The 76th Emmy nominations have been announced, and there’s a lot to talk about, from The Bear getting recognition across 23 categories (though our own Riley Utley thinks it will be a problem if the Hulu series wins all its Emmys) to Prime Video’s Fallout walking away with three nominations. Right here though, I want to talk about the Outstanding Animated Program. Specifically, in addition to Bob’s Burgers and Family Guy once again being nominated in this group, X-Men ’97 and two other genre shows scored three Emmy nominations, and I’m jazzed they’re getting love from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
X-Men ’97
When X-Men: The Animated Series ended in 1997 after five seasons, it seemed like we’d never revisit this continuity that helped raise the mutant superheroes’ profile with the general public before the X-Men movies started being released. Not so, because in 2021, it was announced that X-Men ’97 would revive this continuity and be among the Marvel programming that can be streamed with a Disney+ subscription. Roughly two and a half years later, X-Men ’97 debuted to critical acclaim this past March, and its popularity only increased from there.
X-Men ’97 already had a bright future ahead it prior to today, as Season 2 is deep into production and Season 3 is in development. Still, as we wait to see what awaits this team in 3000 B.C. and 3960 A.D., as well as learn where Wolverine, Storm and Morph ended up, it’s nice that the show added an Emmy nomination to its collection of accolades, specifically for the game-changing episode “Remember It.” It was one of three Marvel Studios-produced programs that were nominated for the next ceremony, the other two being Loki and Echo.
Blue Eye Samurai
In November 2023, Blue Eye Samurai premiered to those with a Netflix subscription. The series follows a half-white, half-Japanese onna-musha (female warrior) named Mizu, who embarks on a journey to exact revenge on four white men, including her father. The talented cast of the animated series includes Maya Erskine, Masi Oka, George Takei and Kenneth Branagh.
It didn’t take long for critics and audiences to start raving about the must-watch Blue Eye Samurai, and now this action TV show can count itself as an Emmy nominee for the episode “The Tale of the Ronin and the Bride.” This honor follows seven months after Netflix renewed Blue Eye Samurai for a second season, so if you haven’t already checked out the show, do so as soon as possible!
Scavengers Reign
Originally released on Max in October 2023, and then later becoming available to watch on Netflix too, Scavengers Reign is a sci-fi drama that follows the survivors of a crashed cargo ship being stranded on the planet Vesta. Initially divided into three groups, these individuals traverse this world teeming with flora, fauna and danger around every corner to get back to their ship, the Demeter, and reunite with each other.
Max canceled Scavengers Reign after just one season, but Netflix scooped it up soon afterwards and shared all the episodes on May 31. There’s still no word from the latter streamer about if wants to pick up a second season of the series, but perhaps now that it has an Emmy nomination under its belt for “The Signal,” maybe that will be enough to convince the Netflix executives to keep it going. Obviously that would only increase if Scavengers Reign walked away with the award.
We’ll find out what show wins Outstanding Animated Program when the 76th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards happen from September 7-8. Also don’t forget that the 2024 TV schedule will bring the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards to ABC on September 15
