'The Queen's Gambit,' 'Ted Lasso' Vie for Emmy Nominations

This image release by Netflix shows Anya Taylor-Joy from the series "The Queen's Gambit." “The Queen’s Gambit,” “Lovecraft Country” and “What We Do in the Shadows” are among the series featured in a virtual edition of the Paley Center’s annual festival. (Charlie Gray/Netflix via AP)
This image release by Netflix shows Anya Taylor-Joy from the series "The Queen's Gambit." “The Queen’s Gambit,” “Lovecraft Country” and “What We Do in the Shadows” are among the series featured in a virtual edition of the Paley Center’s annual festival. (Charlie Gray/Netflix via AP)
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'The Queen's Gambit,' 'Ted Lasso' Vie for Emmy Nominations

This image release by Netflix shows Anya Taylor-Joy from the series "The Queen's Gambit." “The Queen’s Gambit,” “Lovecraft Country” and “What We Do in the Shadows” are among the series featured in a virtual edition of the Paley Center’s annual festival. (Charlie Gray/Netflix via AP)
This image release by Netflix shows Anya Taylor-Joy from the series "The Queen's Gambit." “The Queen’s Gambit,” “Lovecraft Country” and “What We Do in the Shadows” are among the series featured in a virtual edition of the Paley Center’s annual festival. (Charlie Gray/Netflix via AP)

“The Crown" and “Ted Lasso,” among the TV shows that helped distract America during an oppressive pandemic year, are in the hunt for Emmy recognition.

The nominations for the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards will be announced Tuesday by father-and-daughter actors Ron Cephas Jones (“This Is Us”) and Jasmine Cephas Jones (“Blindspotting”), and TV academy chief executive Frank Scherma.

In its fourth season, the British royal drama “The Crown” moved closer to contemporary events with its version of the courtship and rocky marriage of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer, played by Josh O’Connor and Emma Corrin.

The actors are among the favorites for Emmy nods, along with Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II and Gillian Anderson as Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, said Agence France-Presse.

For Netflix, which led the way for the rise of streaming services but has yet to claim a top series trophy, “The Crown” may represent its best bet. It's been nominated three times before.

“Ted Lasso,” a feel-good comedy about a middling American football coach abruptly imported to England to take over a soccer team, could snare nominations for star Jason Sudeikis and cast members including Hannah Waddingham and Nick Mohammed.

Contenders in the miniseries category include “The Queen’s Gambit,” with breakout star Anya Taylor-Joy as a troubled chess prodigy, and “The Underground Railroad,” based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Colson Whitehead and created by Oscar-winning director Barry Jenkins ("Moonlight").

Thuso Mbedu and Aaron Pierre, who star in the wrenching depiction of US slavery combined with elements of magical realism, are potential nominees.

“Lovecraft Country,” which spins a tale about mid-20th-century racism with elements of horror, is up for drama series honors despite its cancellation by HBO after one season.

“The Mandalorian” and “WandaVision” are among the sci-fi and fantasy genre shows in contention.

Also vying for Emmy consideration are shows that made a splash and boast movie stars, including the crime miniseries “Mare of Easttown” with Kate Winslet and “The Undoing” with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant.

TV academy voters have a chance to build on the inclusiveness of last year's acting nominations, which included a record number of Black nominees — 35 — among the 102 contenders for lead, supporting and guest performances in drama, comedy and limited series or TV movie.

At slightly more than 34% of nominees, that improved on the 2018 record of just under 28% of Black actors in those categories. Voters also have the chance to recognize other actors of color, including Rosie Perez for the comedy thriller “The Flight Attendant,” and trans actors Mj Rodriguez and Angelica Ross for “Pose.”

The Sept. 10 ceremony, which last year was held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will air live on CBS from a theater and include a limited in-person audience of nominees and guests. Cedric the Entertainer is the host.



Oasis Fans Converge as Mega-tour Kicks Off in UK

Oasis are performing together for the first time since 2009. MIKE CLARKE / AFP
Oasis are performing together for the first time since 2009. MIKE CLARKE / AFP
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Oasis Fans Converge as Mega-tour Kicks Off in UK

Oasis are performing together for the first time since 2009. MIKE CLARKE / AFP
Oasis are performing together for the first time since 2009. MIKE CLARKE / AFP

Tens of thousands of ecstatic Oasis fans descend Friday on Cardiff as the legendary Britpop band kicks off a highly anticipated reunion tour nearly 16 years after last performing together.

The concert at the Principality Stadium in the Welsh capital will be the first of a 41-date run of gigs spanning the world, including in the United States, Japan, Australia and Brazil, AFP said.

Once-warring brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher, their bandmates and UK support acts will play in Cardiff on Friday and Saturday before five hometown gigs in Manchester starting on July 11.

Further sold-out British and Irish concerts will follow at London's Wembley Stadium, Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium and Dublin's Croke Park, before the international leg of their Oasis Live '25 tour.

"All that matters is how the people in that stadium feel," Liam Gallagher, 52, said on social media last week, as months of anticipation reach a climax.

Fans have been sharing their excitement at the first chance to see Oasis play live since 2009 -- or ever -- after it was long seen as a remote prospect following one of music's most acrimonious break-ups.

The band's 1990s gigs are the stuff of legend.

"The feeling is biblical!" fuel tanker driver Sean Campbell, 35, told AFP before attending Friday's gig.

"I've been waiting years for their return. I missed out on going years ago, so this is my first time seeing them live."

Ticket controversy

Oasis, famous for 1990s hits like "Live Forever" and "Wonderwall", announced its comeback tour last August, days before the 30th anniversary of their debut album, "Definitely Maybe".

The Manchester rockers split in 2009, with Noel saying he "simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer".

The Gallagher brothers had maintained a war of words about each other for more than a decade, performing individually over those years but never together.

The surprise announcement that they had finally put aside their feud to reunite sparked an online frenzy for tickets but outrage over sudden price hikes that saw Britain's competition watchdog threaten legal action.

Resale tickets costing thousands of pounds have surfaced, while fans have also been targeted by online scams.

Britain's Lloyds Bank estimated in April that victims had collectively lost more than £2 million ($2.7 million).

The tour is expected to be a boon for the struggling UK economy.

Fans could spend more than £1 billion combined on tickets and outgoings such as transportation and accommodation, Barclays bank estimated in May.

'Rough and ready'

Oasis will be supported in the UK by Richard Ashcroft, frontman of British rock band The Verve, as well as the Liverpool-formed band Cast.

The band has not released the setlist for their opening and other shows, with rampant speculation online over which classic tracks will feature and whether any new material will be performed.

There are also many rumors over the potential for special guests appearances.

Illuminated drones displayed Oasis's classic logo above the Cardiff stadium late Wednesday, in a one-night display adding to the buzz around the tour's kick-off.

Gates open Friday at 5:00 pm (1600 GMT), with the band due on stage just over three hours later after both support acts have played.

The performance will wrap up by 10:30 pm, organizers said.

The stadium, which has a capacity of 74,500 for concerts, is set to have its retractable roof closed for both nights, with an incredible atmosphere expected.

Oasis reportedly began jamming together months ago, before starting rehearsals in London more recently.

The band has reportedly welcomed several new members for the tour, including a keyboard player and drummer.

Writing in the tour program, Noel, 58, reflected on the band's enduring popularity, saying "a new generation recognizes how Oasis wasn't manufactured".

"It was chaotic, and flawed, and not technically brilliant. We were rough and ready guys from a rehearsal room, and people recognized it."