hader's show gets better by the season. As for "Dopesick," the limited series arrived to mixed reviews and kinda flew under the radar, but the star power of Michael Keaton, Kaitlyn Deaver, Peter Sarsgaard, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Will Poulter are all working in its favor. They've each earned acting nods for their roles, and "Dopesick" is up for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series.

Netflix's path to Emmy victory is a lot bumpier without its crowning jewel, but it certainly pays to have an insane library of original content under its belt. The final season of "Ozark" earned the streamer 13 nods, which is the most of any departing series ("Insecure," "Killing Eve," and "Better Call Saul" all made a splash, but couldn't match up). As usual, Jason Bateman, Laura Linney, and Julia Garner are nominated in the acting categories, but there's also the surprise inclusion of Tom Pelphrey for Outstanding Guest Actor. Pelphrey was a standout addition to the show's third season, so recognition for his role as Ben Davis is long overdue. Meanwhile, "Stranger Things" is turning the technical categories Upside Down, while also competing for a trophy in Outstanding Drama Series.

Bizarrely, another Netflix contender is "Inventing Anna," which has earned Garner yet another nomination but for a much more controversial role. The limited series is also nominated in Outstanding Limited Or Anthology Series and Outstanding Casting, for a total of three nods. Netflix's "Maid" has also earned three noms, including Outstanding Lead Actress for Margaret Qualley.

What happens when a 1950s divorcee tries her luck at stand-up comedian? She wins some trophies! While Midge is still struggling to find her footing in the world of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," the Prime Video series is becoming a more assured comedy by the season. When it first arrived on the scene, "Maisel" took home eight Emmys, including Outstanding Comedy Series (an award it hasn't been able to recapture since 2018). For its sophomore outing, Maisel again won eight Emmys, including well-deserved awards for supporting actors Alex Borstein, Tony Shalhoub, and guest star Luke Kirby. But its second shot at Comedy Series was lost to "Fleabag" and its third shot to "Schitt's Creek." With only one more season on the horizon, "Maisel" has two more tries to take home the big trophy.

For its fourth season, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" has 12 total nominations, and in Outstanding Comedy Series, it's up against heavy hitters like "Barry," "Hacks," "Ted Lasso," and "Abbott Elementary."

For every "Inventing Anna," there's a "Pam & Tommy." I hope you're not getting tired of these biographical limited series, because I highly doubt they're going anywhere. "Pam & Tommy" was so well-received that it earned 10 nods, including the first Emmy nominations for its stars, Sebastian Stan and Lily James. The series is also nominated for Outstanding Period And/Or Character Makeup, which some might assume is for the mind-blowing transformation of Lily James, but those in the know understand that it's all about that Jason Mantzoukas cameo. How did they do it?

"Saturday Night Live" earned nine nominations, with "Moon Knight" and "RuPaul's Drag Race" following behind with eight each. In a four-way tie for seven nominations are "Abbott Elementary," "What We Do in The Shadows," "Better Call Saul," and "Yellowjackets." Then comes "The Dropout" with six nods. This is just further proof of how stacked the nominees were this year: If these are the stragglers, then we should be counting our TV blessings. Rounding out the list are the many titles that earned five Emmy nods or less, mostly in below-the-line categories. You can find the full list at the Television Academy's official website.

The 2022 Emmy Awards are set to air Monday, September 12, 2022 on NBC at 8:00 pm ET/5:00 pm PT.