Awards Are Rolling In | Apple TV+ Originals Nominated for Nine NAACP Awards, Visual Effects, and More

Apple TV+ is continuing to accumulate even more award nominations this year, once again shattering records for the amount of recognition received by a fledgling streaming service.

Apple made history again last week when it received a dozen Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award nominations for The Morning Show, Ted Lasso, The Tragedy of Macbeth, and, most significantly, CODA. This last one received two nominations that broke entirely new ground, marking the first time a solo deaf actor has ever received an individual SAG Award nomination, and the first time that a predominantly deaf cast has been recognized by SAG as an ensemble.

Now, Apple has been recognized by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) with a total of nine nominations for NAACP Image Awards. These awards recognize outstanding achievements and performances of people of color in the arts and those who promote social justice through their creative work.

In overall categories, CODA was nominated for Outstanding Independent Motion Picture, where it will be going up against Netflix’s Bruised, and other indie films, American Skin, Test Pattern, and The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain.

Blush received a nomination for Outstanding Short Form (Animated), with Robin Robin (Netflix), Twenty Something (Pixar), Us Again (Disney), and She Dreams at Sunrise (Tribeca) rounding out the competition.

For Oustanding Documentary (Television), Apple received a nomination for 1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything, a category that will also include documentaries from PBS, HBO, and two from Netflix.

Apple also scored two nominations for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture, with Denzel Washington nominated for his role in The Tragedy of Macbeth, and Mahershala Ali for Swan Song. The other contenders include Will Smith for King Richard, Lakeith Stanfield for Judas and the Black Messiah, and Jonathan Majors for Netflix’s The Harder They Fall.

Octavia Spencer was also recognized with a nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for her role in Truth Be Told, one of the very first original series to launch on Apple TV+ two years ago. Along the same lines, Alfre Woodard was also nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her work in See.

Off-screen, two Apple TV+ writers also received nominations for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series, resulting not surprisingly from Apple’s hit show, Ted Lasso. Ashley Nicole Black was nominated for the episode Do the Right-est Thing while Leann Bowen received a nomination for the episode Lavender — both of which were early season 2 episodes.

The winners will be announced during the 53rd NAACP Image Awards to be broadcast on BET on Saturday, February 26, 2022. The full list of nominees can be found here.

This isn’t the first time that Apple has come to the NAACP Image Awards. Last year, The Banker won the award for Outstanding Independent Motion Picture — the same category that CODA is competing in this time around.

Writers Guild Awards

The talented writers who help create Apple’s hit originals have been recognized further with six nominations from the Writers Guild of America (WGA).

This includes an overall Best Comedy Series award for the entire writing team behind Ted Lasso, where it’s up against HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm and Hacks, Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, and FX’s What We Do In the Shadows.

The Morning Show also received an overall nomination for Best Drama Series, competing with The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu), Loki (Disney+), Succession (HBO), and Yellowjackets (Showtime). Individual episode La Amara Vita was also nominated for Best Episodic Drama.

Lastly, the writing team behind The Problem with Jon Stewart was nominated for Best Comedy/Variety Talk Series, the Helpsters episode, Park Ranger Percy / Lizard Lizzy received a nomination in the Best Children’s Episodic, Long Form, and Specials category, and Calls was selected as a nominee for Best Adapted Short Form New Media.

WGA Awards honour outstanding writing in film, television, new media, news, radio, and promotional categories. The film nominees won’t be announced until January 27, so Apple could still stand to pick up a few more WGA Award nominations next week. The awards ceremony will be held on March 22.

Visual Effects Society Awards

The Visual Effects Society (VES) also announced its list of nominees this week, with Apple’s Foundation collecting three nominations, plus several others for Finch, Lisey’s Story, The Tragedy of Macbeth, and See. 

The premiere episode of Foundation, The Emperor’s Peace, was nominated for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode, while the individual elements of the Trantor Cityscape and the collapse of the Galactic Empire received nominations for Outstanding Created Environment and Outstanding Effects Simultaneous, respectively. 

Finch picked up a nomination for Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature, while Lisey’s Story episode The Long Boy received the same for an individual Episode or Real-Time Project. 

The Tragedy of Macbeth and See’s Rock-A-Bye were also each nominated for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature and a Photoreal Episode, respectively. 

The Annual VES Awards normally take place in March, although the Society notes that it’s still considering the format and timing for this year’s show due to the ongoing pandemic.