Entertainment

Lack Of Diversity In Lead Actor Emmy Nods

by Tracy Dye

Each year, television fans eagerly anticipate a celebration of their favorite shows, miniseries, and breakout stars with the Emmy Awards. On Thursday, July 16, Uzo Aduba of Orange Is The New Black and host Cat Deeley of So You Think You Can Dance? presented the lucky nominees for the 2015 Emmy Awards who have a chance a garnering a trophy. One of the most arguably anticipated categories for this year's awards program is that of Lead Actor and Lead Actress, and this year's nominees for Lead Actor in a Comedy and Drama series included some upcoming stars and some longtime favorites.

Jon Hamm of the recently departed — and beloved — Mad Men gleaned an Emmy nod, along with other predictable favorites like Kevin Spacey from House Of Cards. For Lead Actor in a comedy series, the uproarious Anthony Anderson of the recent hit series, Black-ish earned a nod, and was a refreshing bit of diversity in categories that seem historically lacking. Although all the men nominated are receiving much-deserved accolades, there continues to be a noticeable lack of diversity pervading these categories, which is sadly old hat for the Emmys. In 2014, the Emmy nominations for Lead Actor in a Drama Series was exclusively comprised of caucasian men, and it wasn't too far from that during the 2013 Emmy Awards as well.

In January, the Oscars drew quite a bit of negative attention for its categories lack of diversity — even earning an #OscarsSoWhite trend on Twitter. Withe the Lead Actor nods for this year's Emmy Awards also displaying a noticeable lack of diversity, will the awards show garner the same type of scrutiny?