Emmys 2017: So Many Jewish Nominees

The Host With The Most: Emmy-nominated actress Evan Rachel Wood walks the red carpet at the premiere of her HBO show “Westworld.” Image by Getty Images

By Josefin Dolsten July 13, 2017

(JTA) — On Thursday, the Television Academy announced the nominees for the coveted Primetime Emmy Awards. Here are the acting candidates with Jewish ancestry. The awards for TV excellence will be presented Sept. 8 on CBS.

Lead actress, drama series

Evan Rachel Wood is being considered for her portrayal of Dolores Abernathy, an android character in the sci-fi series “Westworld” who discovers that what she thought was her life is a lie.

Lead actor, drama series

In the crime-drama series “Ray Donovan,” Liev Schreiber portrays the titular character, a fixer at a powerful Los Angeles law firm.

Lead actress, comedy series

Pamela Adlon stars as a divorced actress raising three children by herself in “Better Things.”

In “Veep,” Julia Louis-Dreyfus pokes fun at Washington, D.C., as the power-hungry vice president (and later president) Selina Meyer.

Tracee Ellis Ross plays a biracial anesthesiologist who is the matriarch of an upper-middle-class African-American family in “Black-ish.” She is the daughter of actress and legendary Motown recording artist Diana Ross and her ex-husband, Robert Ellis Silberstein.

Lead actor, comedy series

Jeffrey Tambor was nominated for his role as the transgender matriarch of a Jewish California family in “Transparent.”

Supporting actress, comedy series

Vanessa Bayer earned a nomination with her work on “Saturday Night Live.”

In “Transparent,” Judith Light plays the former wife of a Jewish transgender woman.

Supporting actor, drama series

Mandy Patinkin was tapped for his performance as Saul Berenson, the Jewish Middle East Division chief and later acting director of the CIA in “Homeland.”

Supporting actress, limited series or movie

Jackie Hoffman portrays Joan Crawford’s housekeeper in “Feud,” which centers on the rivalry between Crawford and fellow actress Bette Davis.

Guest actor, drama series

In the drama “Bloodline,” Ben Mendelsohn plays the black sheep brother whose return home leads to family drama.

Hank Azaria portrays a corrupt former FBI agent who clashes with a professional fixer in “Ray Donovan.”

Guest actress, comedy series

The late Carrie Fisher was nominated for her performance in “Catastrophe” as the mother of a man expecting a child as a result of a short affair.

Voice-over

Kevin Kline lent his voice to play the landlord of a hamburger shop owner in the animated sitcom “Bob’s Burgers.”

Josefin Dolsten is a New York-based writer who has reported for the Forward, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Times of Israel and other Jewish publications. She currently works as an account director at Fenton Communications, supporting organizations that work to advance racial justice, LGBTQ+ equality, reproductive rights and more. Dolsten earned her B.A. in government from Cornell University and her M.A. in comparative religion and Jewish studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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