Norm Macdonald’s final standup special has earned the late Canadian comic his first nominations at the Emmy Awards.
The Quebec-raised jokester was among a group of familiar homegrown names in the running at this year’s Emmys, including Martin Short, Sandra Oh, Seth Rogen and the composer behind the buzzworthy score for “The White Lotus.”
But it was Macdonald, who died in September after quietly battling cancer, that emerged the leading Canadian nominee for his work on “Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special.”
The show appeared on Netflix without notice on the final day of the Emmys eligibility period and earned the comedian nods for both director and writer on a variety special, while the show itself was named in the pre-recorded variety special category.
Meanwhile, Hamilton-born Short picked up a nod for lead actor in a comedy series for “Only Murders in the Building,” where he’ll compete against his co-star Steve Martin.
Nepean, Ont. native Oh is up for lead actress in a drama series for “Killing Eve,” her fourth time receiving a nomination in the category for that show.
And Vancouver-raised Rogen is nominated for supporting actor in a limited series for “Pam & Tommy,” a show that revolves around the leak of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s sex tape.
Cristobal Tapia de Veer’s instantly recognizable work on the eerie tropical score for HBO’s “The White Lotus” landed him among the nominees for outstanding music composition for a limited for anthology series, movie or special.
Mychael Danna, a Toronto composer on the NASA and SpaceX documentary “Return to Space,” is nominated for the original score on a documentary series or special.
Montreal-born “Queer Eye” star Antoni Porowski shared a nomination with the other members of the Fab Five for outstanding host for a reality or competition program.
Toronto-raised Lorne Michaels earned two nominations — one for writing on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” and another for the behind-the-scenes web series “Saturday Night Live Presents: Stories From The Show,” which is contending in the outstanding short form non-fiction or reality series category.
He’ll be up against fellow Toronto native Samantha Bee whose interviews with her late-night show’s crew about their experiences in the entertainment industry got her a nod for “Full Frontal With Samantha Bee Presents: Once Upon A Time In Late Night.”
Seven nominations were given to HBO series “Station Eleven,” based on a dystopian novel by Canadian writer Emily St. John Mandel and partly filmed in Ontario. They include nods for director Hiro Murai and lead actor Himesh Patel.
The Emmys air Sept. 12 on CTV.
—David Friend, The Canadian Press
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