Emmys 2023: Kumail Nanjiani, Padma Lakshmi, and ‘Indian Matchmaking’ receive nominations

Kumail Nanjiani has scored a nomination at the 75th Primetime Emmy Award. He has been nominated for an Emmy Award for ‘outstanding lead actor in a limited series or a movie’ for the Disney+ series Welcome to Chippendales.

Emmy-nominated actress Yvette Nicole Brown revealed the nominees alongside Television Academy Chair Frank Scherma during a live virtual ceremony on July 12.

Nanjiani, who is a Pakistani-American stand-up comedian and actor, was chosen for his portrayal of Indian American Somen “Steve” Banerjee, who became the unlikely founder of Chippendales, the male-stripping empire. The biographical true crime drama detailed the insane, darkly comedic, and crime-ridden story behind the unique male revue that became a cultural phenomenon.

Padma Lakshmi received a nomination for hosting the 20th season of the popular Bravo cooking series Top Chef. The announcement comes a month after the Indian American chef, author, model, and television host revealed that she would leave the show.

Lakshmi also earned a nomination in the Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series Or Special category for her Hulu show Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi.

She took to Instagram to share her excitement about her Emmy nods. “It’s really nice to finish my time at Top Chef with a nice nomination for the show, as well as one for me as host. I am so excited that you guys have acknowledged both my shows, and especially ‘Taste the Nation’ which as you know is just my baby and I want to thank everybody on both crews who helped me put those shows on,” she said. “Thank you so, so much.”

Netflix’s Indian Matchmaking, the third season of which premiered in April, was nominated in the ‘outstanding unstructured reality program’ category. Matchmaker Sima Taparia, who works with millennials around the globe to search for their perfect match, said that getting an Emmy nomination for her show is an answer to all the people who criticise it.

The nominations for the 75th Emmy Awards are dominated by Succession, The Last of Us, and The White Lotus, which represent the three most-nominated shows of the year.

The final season of Succession bagged 27 total nominations, including a record-setting three nominations in the best actor in a drama category.

The Last of Us was second with 24 total nominations, including best drama series and best actor and actress nods for Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey.

Season 2 of The White Lotus was third with 23 nominations, which includes five nominations in the best supporting actress in a drama category.

The final season of Ted Lasso came in fourth with 21 nominations, while the final season of Prime Video’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel nabbed 14. Season 1 of the hit FX/Hulu series The Bear broke into the race with 13 nominations, while the Netflix series 'Beef' and 'Dahmer' nabbed the same number.

Netflix also picked up 12 nominations for the hit series Wednesday, including best comedy series and best actress in a comedy for star Jenna Ortega.

Other shows with at least five nominations include the final season of Barry (11 nominations), Only Murders in the Building (11 nominations), the final season of Better Call Saul (7 nominations), and Obi-Wan Kenobi (5 nominations).

The 2023 Emmy Awards will be held at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, US, on 18 September.