Emmys Facts and Figures: ‘SNL’ Sets Record, Julia Louis-Dreyfus Eyes Performer Mark

“Saturday Night Live” capped a banner Season 42 with a boodle of Emmy nominations.

The NBC late-night institution set an Emmy record for most nominations in a single year for a variety show, and it tied “30 Rock’s” record of 22 nominations in a single year for a comedy series (yes, it competes in a different category, but funny is funny). The Emmy windfall comes on the heels of the show delivering its most-watched season in 22 years.

The haul includes taking half of the slots in the supporting comedy actress field — with noms for Vanessa Bayer, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon — and a bid for Alec Baldwin’s public service effort in playing candidate and then President Donald Trump. Thanks to its 42 years and counting run, “SNL” also ranks as the most-nominated series in Emmy history, with 231 bids to date.

“Veep” star Julia Louis-Dreyfus is angling for Emmy record territory this year. Her sixth consecutive nom for her role as the profane politico Selina Meyer has put her in line to tie Cloris Leachman’s record of eight Emmy wins as a performer. If she prevails again in September, Louis-Dreyfus could also best the record of five wins for by a performer for the same role. As of last year, the “Veep” star was tied with Candice Bergen for “Murphy Brown” and Don Knotts for “The Andy Griffith Show.”

Among other facts and figures from this year’s nominations:

• A win for “Modern Family” this year would set a new record for most victories for comedy series. At present, the ABC family comedy shares those bragging rights with NBC’s “Frasier,” with five total wins.

• Riz Ahmed and Ann Dowd have something in common: Both made a grand entrance by nabbing two nominations in their first time out at the Emmys. Ahmed is up for HBO’s “The Night Of” and guest actor in a comedy for “Girls.” Dowd is recognized for her fearsome work in HBO’s “The Leftovers” and Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

• Gerald McRaney and Robert De Niro have something in common: Both picked up their first Emmy bids this year, McRaney for NBC’s “This Is Us” and De Niro for the HBO telepic “Wizard of Lies.” The same is true for Reese Witherspoon (HBO’s “Big Little Lies”) and Michelle Pfeiffer (“Wizard of Lies”).

• The early morning Emmy news was good for CBS’ late-night lineup. The noms for “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” and “The Late Late Show With James Corden” mark the first time that two late-night shows from the same network were nommed in the category since Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show” and Conan O’Brien’s “Late Night” scored noms in 2003.

• Those bouffants didn’t poof themselves. NBC’s “Hairspray Live” snared a nom for hairstyling, as well as a bid for special class program. That’s the weird catch-call category that has encompassed TV’s live musicals. “Hairspray Live” will be up against Fox’s Super Bowl halftime show with Lady Gaga, the Tony Awards and the Oscars

• How hands-on is Ryan Murphy on his shows? So hands-on he earned a nom as creative director of the “Feud: Bette and Joan” main title sequence.

• Uber-producer Scott Rudin commanded a nomination for … children’s program? He’s an exec producer on Nickelodeon’s “School of Rock” series based on the Broadway tuner.

• Tina Fey picked up music and lyrics nom for penning the “Hell No” tune featured in Netflix’s “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.” She kept it a family affair in working with her husband, Jeff Richmond, and “30 Rock” alum Sam Means.

• Emmy voters love Ron Howard, eight days a week. He nabbed a limited series directing nom for the first episode of National Geographic TV’s “Genius” and a nom for documentary or nonfiction special for Hulu’s “The Beatles: Eight Days a Week: The Touring Years.”

• The ACLU recruited an Emmy-winning producer, comedy scribe Jack Burditt, to help steer the “Stand for Rights: A Benefit for the ACLU with Tom Hanks” telethon that aired on Facebook Live in March. Of course, the program nabbed an Emmy nom, for creative achievement in interactive media within an unscripted program.

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