Australian actor Yvonne Strahovski has scored an Emmy nomination for her role as Serena Joy Waterford in The Handmaid’s Tale.
The news was not so good for Nicole Kidman at Thursday’s Emmy nomination ceremony in Los Angeles. She was snubbed for her performance in Top of the Lake: China Girl, as was Naomi Watts for roles in Twin Peaks and the Netflix series Gypsy.
Top of the Lake: China Girl, shot in Sydney, also missed out in other categories, including best limited TV series, while lead actress Elisabeth Moss failed to earn a nomination.
Moss was nominated for best actress in a drama series for The Handmaid’s Tale, with Strahovski’s nomination coming in the supporting actress category.
Strahovski will compete for the Emmy against two The Handmaid’s Tale co-stars, Alexis Bledel and Ann Dowd, as well as Lena Headey (Game of Thrones), Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things), Thandie Newton (Westworld) and Vanessa Kirby (The Crown).
Strahovski, who is pregnant and had to hide her baby bump during the filming of season 2, told Vulture of her nomination: “I can’t stop smiling, my face hurts … I’m so happy to have been part of this, and so grateful that the ride has really allowed me the opportunity to dive deep into Serena’s psyche this season, and really get down and dirty with her and her vulnerability.”
The Handmaid’s Tale was one of the big winners with 20 nominations overall. Game Of Thrones was the dominant series. It has 22 nominations, followed by Saturday Night Live and Westworld with 21 each.
Netflix also showed its dominance over the traditional free-to-air and cable TV networks. The streaming service led the nominations in totals by platform with 112. HBO had 108 and NBC 78.
Other Australians who missed out on nominations included Portia de Rossi (Arrested Development), Hugo Weaving (Patrick Melrose), Elizabeth Debicki (The Tale) and Jim Jefferies (The Jim Jefferies Show).
The actresses who squeezed Kidman and Watts out of the supporting actress in a limited series category were: Adina Porter (American Horror Story: Cult); Penelope Cruz and Judith Light (The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story); Letitia Wright (Black Museum); Merritt Wever (Godless); and Sara Bareilles (Jesus Christ Superstar Live In Concert).
The mini-series that scored nominations ahead of Top of the Lake and Australia’s other hope, Picnic at Hanging Rock, were: The Alienist; The Assassination of Gianni Versace; Genius: Picasso; Godless; and Patrick Melrose.
The nominees for best drama series were The Handmaid’s Tale; Game of Thrones; This Is Us; The Crown; The Americans; Stranger Things; and Westworld.
Comedy series: Atlanta; Barry; Black-ish; Curb Your Enthusiasm; GLOW; The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel; Silicon Valley; and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
Lead actor in a drama series: Jason Bateman (Ozark); Sterling K Brown (This Is Us); Ed Harris (Westworld); Matthew Rhys (The Americans); Milo Ventimiglia (This Is Us); and Jeffrey Wright (Westworld).
Lead actress in a drama series: Claire Foy (The Crown); Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black); Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale); Sandra Oh (Killing Eve); Keri Russell (The Americans) and Evan Rachel Wood (Westworld).
The 70th Emmy awards ceremony will be held at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles on 17 September.
Australian Associated Press contributed to this report