Regan Morris
Reporting from Los Angeles

At 64, veteran character actor Dale Dickey is a familiar face from dozens of movies and TV shows. But her powerful and funny performance as Rosemary in Widow’s Bay has garnered her more attention than usual, with many predicting she’ll win the Emmy for best supporting actress in a comedy series.

Self-deprecating and craggly-voiced, Dickey is enjoying the ride, despite saying the Television Academy decided to “throw her a bone” by nominating her after so many years working in TV and movies.

“I’ve been around a really long time,” she said on the carpet of the BAFTA pre-Emmys party. “I’m thrilled. It’s lovely to have people embrace the show so much.”

Waving to British actor Rufus Sewell of The Diplomat on the carpet, Dickey says they were old friends from living in New York and now they see each other on the awards circuit. The star of Widow’s Bay, Matthew Rhys, is married to the star of The Diplomat, Keri Russell, so the shows have a personal connection. And both Rhys and Russell are nominated as well.

The green dress Dickey wore to the party was decorated in tiny boats, a tribute to Widow’s Bay, she said. The horror comedy has been a critical hit in its debut season. Dickey says the show has such a unique tone and perspective that she encourages anyone who thinks they don’t like horror to check it out.

“If you stick with it, the comedy balances it out,” she said.

Nardine Saad
at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards

Image source, Reuters

There are a handful of first-time nominees in the acting categories this year, although some of them aren't new to the awards show-circuit.

Carey Mulligan of Beef and Sarah Pidgeon of Love Story: John F Kennedy Jr & Carolyn Bessette are nominated for their first time as lead actresses in a limited, anthology series or movie category.

In the drama series category, Oscar-nominated One Battle After Another actress Chase Infiniti, 26, is nominated for her role as June's rebellious daughter in Hulu's The Testaments, a spin-off of the hit series The Handmaid's Tale.

Song of Anarchy alum Charlie Hunnam, who plays suspected serial killer Ed Gein in Netflix's Monster: The Ed Gein Story, also received a nod as lead actor in a limited series, anthology or movie category.

Shows nominated for the first time in their respective categories this year are the Apple TV horror comedy Widow's Bay, the Game of Thrones prequel A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and Apple TV's post-apocalyptic science fiction tale Pluribus, from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul creator Vince Gilligan.

Briefcases on the blue carpet: Names of the Emmy winners have arrivedpublished at 22:51 BST 14 September

22:51 BST 14 September

Sareen Habeshian
Reporting from Los Angeles

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Sealed briefcases containing the names of this year's Emmy winners have arrived on the blue carpet.

Representatives from Ernst & Young carried the silver cases into the award show. The firm is the official independent accounting firm for the Television Academy and is in charge of counting and verifying all ballots cast by voting members.

Image source, Getty Images

Legendary fashion designer Bob Mackie, famous for dressing stars like Cher and Diana Ross in extravagant designs, has died at the age of 87, his social media accounts announced Monday.

Mackie had an outsized impact on the entertainment industry, and his designs are frequently referenced in TV shows like RuPaul's Drag Race and Hacks.

Mackie even appeared as himself in the fifth and final season of Hacks, which is nominated for a number of awards at tonight's Emmys.

Mackie is mentioned throughout the series as having designed looks for Jean Smart's character Deborah Vance. When he appears in the final season, Vance calls him to ask if he can loan her a white pantsuit he designed for Carol Burnett that Vance has become obsessed with.

Mackie tells Vance he doesn't have it, sending her on a wild goose chase to get it from its new owner.

The show's creators have said they were thrilled to finally have Mackie on the show.

With his death announced just hours before the Emmys, it's not clear if he'll be featured in the In Memoriam portion of tonight's show.

Image source, Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

David Willis and Regan Morris
Reporting from Los Angeles

Image source, NBC via Getty Images

The blue carpet greeting those at the Emmys tonight may match the underlying mood in Hollywood - but many here are putting a brave face on it.

And at an annual pre-show gathering one series was on everyone’s lips: The Pitt.

