"Watchmen" leads all Emmy nominees with 26

"Watchmen," cloaked in superhero mythology and grounded in real-world racism, received a leading 26 nominations Tuesday for the prime-time Emmy Awards. The HBO series, which captured America's deep unease as it faces racial and political clashes amid a pandemic, was nominated as best limited series and received bids for cast members including Regina King and Jeremy Irons.

King was part of a vanguard of actors of color indicating that TV academy voters took heed of the social climate.

Emmy announcement host Leslie Jones was part of a socially distanced, virtual release of nominees that was online, not on television as is usual. But nothing is usual during a coronavirus era that has brought Hollywood production to a virtual standstill and is making the Emmys and other awards grasp for alternatives.

The strong showing by Netflix's "Ozark" helped the streaming service achieve a record-setting 160 nominations that bested onetime perennial leader HBO, which earned 107 nods.  

The late Fred Willard received a nod for his "Modern Family" guest appearance. A posthumous nomination also went to director Lynn Shelton, for the limited series "Little Fires Everywhere."

Partial list of Emmy nominees in top categories

Comedy Series: "Curb Your Enthusiasm"; "Dead to Me"; "The Good Place"; "Insecure"; "The Kominsky Method"; "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"; "Schitt's Creek"; "What We Do in the Shadows."

Actor, Comedy Series: Anthony Anderson, "black-ish"; Don Cheadle, "Black Monday"; Ted Danson, "The Good Place"; Michael Douglas, "The Kominsky Method"; Eugene Levy, "Schitt's Creek"; Ramy Youssef, "Ramy."

Actress, Comedy Series: Christina Applegate, "Dead to Me"; Rachel Brosnahan, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"; Linda Cardellini, "Dead to Me"; Catherine O'Hara, "Schitt's Creek"; Issa Rae, "Insecure"; Tracee Ellis Ross, "black-ish."

Supporting Actress, Comedy Series: Yvonne Orji, "Insecure"; Alex Borstein, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"; Betty Gilpin, "GLOW"; Marin Hinkle, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"; Kate McKinnon, "Saturday Night Live"; Cecily Strong, "Saturday Night Live"; D'Arcy Carden, "The Good Place"; Annie Murphy, "Schitt's Creek."

Supporting Actor, Comedy Series: Mahershala Ali, "Ramy"; Alan Arkin, "The Kominsky Method"; Sterling K. Brown, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"; Daniel Levy, "Schitt's Creek"; Tony Shalhoub, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"; Kenan Thompson, "Saturday Night Live"; William Jackson Harper, "The Good Place"; Andre Braugher, "Brooklyn Nine-Nine."

Drama Series: "Better Call Saul"; "The Crown"; "Killing Eve"; "The Handmaid's Tale"; "The Mandalorian"; "Ozark"; "Stranger Things"; "Succession."

Actor, Drama Series: Jason Bateman, "Ozark"; Sterling K. Brown, "This is Us"; Billy Porter, "Pose"; Jeremy Strong, "Succession"; Brian Cox, "Succession"; Steve Carell, "The Morning Show."

Actress, Drama Series: Jennifer Aniston, "The Morning Show"; Olivia Colman, "The Crown"; Jodie Comer, "Killing Eve"; Laura Linney, "Ozark"; Sandra Oh, "Killing Eve"; Zendaya, "Euphoria."

Supporting Actor, Drama Series: Kieran Culkin, "Succession"; Billy Crudup, "The Morning Show"; Giancarlo Esposito, "Better Call Saul"; Bradley Whitford, "The Handmaid's Tale"; Mark Duplass, "The Morning Show"; Nicholas Braun, "Succession"; Matthew Macfadyen, "Succession"; Jeffrey Wright, "Westworld."

Supporting Actress, Drama Series: Helena Bonham Carter, "The Crown"; Laura Dern, "Big Little Lies"; Julia Garner, "Ozark"; Thandie Newton, "Westworld"; Fiona Shaw, "Killing Eve"; Sarah Snook, "Succession"; Meryl Streep, "Big Little Lies"; Samira Wiley, "The Handmaid's Tale."

Limited Series: "Little Fires Everywhere"; "Mrs. America"; "Unbelievable"; "Unorthodox"; "Watchmen."

Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie: Jeremy Irons, "Watchmen"; Mark Ruffalo, "I Know This Much Is True"; Hugh Jackman, "Bad Education"; Paul Mescal, "Normal People"; Jeremy Pope, "Hollywood."

Supporting Actress, Limited Series or Movie: Toni Collette, "Unbelievable"; Jean Smart, "Watchmen"; Tracey Ullman, "Mrs. America"; Uzo Aduba, "Mrs. America"; Margo Martindale, "Mrs. America"; Holland Taylor, "Hollywood."

Guest Actor in a Drama Series: Andrew Scott, "Black Mirror"; Giancarlo Esposito, "The Mandalorian"; Martin Short, "The Morning Show"; Jason Bateman, "The Outsider"; James Cromwell, "Succession"; Ron Cephas Jones, "This Is Us."

Guest Actress in a Drama Series: Alexis Bledel, "The Handmaid's Tale"; Cicely Tyson, "How To Get Away With Murder"; Laverne Cox, "Orange Is The New Black"; Harriet Walter, "Succession"; Cherry Jones, "Succession"; Phylicia Rashad, "This Is Us."

Guest Actor in a Comedy Series: Luke Kirby, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"; Fred Willard, "Modern Family"; Dev Patel, "Modern Love"; Adam Driver, "Saturday Night Live"; Eddie Murphy "Saturday Night Live"; Brad Pitt, "Saturday Night Live."

Guest Actress in a Comedy Series: Angela Bassett, "A Black Lady Sketch Show"; Maya Rudolph, "The Good Place"; Wanda Sykes, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"; Bette Midler, "The Politician"; Maya Rudolph, "Saturday Night Live"; Phoebe Waller-Bridge, "Saturday Night Live."

Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie: Jim Parsons, "Hollywood"; Dylan McDermott, "Hollywood"; Tituss Burgess, "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend"; Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, "Watchmen"; Jovan Adepo, "Watchmen"; Louis Gossett Jr.," Watchmen."

Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie: Regina King, "Watchmen"; Cate Blanchett, "Mrs. America"; Kerry Washington, "Little Fires Everywhere"; Shira Haas, "Unorthodox"; Octavia Spencer, "Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker."

Variety Talk Series: "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah"; "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee"; "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"; "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver"; "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

Television Movie: "American Son"; "Bad Education"; "Dolly Parton's Heartstrings: These Old Bones"; "El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie"; "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend."

Reality-Competition Program: "The Masked Singer"; "Nailed It!"; "RuPaul's Drag Race"; "Top Chef"; "The Voice.''

Structured Reality Program: "Antiques Roadshow"; "Love Is Blind"; "Queer Eye"; "Shark Tank"; "A Very Brady Renovation."

Unstructured Reality Program: "Amy Schumer Learns to Cook: Lunch Break and Pasta Night"; "Cheer"; "Kevin Hart: Don't F(asterisk)(asterisk)k This Up"; RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked!"; "We're Here."

Variety Sketch Series: "A Black Lady Sketch Show"; "Drunk History"; "Saturday Night Live.