Zendaya Was Nominated For An Emmy & Twitter Is Losing It
When Euphoria came out in the summer of 2019, it marked new territory for HBO, which had never done a teen-focused series before. The results were impressive, with the series building an audience over the first season, and ending the finale on a series high. Though some fretted about the sex and drug use, critics raved about the series, especially Zendaya's performance as lead Rue Bennett. The Television Academy agreed, landing the actress a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. These tweets about Zendaya's 2020 Emmy nomination for Euphoria are proof that sometimes the Emmys get it right.
The Outstanding Drama category nominations are, historically, more fluid than the Comedy ones, in which Television Academy voters tend to stick with what they know year after year. It helps that this year saw significant turnover in the category, with the end of Game of Thrones and House of Cards, both of which were perennial Emmy favorites. This year's Best Actress category had a lot to cheer about. Both Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh were nominated for Killing Eve again. It's the second time for Comer and third for Oh. Laura Linney was also nominated for her work in Ozark. There were also nods for Jennifer Aniston on The Morning Show, Olivia Colman for The Crown, and most importantly, Zendaya for Euphoria.
HBO was, understandably, delighted at this development:
Fans were ecstatic.
Zendaya was one of a slew of Black actors and actresses nominated for their work in the 2019-2020 TV season. Many fans put her nomination in the context of a larger movement — one Hollywood should be paying attention to.
Interestingly, fans weren't the only ones celebrating either. More than one account associated with "Film Twitter" also posted how happy they were to see Zendaya nominated. It's a suggestion that perhaps producers are paying attention.
Zendaya's nomination is only the first step, of course, and considering the competition, she may not win. But fans aren't hearing that.
In the end, they remember what matters.
The 72nd Annual Emmy Awards will air on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2020, on ABC at 8 p.m. ET.
