Emmys: A Breakdown of the Music Nominees From Lady Gaga’s ‘Dead Dance’ to Hans Zimmer’s Race for His First Win

Emmy’s music branch continues to welcome newcomers. Eighteen of this year’s 54 nominees, or one-third of the total in seven categories, are first-timers to the competition. And only 12 are previous winners of TV’s highest honor.

Composer Dave Porter, whose long professional relationship with creator-producer Vince Gilligan dates back to “Breaking Bad,” earned his first nominations for Apple TV’s “Pluribus”: music composition for a series, main title theme music, and (unusual for a composer) outstanding sound mixing for a series.

Three other composers received two noms apiece: Jeff Beal, composition for a limited or anthology series plus main title theme for “All Her Fault”; Sean Callery, the same two categories for “The Beast in Me”; and Daniel Pemberton, composition for a series for “Slow Horses” and best song for “Spider-Noir.” Beal and Callery are previous Emmy winners.

Film-scoring legend Hans Zimmer, who already has two Oscars and five Grammys, could finally win an Emmy (in his eighth time at bat) for co-composing the documentary score for “Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age.”

This year’s statistics are a mixed bag. Only eight women were nominated (or 15%), down from nine last year; but 15 people of color (28%) received nominations, up from 24% last year. Also, 31 individual programs were chosen from 417 entries in the seven music categories, down from 480 entries last year.

A first in the song category (officially “music and lyrics”) is “Mis Figuritas” from “Hacks,” the first-ever Spanish-language song to be nominated. And only five of the 31 programs nominated are from traditional broadcast networks—all in the music direction category.

Final round voting takes place Aug. 17-26. Winners will be announced Sept. 5 and 6. Approximately 750 members of the TV Academy’s Music Peer Group are eligible to vote.

Music Composition for a Series

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (HBO Max)
Dan Romer
One prior nomination
episode “In the Name of the Mother”
Guitars, fiddles, whistling offer homespun folk sound

Palm Royale (Apple TV)
Jeff Toyne
One win, one other nomination
episode “Maxine Drinks Martinis Now”
Fun ’60s-style jazz with wordless vocals

Pluribus (Apple TV)
Dave Porter
First nomination (three this year)
episode “We Is Us”
Voices, orchestra, synths create unsettling ambiance

Slow Horses (Apple TV)
Daniel Pemberton, Toydrum
Three noms for Pemberton, one for Toydrum
episode “Missiles”
Edgy contemporary sounds enhance UK spy drama

Spider-Noir (Prime Video)
Kris Bowers, Michael Dean Parsons
Four noms for Bowers, one for Parsons
episode “Step Into My Office”
Cool noir-ish feel with modern orchestra, theremin

Widow’s Bay (Apple TV)
David Fleming
One win, one other nomination
episode “Our History”
Eerie strings, dark musical colors for town’s evil past

Music Composition for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special

All Her Fault (Peacock)
Jeff Beal
Five wins, 14 other noms
Episode 7
Alternately tense and melancholy strings, piano

The Beast in Me (Netflix)
Sean Callery, Sara Barone
Four wins for Callery, one nom for Barone
episode “The Beast and Me”
Scary string textures, suspenseful minor chords

Black Rabbit (Netflix)
Danny Bensi, Saunder Jurriaans
One prior nom for each
episode “Isle of Joy”
Grim, percussion-heavy score for action in finale

In the Blink of an Eye (Hulu)
Thomas Newman
One win, four other nominations
Vast time-space canvas for Andrew Stanton film
Sensitive orchestral, choral accompaniment

Washington Black (Hulu)
Cameron Moody
First nomination
episode “If You See My Mama, Whisper Her This…”
Symphonic backdrop for emotional finale

Music Composition for a Documentary, Nonfiction or Reality Program

High Horse: The Black Cowboy (Peacock)
Raphael Saadiq
One prior nomination
episode “F*ck Westerns”
Mix of traditional score and modern hip-hop

John Candy: I Like Me (Prime Video)
Tyler Strickland
First nomination
Profile of beloved comic actor
String orchestra brings emotional resonance

Kingdom (BBC America)
Segun Akinola
First nomination
Episode 2
Voices, instruments recorded in Zambia

Mel Brooks: The 99-Year-Old Man! (HBO Max)
Jeff Morrow
First nomination
Profile of iconic writer-director
Jazz combo, drums for aspiring drummer Brooks