Made in LA (but set in Pittsburgh), the show became a beacon of hope for those around Hollywood who are unemployed and worried about slumping production in the US as producers increasingly move to the UK, Canada and elsewhere.

“With COVID and with the strikes on top of each other, I know a lot of people just had to hang it up,” says Jeff Kober, who is nominated for being a guest actor on The Pitt and also for his role on General Hospital, the first actor to earn both a primetime and daytime Emmy nomination in the same year.

HBO, which had many actors to choose from, didn’t actually nominate Kober for Emmy consideration. He submitted himself, a bold move that paid off.

“I think the talent will always find its way forward as long you don't quit,” he said.

Not since ER hit our screens a quarter of a century ago has a medical drama proved as popular as The Pitt. A gritty emergency room drama that casts an often unflattering eye on the American healthcare system, it has 25 Emmy nominations.

“It asks existential questions about what it is to live and die,” says actress Sepideh Moafi, who is nominated for best supporting actress in a drama series, the first Iranian and Middle Eastern woman to do so.

"People see their own lives reflected in those stories.”

Image source, Reuters

Outside of Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys, here's a look at some of the other famous couples who have been nominated side-by-side in past years at the Emmys:

• Billy Crudup (The Morning Show) and Naomi Watts (Feud)
• Tracy Letts (Winning Time) and wife Carrie Coon (The Gilded Age)
• Sarah Paulson (Mr and Mrs Smith) and Holland Taylor (The Morning Show)
• Fargo’s Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons
• and Hacks duo Lucia Aniello and Paul W Downs

Nardine Saad
at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards

Image source, Getty Images

Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell fell in love while portraying spies on the Emmy-nominated series The Americans, but tonight they’re both up for acting awards in different projects.

Welsh actor Rhys is nominated for his lead roles in the Netflix limited series The Beast in Me and Apple TV horror-comedy Widow’s Bay, while Russell is up for her lead role as a US ambassador to the UK in the Netflix drama The Diplomat. (Both also have nods for their executive producer roles.)

This will be the fourth time the pair has attended the awards show when they're both up for nominations. From 2016 to 2018, they both received nods for their lead roles in the FX series The Americans.

The long-term couple, who are not legally married, met on the set of that drama and sparked rumours of an on-set romance in 2014. They made their relationship red-carpet official that same year. Russell, who has two children from her previous marriage, welcomed her first child with Rhys in 2016.

When Rhys won the Emmy for his role in The Americans in 2018, he joked during his acceptance speech that Russell would punch him “clean in the mouth” if he proposed onstage - a riff on an earlier marriage proposal during that telecast.

When Russell accepted an Actor Award earlier this year, she ended her speech with a nod to her former co-star and partner, saying "Happy St David's Day to my Welsh guy”.

Steven McIntosh
Entertainment reporter

Image source, Reuters

You might have noticed the buzziest show of the last year, Heated Rivalry, starring Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, is missing from this year's Emmy nominations.

The ice hockey romance did not qualify because it is a fully financed Canadian production, without the US involvement needed to be recognised at the Emmys.

Its ineligibility puzzled many who remember Schitt's Creek, a show more Canadian than maple syrup, dominating the Emmys in 2021.

But that qualified because of its financial and broadcast partnerships in the US, including creator and star Dan Levy's own American-based production company.

Heated Rivalry will instead be eligible to compete for the next International Emmys, which take place in New York in November.

The final series of Stranger Things is absent in the top categories this year, scoring only seven nominations in technical categories.

And despite its star-packed cast, Euphoria's last season managed only one acting nomination for former winner Zendaya.

Steven McIntosh
Entertainment reporter

Image source, Reuters

Whenever a particular show gets a truckload of Emmy nominations, it’s usually a show of strength and a sign that it will score at least some prizes on the night.

But it also can create a tricky situation for the stars, who often find themselves nominated against each other.

Medical drama The Pitt has a whopping eight acting nominations this year, seven of which are across the same two categories - best supporting drama actor and actress.

This can actually harm a show's chances, because it can split the vote. The Pitt might have a lot of love in the Television Academy, but if voters are all opting for different actors to win, that leaves the pathway clear for a nominee from a totally different show to come through the middle and snatch the win.

