‘Pam & Tommy’ Stars Sebastian Stan And Lily James Landed Their First Emmy Nods For Portraying The Doomed Couple

This year’s Emmy nominations turned out a few surprises, including Rhea Seehorn finally (!) receiving a nomination for her work as Kim Wexler in Better Call Saul. Elsewhere, the expected nominees arrived for The Staircase, Only Murders In The Building, Succession, Squid Games, Stranger Things, and more, and then there are the really pleasant developments.

I’m referring to the strong showing in the Best Limited Or Anthology Series category for Hulu’s Pam & Tommy, which was not only a blast to watch but a skillful spin in the trash-prestige arena. The honors include an overall series nomination and Leading Actor/Actress nods for Sebastian Stan’s rock-out session as Tommy Lee and Lily James’ layered performance as Pamela Anderson. And Seth Rogen got a nomination, too, for portraying the mulletted sex-tape thief, but sadly, there’s no Animatronic Talking Penis category, so Jason Mantzoukas loses out, but hey, you can’t have everything.

Yes, the show revolves around a “home movie,” but it’s also an exploration of the heavy blows dealt to Pam while she struggled to cope with her violation of privacy. For her part, Pam has determined to to tell “the real story” to the world in a Netflix project, but this Hulu series takes as sensitive of a view as possible, and Lily and Sebastian really threw themselves into the transformative process. Her performance was raw, and he had so much fun outside of the Marvel box. Granted, the show faces stiff competition from The White Lotus candidates along with those from Dopesick, Inventing Anna, and The Dropout, so there’s no telling who shall sweep the broadcast, but we’ll be watching.

The Emmys will air on Sunday, September 4.