It was assumed that the beloved and critically acclaimed freshman comedy series Ted Lasso would score big on Emmy nomination morning. But the Apple TV+ series exceeded even the highest expectations when it earned a whopping 20 nominations, including seven acting nods for its strong ensemble.
As expected, Jason Sudeikis earned a nom for lead actor in a comedy (he also picked up two writing nominations), but it was the many supporting noms that could not have been predicted. Hannah Waddingham and Juno Temple both landed supporting actress nominations while Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt, Nick Mohammed and Jeremy Swift are all in the supporting actor group.
The plethora of acting nominations surprised not just onlookers, but even Swift himself, Waddingham told Vanity Fair after the nominations were announced. “Jeremy did not for a split second think that would happen,” she says of her co-star, who plays Director of Football Operations Leslie Higgins. “I’m the one who told him. I knew he wouldn’t have looked so I FaceTimed him. He wouldn’t believe me until my manager and I showed him the screen with him on it. And that’s beautiful.”
Waddingham, nominated for playing owner of AFC Richmond Rebecca Welton on the show, says that Swift and Temple’s nominations were the ones that “moved me to tears.” “Juno has been in this game for an awfully long time, and I know this means the world to her,” says Waddingham. “I’m so thrilled for her that she’s finally being recognized officially.”
The series, which also picked up three directing nominations, two writing nominations, and two editing noms, is the most nominated freshman comedy series in Emmy history. Waddingham adds that it’s the ensemble nature of the show that led to such a strong showing in the acting categories. “I can’t imagine anyone else playing the parts that they do,” she says. “And for it to be universally lauded like this, it means we start season three in a very happy place.”
Speaking of happy place, Waddingham also shared with V.F. her plans to celebrate tonight: “I’m going to go and get hammered, and I don’t care who knows about it.”
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