Ocean with David Attenborough (National Geographic)
Steven Price
One win, two other nominations
Exploring Earth’s undersea habitats
Human voices, small string ensemble add intimacy

Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age (National Geographic)
Kara Talve, Anže Rozman, Hans Zimmer
Seven noms for Zimmer, four for Talve, three for Rozman
episode “The Big Freeze”
Octobass, other rare instruments offer strange sounds

    
Music Direction

The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show (NBC)
Miguel Gandelman
First nomination
Bad Bunny extravaganza
With Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, Cardi B, others

The Late Show with Steven Colbert (CBS)
Louis Cato
First nomination
Series finale
Elvis Costello, Paul McCartney, Jon Batiste perform

The Oscars (ABC)
Michael Bearden
Three nominations
98th annual Academy Awards ceremony
Huntrix, Barbra Streisand, Josh Groban perform

Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Lenny Pickett, Leon Pendarvis, Eli Brueggemann, Maddie Rice
One win for Brueggemann, seven noms each for Pickett, Pendarvis
Episode 16, aired April 4
Host Jack Black, musical guest Jack White perform

Wicked: One Wonderful Night (NBC)
Stephen Oremus
One prior nomination
Music special promoting “Wicked: For Good”
Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, others in cast perform

  
Music and Lyrics

The Boys (Prime Video)
Christopher Lennertz, Daveed Diggs
One win for Lennertz, one nom for Diggs
Song “Raise Him Up”
Diggs as Oh Father sings rousing gospel number

Hacks (HBO Max)
Carlos Rafael Rivera, David Stal
Three wins for Rivera, first nom for Stal
Song “Mis Figuritas”
Jean Smart sings ranchera song in Grammy bid

The Pitt (HBO Max)
Gavin Brivik, Andrew Bird
First nomination for each
Song “Need Someone”
Touching ballad after beloved patient Louie dies

South Park (Comedy Central)
Trey Parker
Five wins, 14 additional noms
Song “Christian Woman”
Holiday tune satirizes religious attitudes

Spider-Noir (Prime Video)
Warren Oak Felder, Sebastian Kole, Daniel Pemberton
Three noms for Pemberton, first for Felder and Kole
Song “The Devil You Know”
Cat Hardy (Li Jun Li) sings torch song in ’30s nightclub

Wednesday (Netflix)
Lady Gaga, Andrew Watt, Cirkut
Four noms for Gaga, first for Watt and Cirkut
Song “The Dead Dance”
Enid and Agnes perform at Masquerade Ball

  Main Title Theme Music

All Her Fault (Peacock)
Jeff Beal
Five wins, 14 other noms
Distraught mom searches for kidnapped child
Dramatic strings, piano, boy soprano set mood

The Beast in Me (Netflix)
Sean Callery
Four wins, 13 other noms
Grieving writer suspects neighbor is murderer
Urgency in strings, distant voices set ominous tone

The ‘Burbs (Peacock)
Michael Abels
Two prior nominations
Comedy-drama adapting ’89 Tom Hanks film
Angular string figures for animated shadows

Murderbot (Apple TV)
Amanda Jones
One nomination
Alexander Skarsgård as cyborg in sci-fi comedy
Fast-moving strings, synths for dolls-in-space imagery

Pluribus (Apple TV)
Dave Porter
First nomination (three this year)
New Mexico author immune from alien-controlled hive mind
Voices hum and sing simple, wordless melody

Music Supervision

The Boys (Prime Video)
Michelle Johnson, Yvette Metoyer
First nominations
episode “Blood and Bone”
Billy Joel, Flogging Molly songs for wrap-up

Hacks (HBO Max)
Matt Biffa
One win, one other nomination
episode “Hacks” (finale)
Garland-Streisand “Happy Days Are Here Again”

Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
Manish Raval, Tom Wolfe, Jonathan Leahy
One previous nom for each
episode “When Noah Met Joanne”
Dermot Kennedy, Giveon, Mega Simone songs

Pluribus (Apple TV)
Thomas Golubic
Four nominations
episode “We Is Us”
Country music in bar as alien takeover begins

Stranger Things (Netflix)
Nora Felder
One win, four other noms
“Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up”
Prince, Cowboy Junkies, David Bowie for finale

Widow’s Bay (Apple TV)
Toko Nagata
First nomination
episode “Beach Reads”
Bowie, Corona songs at Patricia’s dance party