Cue the celebratory marching band: Several famous Northwestern alums scored Emmy Award nominations, announced by the Television Academy on Tuesday morning.
Among them, Britt Lower (Communication ’08) secured her first-ever shot at Emmy glory for her lead performance on the Apple TV+ psychological thriller series “Severance.”
Lower stars in “Severance” as Helly R., one of several characters who surgically separated their memories inside work from those outside. As her offscreen self — or, in the show’s language, her “outie” — Lower told The Daily that she remains awed about her time on “Severance.”
“There’s not a day that goes by when I show up to set that I don’t thank my lucky stars I get to be Helly R.,” she said in May.
Lower performed in theatrical and comedic productions as an NU student, including with The Titanic Players, a longform improv group. With those experiences in mind, she encouraged one of the second season’s new stars — rising Communication sophomore Sarah Bock, who plays supervisor Miss Huang — to apply to NU.
“Severance’s” first season won Emmys for its opening title design and musical score, though it lost major awards to cultural juggernauts like “Succession” and “Squid Game.” But after its crew spent about three years refining the second season, “Severance” became a juggernaut in its own right, shattering Apple TV+ viewership records previously set by “Ted Lasso” and nabbing a leading 27 Emmy nominations Tuesday.
Kathryn Hahn (Communication ’95) netted a supporting actress nomination with another breakout hit: “The Studio,” a satire about profit-driven Hollywood executives. The show accumulated 23 nominations for its inaugural season, more than any other comedy series this year. Hahn plays Maya Mason, a marketing head who establishes a brash presence through foulmouthed jabs and trendy brand-name outfits.
Hahn’s nomination, her fourth overall, came a year after she delivered NU’s commencement address.
“The Late Show,” fronted by comedian Stephen Colbert (Communication ’86), earned two nominations, including for Outstanding Talk Series. Colbert has won 10 Emmys, most recently for a 2020 “Late Show” election special.
Another alum and talk show host, Seth Meyers (Communication ’96), missed out on an Outstanding Talk Series nomination for “Late Night” after three consecutive nods. But “Late Night” received a nomination for its online shortform series “Corrections,” and Meyers was nominated as a co-writer for the “Saturday Night Live” 50th anniversary special.
NU’s nominated alums may bring glory to their shows and to themselves on Sept. 14, when the Emmys unfold at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
Desiree Luo contributed reporting.
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Bluesky: @edwardsimoncruz.bsky.social
Related Stories:
— NU alum Britt Lower juggles talents en route to ‘Severance’
— NU freshman Sarah Bock dazzles in Season 2 of Apple TV’s ‘Severance’
— Kathryn Hahn declares class of 2024 “worthy of celebration” in commencement address
