^{Credit: Smiling Friends (Adult Swim), South Park (Comedy Central), Star Wars: Visions (Disney+)}

The nominations for the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards have been announced. Outstanding Animated Program saw the return of four past winners: Bob's Burgers for "Grand Pre Pre Pre Opening," Rick and Morty for "There's Something About Morty," The Simpsons for "Homer? A Cracker Bro?," and South Park for "Sermon On The 'Mount." This year also brought a couple of surprises. For starters, there are six nominees, rather than the customary five. After previously being nominated in the discontinued Outstanding Short Form Animated Program category, Star Wars: Visions got in for the episode "Black," which Shinya Ohira of Studio Ghibli directed. Ohira most notably animated the scene from Spirited Away where Chihiro first meets Kamaji.

In what once seemed like a pipe dream, Adult Swim's cult animated series Smiling Friends also got nominated for "Le Voyage Incroyable De Monsieur Grenouille." Creators Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack made the unexpected announcement earlier this year that this past third season would be the last, giving the Animation Peer Group one last chance to nominate Smiling Friends for an Emmy. Thankfully, they didn't miss that window. While this may give Smiling Friends a rooting factor for the win, South Park is out in front of this race for its timely, Trump-centric episode. Co-creator Trey Parker picked up two additional nominations in Outstanding Music and Lyrics for “Christian Woman” from the episode “The Crap Out” and for voicing Satan in "Sermon On The 'Mount." 

In Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance, Parker is nominated against Pamela Adlon as Bobby Hill in King of the Hill, Julie Andrews as Lady Whistledown in Bridgerton, Hank Azaria as Gary Chalmers in The Simpsons, Matt Vogel as Kermit the Frog in The Muppet Show, and Steven Yeun as Mark Grayson in Invincible. Speaking of The Muppet Show, it got five additional nominations for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded), Outstanding Production Design For a Variety Special, Outstanding Picture Editing For Variety Programming, Outstanding Sound Mixing For a Variety Series or Special, and Outstanding Writing For a Variety Special. 

While Predator: Killer of Killers and Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord missed in the Animated Program lineup, both scored nominations for Outstanding Sound Editing For a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) Animation. Argubably the most surprising omission is Netflix. This is the first time since 2018 that the streamer missed Outstanding Animated Program, despite having strong submissions like Long Story Short, which won a WGA Award for the episode “Shira Can’t Cook." Also missing is Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal, which won back in 2021 for "Plague of Madness." Hazbin Hotel can't seem to catch a break, either, as not even the song "Love in a Bottle" could get nominated. 

Check out the full list of animated nominees below: 

Outstanding Animated Program
Bob's Burgers • Grand Pre Pre Pre Opening • FOX • 20th Television Animation
Loren Bouchard, Executive Producer/Written by
Nora Smith, Executive Producer/Written by
Holly Schlesinger, Executive Producer
Janelle Momary-Neely, Executive Producer
Dan Fybel, Executive Producer
Rich Rinaldi, Executive Producer
Jon Schroeder, Executive Producer
Scott Jacobson, Executive Producer
Steven Davis, Executive Producer
Lindsey Stoddart, Co-Executive Producer
Katie Crown, Co-Executive Producer
Bernard Derriman, Producer
Brett Coker, Animation Executive Producer
Dana Tafoya-Cameron, Animation Executive Producer
Chris Song, Directed by
Tony Gennaro, Supervising Director
Simon Chong, Supervising Director
Ryan Shaw, Assistant Director
Steven Theis, Assistant Director
Patrick Gleeson, Timing Supervisor

