Awards in an array of technical categories will be presented Wednesday evening during the third night of the five-night Creative Arts Emmys, with elaborate and visually rich series such as “The Mandalorian” and “Watchmen” among the top nominees.
Wednesday night’s ceremony will celebrate behind-the-scenes talent including cinematographers, picture editors, hairstylists, makeup artists, costumers, production designers, sound experts and visual effects artists.
The Disney+ series “The Mandalorian” and HBO’s “Watchmen” are both nominated for special visual effects, along with HBO’s “Westworld” and Netflix’s “Lost in Space” and “Stranger Things.”
“Watchmen,” the leading overall Emmy nominee this year, has three of the five nominations for single-camera picture editing in a limited series or movie. “The Mandalorian” is nominated three times for single-camera picture editing in a drama series. Both shows are nominated for fantasy/sci-fi costumes, along with Prime Video’s “Carnival Row,” Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” and HBO’s “Westworld.”
NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” received its fourth consecutive Emmy for outstanding variety sketch series at Tuesday’s virtual ceremony honoring variety programming. The other nominees were Comedy Central’s “Drunk History,” which has been nominated all six years the category has existed, but has yet to win, and HBO’s “A Black Lady Sketch Show” received a nomination in its first season.
“Saturday Night Live” received also received for outstanding directing for a variety series and outstanding production design for a variety, reality or competition series.
The Oscars won Emmys for outstanding sound mixing for a variety series or special and outstanding production design for a variety special. Its other nominations included outstanding live variety special, but lost to “Live in Front of a Studio Audience: `All in the Family’ and `Good Times.”’
ABC’s re-creation of two Norman Lear comedies from the 1970s also won for outstanding technical direction, camerawork, video control for a special.
Tuesday’s other multiple winners were HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” (writing for a variety series, technical direction, camerawork, video control for a series and picture editing for variety programming) and VH1’s “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (outstanding contemporary hairstyling for a variety, nonfiction or reality program and contemporary makeup for a variety, nonfiction or reality program (non-prosthetic).)
The Creative Arts Emmy Awards honor programming that initially aired between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. from June 1, 2019, to May 31, 2020.
Thursday’s ceremony will be devoted to scripted programming, with Oscar winners Christoph Waltz and Taika Waititi among the nominees.
Waltz, who won best supporting actor Oscars in 2010 and 2013 for his work in “Inglourious Basterds” and “Django Unchained,” is among the nominees for outstanding actor in a short form comedy or drama series for his portrayal of hunt organizer Miles Sellars in “Most Dangerous Game,” which streamed on Quibi.
Three other nominees are from Quibi series — Lawrence Fishburne, Stephen James and Corey Hawkins.
James starred in “#FreeRayshawn,” as Black Iraqi War veteran Rayshawn Morris, who is holed up in his apartment along with his family after an altercation with overzealous New Orleans Police Department officers who turns to social media and a sympathetic police lieutenant (Fishburne) to try to clear his name.
Hawkins starred in “Survive” as a survivor of a plane crash that left him and the other survivor (Sophie Turner) isolated on a remote snow-covered mountain.
The other nominee is Mamoudo Athie from FX’s “Oh Jerome, No (Cake).”
Waititi, who won the best adapted screenplay Oscar in February for “Jojo Rabbit” is nominated for character voice-over performance for supplying the voice of the bounty hunter droid IG-11 on Disney+’s “The Mandalorian.” The other nominees include two performers from “The Simpsons,” Hank Azaria, a four-time winner in the category, and Nancy Cartwright.
What the Television Academy describes as “an eclectic mix of awards across all genres” will be presented Saturday. The Creative Arts Emmys began Monday with a ceremony honoring reality and nonfiction programming.
The ceremonies Wednesday evening and Thursday will be streamed on Emmys.com at 5 p.m. Saturday’s ceremony will be broadcast on FXX at 5 p.m.
Awards in the top 23 categories in comedy, drama, competition, limited and variety talk series and the Governors Award will be presented at the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards Sunday.