2024 Emmy Noms: Lily Gladstone, 'Reservation Dogs,' More Make Indigenous History

Devery Jacobs as Elora Danan, Paulina Alexis as Willie Jack, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai as Bear, Lane Factor as Cheese.

(Image credit: Shane Brown/FX)

published 17 July 2024

The 2024 Emmy nominations are out—and Indigenous actors are the breakout stars of the day.

On Wednesday, July 17, the Television Academy announced the series and performers being honored at this year's awards ceremony on September 15—and the nominations included several history-making nominations for Indigenous actors and stories. Reservation Dogs, which was a groundbreaking show for Indigenous representation, also earned overdue praise for its third and final season, which wrapped up in September 2023.

Reservation Dogs, the beloved yet underrated series about four teenagers growing up on an Oklahoma reservation, received nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, who played Bear Smallhill on the show. Despite receiving constant praise from critics throughout its run, this marks the first time that the FX on Hulu comedy co-created by Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi was recognized by the Academy beyond its one nomination for sound editing in 2023.

D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai as Bear in 'Reservation Dogs' season 3. — D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai as Bear Smallhill on *Reservation Dogs* season 3.

Reservation Dogs received a total of four nods this year (also including editing and cinematography), giving the comedy—which was the first American series to feature all Indigenous writers and directors, and a largely Indigenous cast and crew—some long-awaited recognition.

Meanwhile, the Supporting Actress in a Limited Series category sports two history-making nominations. Lily Gladstone picked up an honor for her role as Officer Cam Bentland in Hulu's Under the Bridge. Her nod comes just several months after she also made historical strides at this year's Oscars with her Best Actress nomination for Killers of the Flower Moon.

Joining Gladstone in the category is actress and professional boxer Kali Reis, who was nominated for her co-starring role as Trooper Evangeline Navarro in HBO's True Detective: Night Country.

Lily Gladstone as Cam in Hulu's 'Under the Bridge' — Lily Gladstone as Officer Cam Bentland in *Under the Bridge*.

Gladstone, Reis, and Woon-A-Tai all became the first-ever Indigenous actors nominated in their respective categories.

Before this landmark year for Indigenous representation, only one Native American person had ever been nominated for an Emmy in any acting category. In 2007, August Schellenberg received a Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie nom for his performance as Sitting Bull in the HBO television movie Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.

Kali Reis in 'True Detective: Night Country' — Kali Reis as Trooper Evangeline Navarro in *True Detective: Night Country*.

Those weren't the only diversity wins to come out of the 2024 Emmy nominations.

FX's Japanese historical epic Shōgun received 25 nominations—the most for any program this year—including acting nods for stars Anna Sawai and Hiroyuki Sanada. Meanwhile, Sofía Vergara is now the first Latina actress up for Lead Actress In Limited Series for Griselda, and Selena Gomez is the most-nominated Latina producer in comedy ever.

Netflix's surprise-hit miniseries Baby Reindeer also picked up several nominations, including a Supporting Actress in a Limited Series nomination for Nava Mau, who is the first trans woman in Emmy history to be recognized in the category. Mau is the second trans woman nominated in Emmys history after Laverne Cox's nod for Orange Is the New Black in 2014.

The 2024 Emmys, honoring TV from the June 2023 to May 2024 season, airs live on ABC on Sunday, Sept. 15, from the Peacock Theater in L.A.

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Quinci is a Culture Writer who covers all aspects of pop culture, including TV, movies, music, books, and theater. She contributes interviews with talent, as well as SEO content, features, and trend stories. She fell in love with storytelling at a young age, and eventually discovered her love for cultural criticism and amplifying awareness for underrepresented storytellers across the arts. She previously served as a weekend editor for Harper’s Bazaar, where she covered breaking news and live events for the brand’s website, and helped run the brand’s social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Her freelance writing has also appeared in outlets including HuffPost, The A.V. Club, Elle, Vulture, Salon, Teen Vogue, and others. Quinci earned her degree in English and Psychology from The University of New Mexico. She was a 2021 Eugene O’Neill Critics Institute fellow, and she is a member of the Television Critics Association. She is currently based in her hometown of Los Angeles. When she isn't writing or checking Twitter way too often, you can find her studying Korean while watching the latest K-drama, recommending her favorite shows and films to family and friends, or giving a concert performance while sitting in L.A. traffic.

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