Rick And Morty • There's Something About Morty • Adult Swim • Rick and Morty LLC, Williams Street
Dan Harmon, Executive Producer
Justin Roiland, Executive Producer
Scott Marder, Executive Producer
Heather Anne Campbell, Executive Producer
Steve Levy, Executive Producer
Albro Lundy, Executive Producer/Written by
Monica Mitchell, Executive Producer
Nick Rutherford, Executive Producer
Rob Schrab, Executive Producer
James Siciliano, Executive Producer
Kelly Crews, Executive Producer
Cameron Tang, Executive Producer
Jess Lacher, Co-Executive Producer
Anthony Alfonso, Producer
Suzanne Belk, Producer
Garrick Bernard, Producer
Lee Harting, Producer
Jonathan Brock, Producer
Deirdre Brenner, Produced by
Douglas Einar Olsen, Directed by
Jacob Hair, Supervising Director

The Simpsons • Homer? A Cracker Bro? • FOX • A Gracie Films Production in association with 20th Television Animation
James L. Brooks, Executive Producer
Matt Groening, Executive Producer
Matt Selman, Executive Producer
John Frink, Executive Producer
Tim Long, Co-Executive Producer
Rob LaZebnik, Co-Executive Producer
Brian Kelley, Co-Executive Producer
J. Stewart Burns, Co-Executive Producer
Michael Price, Co-Executive Producer
Jeff Westbrook, Co-Executive Producer
Cesar Mazariegos, Co-Executive Producer
Jessica Conrad, Co-Executive Producer
Loni Steele Sosthand, Co-Executive Producer
Broti Gupta, Co-Executive Producer
Richard K. Chung, Producer
Tom Klein, Animation Producer
Ryan Koh, Written by
Chris Clements, Directed by
Mike B. Anderson, Supervising Director
Matthew Faughnan, Assistant Director
Scott Brutz, Lead Animation Timer

Smiling Friends • Le Voyage Incroyable De Monsieur Grenouille • Adult Swim • Williams Street
Zach Hadel, Executive Producer/Written by/Directed by
Michael Cusack, Executive Producer/Written by/Directed by
Kelly Crews, Executive Producer
Cameron Tang, Executive Producer
Brent Tanner, Supervising Producer
Scott Malchus, Producer
David Hootselle, Directed by

South Park • Sermon On The 'Mount • Comedy Central • Comedy Central
Trey Parker, Executive Producer
Matt Stone, Executive Producer
Anne Garefino, Executive Producer
Frank C. Agnone II, Executive Producer
Daryl Sancton, Supervising Producer
Eric Stough, Producer
Bruce Howell, Producer
Adrien Beard, Producer
Vernon Chatman, Producer
Jenny Shin, Producer Wonnie Ro, Producer
Greg Postma, Producer
Keo Thongkham, Producer
Lydia Quidilla, Producer
John Hansen, Producer
David List, Producer
Mark Munley, Producer
Nate Pellettieri, Producer
Andrew B. Rhoades, Producer
Gary Martinez, Producer

Star Wars: Visions • Black • Disney+ • Lucasfilm Ltd.
Shinya Ohira, Directed by/Animation Director/Written by
James Waugh, Executive Producer
Josh Rimes, Executive Producer
Jacqui Lopez, Executive Producer
Shuichiro Tanaka, Executive Producer
Justin Leach, Co-Executive Producer
Flannery Huntley, Producer
Kanako Shirasaki, Producer
Tsutomu Fujio, Producer
Jacob Ayres, Producer

Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance
King Of The Hill • Any Given Hill-day • Hulu • 20th Television Animation
Pamela Adlon as Bobby Hill

Bridgerton • The Waltz • Netflix • A Netflix Original Series in association with shondalandmedia
Julie Andrews as Lady Whistledown

The Simpsons • Keep Chalm And Gary On • FOX • A Gracie Films Production in association with 20th Television Animation
Hank Azaria as Gary Chalmers

South Park • Sermon On The 'Mount • Comedy Central • Comedy Central
Trey Parker as Satan

The Muppet Show • Disney+ • 20th Television, Disney Branded Television, The Muppets Studio, Point Grey Pictures Matt Vogel as Kermit the Frog

