AACTA awards embrace TV phenomenon

For the first time, four new series categories have been added the AACTA awards to recognise the global television phenomenon sweeping the world.

Catherine O'Hara and Eugene Levy in a scene from the TV series Schitt's Creek.

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award have recognised the power of high-quality, small-screen television series audiences around the world could not tear their eyes from.

For the first time, four new series nomination categories have been added to recognise the global television phenomenon sweeping the world, including best drama, best comedy and best acting.

“2020 was an extraordinary year for the global screen industry,” AACTA CEO Damian Trewhella said.

“We all experienced varying degrees of lockdowns but one thing that united us all was the enjoyment and escapism we got from film and television and audiences devoured content in astonishing numbers.

“Shows like Normal People, The Crown, The Mandalorian, I May Destroy You and Schitt’s Creek were watched across the world and our productions like Mystery Road stood up against the best.”

The coming-of-age drama Normal People’s Daisy Edgar Jones and Paul Mescal are in line to win best acting in a series and are up against Schitt’s Creek’s Daniel Levy and Katherine O’Hara.

After public outcry at her shocking absence from the Golden Globes list of nominations, I May Destroy You’s Michaela Coel received a nomination for best drama.

In film, Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland, featuring Frances McDormand as a grey nomad who goes on a road trip through the US in the grip of economic recession, is up for best film, as well as best direction, best lead actress, best supporting acting and best screenplay.

The film adaptation of Jessica Bruder’s 2017 book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First century is in stiff competition with the likes of Promising Young Woman, directed by Emerald Fennell and produced by Margot Robbie, along with the Netflix film The Trial of the Chicago 7 directed by Aaron Sorkin and Florian Zellor’s The Father, each nabbing five nods.

Gary Oldman’s performance in David Fincher’s Mank has been nominated for best lead actor, alongside Anthony Hopkins (The Father), Adarsh Gourav (The White Tiger), Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) and Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal).

Australian screen greats Tony McNamara who created The Great, Babyteeth’s Eliza Scanlen and Ben Mendelsohn, Mrs America’s Cate Blanchett and The Undoing’s Nicole Kidman are among those nominated for best comedy series, best actor in a series, best lead actress and best supporting actor.

Here is the full list of 2021 AACTA nominations.

Best Film

The Father

Minari

Nomadland

Promising Young Woman

The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Direction in Film

Pete Docter – Soul

Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman

David Fincher – Mank

Aaron Sorkin – The Trial of the Chicago 7

Chloé Zhao – Nomadland

Best Screenplay in Film

The Father

Mank

Nomadland

Promising Young Woman

The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Drama Series

The Crown

I May Destroy You

The Mandalorian

Mystery Road

The Queen‘s Gambit

Best Comedy Series

Afterlife

The Great

Schitt’s Creek

Sex Education

What We Do in the Shadows

Best Lead Actor in Film 

Riz Ahmed – Sound of Metal

Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Adarsh Gourav – The White Tiger

Anthony Hopkins – The Father

Gary Oldman – Mank

Best Lead Actress in Film 

Viola Davis – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Vanessa Kirby – Pieces of a Woman

Frances McDormand – Nomadland

Carey Mulligan – Promising Young Woman

Eliza Scanlen – Babyteeth

Best Supporting Actor in Film 

Sacha Baron Cohen – The Trial of the Chicago 7

Chadwick Boseman – Da 5 Bloods

Ben Mendelsohn – Babyteeth

Mark Rylance – The Trial of the Chicago 7

David Strathairn – Nomadland

Best Supporting Actress in Film 

Maria Bakalova – Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Olivia Colman – The Father

Saoirse Ronan – Ammonite

Amanda Seyfried – Mank

Charlene Swankie – Nomadland

Best Actor in a Series

Jason Bateman – Ozark

Hugh Grant – The Undoing

Daniel Levy – Schitt’s Creek

Paul Mescal – Normal People

Aaron Pedersen – Mystery Road

Best Actress in a Series 

Cate Blanchett – Mrs America

Daisy Edgar-Jones – Normal People

Nicole Kidman – The Undoing

Catherine O’Hara – Schitt’s Creek

Anya Taylor-Joy – The Queen’s Gambit