The Pitt’s lead star Noah Wyle is the only one unaffected by the show’s abundance of nominations, as he’s the only nominee from the series in the leading actor category.

But nominees from the same shows or films often publicly champion each other - so hopefully the dynamic hasn’t been too awkward on set.

We broke down the stats on the nominated shows earlier, you can find it here.

Steven McIntosh
Entertainment reporter

Image source, Getty Images

There’s a respectable showing for the Brits this year, but the UK isn’t leading the way in the same way it has at some recent Emmy ceremonies.

Baby Reindeer and Adolescence dominated the limited series categories (and news headlines) for the last two years, but this year there is no equivalent show expected to bring a load of trophies back across the Atlantic.

Having said that, there are plenty of individual acting nominations for Brits from a variety of other shows, including:

• Carey Mulligan (Beef)
• Riz Ahmed (Bait)
• Rufus Sewell (The Diplomat)
• Jack Lowden (Slow Horses)
• Gary Oldman (Slow Horses)

Many are keeping a particularly close eye on Welsh star Matthew Rhys, who is nominated in two different lead actor categories - for comedy Widow’s Bay and limited series The Beast in Me.

Two categories have been merged this year - best talk series and best scripted variety series are now combined in a single category: outstanding variety series.

That means chat show hosts such as Jimmy Kimmel will compete against topical variety shows such as Saturday Night Live and Last Week Tonight With John Oliver.

Some other categories were also moved out of the telecast this year and have already been handed out, in an effort to revitalise the ceremony and leave more time for entertainment.

For example, best supporting actor and actress in a limited series, usually awarded during the main ceremony, were moved to the earlier Creative Arts Emmys ceremonies this year.

The total number of trophies awarded on the big night has been reduced from 26 to 19, a move the Academy said was intended to leave room for more musical performances, comedic sketches and unexpected acceptance speeches.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, NBC via Getty Images

Mariska Hargitay, star of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, is this year's Primetime Emmys Awards host.

Hargitay has become synonymous with her small-screen alter ego, Captain Olivia Benson, a New York police detective who has entered the American television annals as the longest-running female character in a primetime live-action series.

The actress, producer and director also earned an Emmy Award for the role back in 2006.

Image source, Getty Images

NBC, which is televising the awards show in the US, selected its drama star to emcee the ceremony as part of the network's centennial.

"Bringing important stories into the light has been the heartbeat of my career," Hargitay said in July, adding that it is her "great honour" to lead the festivities and "celebrate this extraordinary community of storytellers".

Her selection marks a departure from the ceremony's recent slate of comics to front the gig and is the first time in 15 years a woman has hosted the show. Glee alum Jane Lynch was the last woman to host back in 2011.

The ceremony went without a host in 2019 after the Oscars famously went host-less earlier that year.

Image source, Getty Images

Leading the pack at this year's Emmys is the hit drama series The Pitt, which has earned 25 nominations and will also be defending its title as best drama for the second year in a row.

Not far behind is Hacks, with its fifth and final season receiving 24 nominations, which is the most ever for a comedy series in a single year.

Here's a look at the other shows with the most nominations:

• Widow's Bay - 19
• Pluribus - 18
• Beef - 16
• DTF St Louis - 13

Doctors and others in the medical profession say, for them, The Pitt is the most realistic medical drama yet, which may have helped boost its popularity.

Nardine Saad
at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards

Image source, Getty Images

The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, the biggest night in the television industry, is set to get under way in downtown Los Angeles in just a few hours.

Stars from this year's most popular programmes - including The Pitt, Hacks, Slow Horses, Widow's Bay and more - will soon be pulling up to the red carpet outside the Peacock Center, starting at around 15:00 local time (18:00 ET, 23:00 BST).

Our reporters, similarly poised to strike a selfie or two, will also be bringing you live coverage from outside the show, as well as backstage.

We'll be catching up with the winners and bringing you fresh analysis on the biggest surprises and upsets of the night when things get going at 20:00 EDT (01:00 BST). For now, we'll take you through everything from how to watch, whose been nominated - and who hasn't.