Invincible • Don't Leave Me Hanging Here • Prime Video • Amazon MGM Studios, Skybound Animation
Steven Yeun as Mark Grayson/Invincible

Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Season Or A Movie
Alien: Earth • FX/Hulu • FX Productions
Jonathan Rothbart, Production VFX Supervisor
James Ledwell, Production VFX Producer
Mitchell Callisch, Production VFX Production Manager Woei Lee, Production Associate VFX Supervisor
David Fletcher, SFX Supervisor
Jeffrey A. Okun, On-Set VFX Supervisor
Chris Ritvo, VFX Supervisor (Untold Studios)
Viktor Müller, VFX Supervisor (UPP)
Aladino Debert, VFX Supervisor (Zoic Studios)
Will Towle, VFX Supervisor (FIN VFX)
Ryan Freer, VFX Supervisor (Pixomondo)
Maksim Došlo, VFX Supervisor (Crafty Apes)
Foundation • Apple TV • Skydance Television in association with Apple
Chris MacLean, Overall Visual Effects Supervisor
Jack Geist, Overall Visual Effects Producer
Gabriel Sanchez, Post Visual Effects Supervisor
Stephan Schaefholz, VFX Supervisor
Arnaud Brisebois, VFX Supervisor
Carlos Monzon, VFX Supervisor
Mathieu Assemat, VFX Supervisor
Stephen Elphick, VFX Supervisor
Jindřich Červenka, VFX Supervisor
Damien Hurgon, VFX Supervisor
Ed Bruce, VFX Supervisor
Jan Rejnuš, Special Effects Supervisor

IT: Welcome To Derry • HBO Max • HBO in association with Rideback, Vertigo Entertainment, FiveTen Productions, K Plus Ultra, Double Dream, and Warner Bros. Television
Daryl Sawchuk, Overall VFX Supervisor
Steve Dellerson, Overall VFX Producer
Pier Lefebvre, VFX Supervisor
Jordan Schilling, VFX Supervisor
Steven Tether, VFX Set Supervisor
Darcy Callaghan, SPX Supervisor
Zena Bielewicz, VFX Supervisor
Eric Withee, VFX Assoc Producer
Maria Sartzetaki, VFX Production Mgr
Sebastien Chartier, VFX Supervisor
Ben King, VFX Supervisor
Lara Ramirez, VFX Editor

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters • Apple TV • Legendary Television in association with Apple
Sean Konrad, VFX Supervisor
Elizabeth Willaman, VFX Producer
Bryn Morrow, On-Set VFX Supervisor
Marc Varisco, On-Set VFX Supervisor
Bryan Hirota, VFX Supervisor
Pier Lefebvre, VFX Supervisor
Cody Baker, Colourist
Julian Summers, SFX Supervisor
Kelly Redmond, SFX Coordinator
Jeremy Burns, Additional VFX Supervisor
Lara Bannister, VFX Production Manager
Jourdan Bizou, Visualization Supervisor

Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age • Apple TV • BBC Studios in association with Apple
Russell Dodgson, VFX Supervisor
Andrew R. Jones, Animation Director
Rupert Smith, VFX Producer
Tracey Gibbons, VFX Producer
Benjamin Loch, VFX Supervisor
Francois Dumoulin, VFX Supervisor
Romain Rico, VFX Supervisor
Gavin McKenzie, VFX Supervisor
Brian Fisher, Technical Reference Puppeteer
Alvise Avati, Animation Supervisor
Adrien Annesley, Animation Supervisor
Liam Russell, Animation Supervisor

Stranger Things • Netflix • Upside Down Pictures & 21 Laps Entertainment for Netflix
Betsy Paterson, Visual Effects Supervisor
Michael Maher Jr., VFX Art Director
Sean Ames, Additional VFX Supervisor
Craig Seitz, Additional VFX Supervisor
Tessa Roehl, VFX Co-Producer
Chloe Lipp, Associate VFX Producer
Brad Tobler, Senior VFX Editor
Martin Hill, Senior VFX Supervisor, WĒTĀ FX Limited
Richard Thwaites, VFX Producer, WĒTĀ FX Limited
Bill Georgiou, VFX Supervisor, ILM
Jessica Smith, VFX Consultant
Mark Hawker, Special Effects Supervisor

Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Single Episode
Gen V • New Year, New U • Prime Video • Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios, Kripke Enterprises, Original
Film, Point Grey Pictures
Karen Heston, Visual Effects Supervisor
Sean Tompkins, Visual Effects Producer
Clara Hill, Visual Effects Production Manager
Dane Collier, Visual Effects Editor
Andrew Simmonds, Visual Effects Supervisor (DNEG)
Oliver Eikhoff, Visual Effects Producer (DNEG)
Matthew Novak, CG Supervisor (EYELINE)
Bhanu Prakash, Sequence FX Lead (DNEG)
Hudson Kenny, SPFX Supervisor

A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms • In The Name Of The Mother • HBO Max • HBO in association with GRRM and Friendly Wolf
Pictures
Arron Roebuck, Overall VFX Supervisor
Paul Russo, Overall VFX Producer
Luke Dhand, VFX Editor
Angel Rico Riesgo, VFX Supervisor at El Ranchito
Sonsoles L. Aranguren, Additional VFX Supervisor at El Ranchito
Rocío Ruiz de Azúa, VFX Producer at El Ranchito
Mike Dawson, SFX Supervisor
Tom Lloyd, SFX Floor Supervisor
Paul Tuersley, VFX Artist

Paradise • Exodus • Hulu • 20th Television
John Weckworth, VFX Supervisor
John Stewart, VFX Supervisor
Chapel Folger, VFX Producer
John Brennick, Compositing Supervisor
Evan Underwood, CG/FX Supervisor
Christian Day, Lead Lighter
Chris Messineo, FX Lead
Scott Gastellu, Compositing Lead
Linda Tremblay, Compositing Lead
Meliza Fermin, DMP Supervisor
Kristofer Cross, Associate Producer
Blair Foord, Special FX Coordinator

Spider-Noir • Nightmare On A Gurney • MGM+/Prime Video • Sony Pictures Television, Amazon MGM Studios, Marvel Studios
Hnedel Maximore, VFX Supervisor
Brooke Noska, VFX Producer
Adam Rothstein, Additional VFX Supervisor
Timothy Hanson, VFX On-Set Supervisor
Jorge Macias, Lead VFX Artist
Taylor Faulkinberry, Senior VFX Coordinator
Joseph C Bond IV, VFX Editor
Suzie Askham, VFX Supervisor (Cinesite)
Tommy Tran, VFX Supervisor (Barnstorm)
Cameron Neilson, VFX Supervisor (ILM)
Adam Balentine, VFX Supervisor (Eyeline VFX)
Sebastiano D'Aprile, VFX Supervisor (CoSA VFX)

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon • Costa Da Morte • AMC • An AMC Studios Production in association with Idiotbox, Skybound, Circle of Confusion, Valhalla Entertainment and Remainder Men
Jao M’Changama, Overall VFX Supervisor
Justine Paynat-Sautivet, Senior VFX Producer
Sébastien Voisin, VFX Producer
Tim Binmoeller, VFX Editor
Vanya Karamehmedović, VFX Coodinator
Xavier Allard, VFX Supervisor (BUF)
Cem Olcer, Lead Artist (BUF)
Mathieu Legros, Ocean Sequence Supervisor (MRC)
Mathieu Malard, VFX Supervisor (Mathematic)
Pau Costa, SFX Supervisor
Brett Tierney, SFX Floor Supervisor
Keith Pullman, Supervising In-House Artist

Stay tuned for the winners in September! 

Nick Spake is the Author of Bright & Shiny: A History of Animation at Award Shows Volumes 1, 2, and 3. Available Now!