Kerry Washington Gets Her Emmy Nomination, and It's a Pretty Big Deal

Thursday morning’s announcement of Emmy Award nominations went even further in proving that television is the place to be if you’re a woman: Kerry Washington got nominated for her role on Shonda Rhimes’s fantastically soapy Scandal.

While Washington’s nomination for Lead Actress in a Drama Series, alongside other strong picks like Vera Famiga (Bates Motel), Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey), Claire Danes (Homeland), Robin Wright (House of Cards), Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men) and Connie Britton (Nashville), might seem inevitable given her recent rise in popularity, it’s a big deal. The last time a black woman was nominated for Lead Actress in a Drama Series was in 1995; Supporting Actress has been won a few times in recent years by Chandra Wilson for Rhimes’s first big hit, Grey’s Anatomy.

The last time a black actress was nominated for lead in a comedy series was even longer ago –1986 – and this year hasn’t changed that: nominations went to Laura Dern (Enlightened), Lena Dunham (Girls), Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie), Amy Poehler (Parks and Rec), Tina Fey (30 Rock) and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep).

Supporting Actress in a Drama noms were passed out to Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad), Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey), Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones), Christine Baranski (The Good Wife), Morena Baccarin (Homeland) and Christina Hendricks (Mad Men). And Supporting Actress in a Comedy went to Mayim Bialik (The Big Bang Theory), Jane Lynch (Glee), Sofia Vegara and Julie Bowen (Modern Family), Merritt Wever (Nurse Jackie), Jane Krakowski (30 Rock) and Anna Chlumsky (Veep).

In other, less female news, House of Cards has been nominated for Best Drama, becoming the first show that never aired on an actual television to get a “top Emmy nod.” It was joined by Breaking Bad, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, Homeland and Mad Men. The Best Comedy scene was literally identical to the nominations from last year: The Big Bang Theory, Girls, Louie, Modern Family, 30 Rock and Veep all got nods. Weirdly enough, American Horror Story gets the prize for most nominations, probably because of its dominance in categories like makeup.

If you need something to be angry about, Jeff Daniels is up for Best Actor in a Drama series for The Newsroom, against Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Hugh Bonneville (Downtown Abbey), Damian Lewis (Homeland), Kevin Spacey (House of Cards), and Jon Hamm (Mad Men). Love you Jeff Daniels; do not love you as Will McAvoy. Jason Bateman scored only one of three Arrested Development nods for his role on the reboot of the show; other Best Actor in a Comedy nominations went to Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory), Matt LeBlanc (“as Matt LeBlanc” on Episodes), Don Cheadle (House of Lies), Louis C.K. (Louie) and Alec Baldwin (30 Rock).

Oh, and Betty White goes up against Ryan Seacrest, Hedi Klum, Tim Gunn, Anthony Bourdain and others for Outstanding Host For a Reality TV Program (for Betty White’s Off Their Rockers). Ah and both Michael Douglas and Matt Damon were nominated for Behind The Candelabra! Truly a great day. The full list of nominations is here.