The series "Succession" in the lead for the Emmy Awards, threatened by a strike of actors

She will face the post-apocalyptic road movie "The Last of Us" and "The White Lotus", which follows the neuroses of luxury vacationers in Sicily, two other HBO productions that have garnered 24 and 23 nominations respectively.

On the comedy side, "Ted Lasso", which follows the adventures of an American football coach parachuted into an English football team, starts in pole position with 21 nominations.

For mini-series, two Netflix productions stand out with 13 nominations each: "Relentless", a massacre game in Los Angeles between two motorists of Asian origin quite angry, and "Dahmer: Monster - The story of Jeffrey Dahmer", based on the story of a famous American serial killer.

Announced live on television, this year's nominations take place in a very uncertain context: screenwriters have been on strike for more than two months in Hollywood and actors could join this social movement as early as Wednesday night at midnight, Los Angeles time.

A comedians' strike would mean a boycott by all Hollywood stars of the 75th Emmy Awards, originally scheduled for September 18.

The 2023 © Emmy Awards Gal ROMA / AFP

In solidarity with the 160,000 members of the actors' union, the SAG-AFTRA, the stars of "Succession" Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin and Jeremy Strong, all three nominated for the title of best actor in a drama series, could not appear on the red carpet.

Just like their counterpart Sarah Snook, tipped as the favorite to win the award for best actress.

Likely postponement of the ceremony

Faced with this prospect, the production is already considering postponing the event to November, or even next year, according to the American press.

"We hope that the ongoing negotiations ... will quickly lead to a fair solution," said Frank Scherma, president of the Emmy Voters' Academy.

"We are committed to supporting a television industry that is firmly rooted in fairness and where we can continue to honor all the incredible work you do," he added.

Protest by members of the American actors' union SAG-AFTRA, July 11, 2023 in Los Angeles, California © MARIO TAMA / Getty / AFP / Archives

The talks, however, seem to be in a bad way, despite a last-minute mediation led by mediators from the federal government, called to the rescue by a small group of bosses of studios and streaming platforms.

If the SAG-AFTRA, has consented to this mediation, the actors' union seems to remain on a war footing.

"We are engaged in the negotiation process and will explore and exhaust all possibilities to reach an agreement, but we are not convinced that the employers intend to negotiate," the organization said in a statement late Tuesday.

Like the screenwriters, the actors are demanding better pay to fight inflation and guarantees against potential upheavals related to artificial intelligence, such as voice cloning.

In particular, they are protesting against the decrease, linked to streaming, of their so-called "residual" remuneration, resulting from each rebroadcast of a film or series.

Significant during a television appearance because based on the advertising model, these emoluments are much lower for streaming platforms, which do not communicate their audience figures and pay on a flat-rate basis, regardless of the popularity of the program.

Among other notable Emmy nominations on Wednesday, the series "The Fabulous Mrs. Maisel" did well with 14 nominations.

With 13 nominations, "The Bear" confirmed its status as a chef's surprise: an exhausting and exhilarating dive dive into the kitchens of a dilapidated Chicago sandwich shop, this Netflix series had established itself as last summer's revelation.

© 2023 AFP