This Year's Emmy Noms are Maybe the Most Exciting Ever

The Emmy nominations this year are stacked, and reminded us just how much amazing television has come out in the past 12 months. We're actually giddy as we present to you some important highlights that are sure to make this year's show a real nail-biter.

First, and most importantly, we have Big Little Lies, which, to our delight and no one's surprise, was nominated for Outstanding Limited Series and garnered noms for not one, not two, not three, but four of our High Rulers: yes, we're talking Nicole and Reese, obviously, but also the divine Laura Dern, and, of course, Miss Shailene Woodley as Jane. Oh, and Alexander Skarsgard was deservingly nominated as well, bringing the total count for the show to 6 noms.

Leading the pack are two of our faves: Saturday Night Live and Westworld, with 22 noms each. SNL really had a big year, and has been appropriately acknowledged: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Tom Hanks, Dave Chapelle, and Lin-Manuel Miranda all were recognized for their hosting chops. Vanessa Bayer, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon all scored nods as cast members, and, of course, Mr. Alec Baldwin earned himself a Supporting Actor nod, having immortalized his Trump impersonation during election season. With Westworld, we'd like to draw attention to our lovely ladies Evan Rachel Wood and Thandie Newton, who both were recognized for their roles as Dolores and Maeve, respectively.

What makes this year's awards so exciting is that those nominated include a refreshing mix of critics' picks and fan favorites - one show that has won the hearts of both is The Handmaid's Tale, which raked in noms for several of its cast members, incuding Elisabeth Moss, Samira Wiley, and Alexis Bledel, as well as for Best Drama Series. Stranger Things also did very well, earning a whopping 18 nominations, most excitingly for Best Drama and for young rising star Millie Bobby Brown.

Other things we'd like to note: Feud: Bette and Joan earned a very impressive 18 nominations and Veep took 17. A few of our faves we' like to call out: Riz Ahmed killed it in The Night Of, and we love you. He also earned a nom for his guest spot on Girls, as did Hannah's Mom, Becky Ann Baker, and Matthew Rhys. Our girl Sam Bee picked up a Best Variety Series. Oh, and Game of Thrones starts too late and so is ineligible, if you were confused. But it's nice that they can share the wealth.

The Emmys are hosted by Stephen Colbert and will take place September 17 on CBS.

DRAMA SERIES

Better Call Saul

The Crown

The Handmaid's Tale

House of Cards

Stranger Things

This Is Us

Westworld

COMEDY SERIES

Atlanta

Black-ish

Master of None

Modern Family

Silicon Valley

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Veep

LIMITED SERIES

Big Little Lies

Fargo

Feud: Bette and Joan

Genius

The Night Of

TELEVISION MOVIE

Black Mirror: San Junipero

Dolly Parton's Christmas of Many Colors

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Sherlock: The Lying Detective

The Wizard of Lies

LEAD ACTOR, DRAMA

Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us

Anthony Hopkins, Westworld

Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul

Matthew Rhys, The Americans

Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan

Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

Milo Ventimiglia, This Is Us

LEAD ACTOR, COMEDY

Anthony Anderson, Black-ish

Aziz Ansari, Master of None

Zach Galifianakis, Baskets

Donald Glover, Atlanta

William H. Macy, Shameless

Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

LEAD ACTRESS, DRAMA

Viola Davis, How to Get Away with Murder

Claire Foy, The Crown

Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid's Tale

Keri Russell, The Americans

Evan Rachel Wood, Westworld

Robin Wright, House of Cards

LEAD ACTRESS, COMEDY

Pamela Adlon, Better Things

Jane Fonda, Grace and Frankie

Allison Janney, Mom

Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep

Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish

Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie

LEAD ACTOR, TV MOVIE/LIMITED SERIES

Riz Ahmed, The Night Of

Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock: The Lying Detective

Robert De Niro, The Wizard of Lies

Ewan McGregor, Fargo

Geoffrey Rush, Genius

John Turturro, The Night Of

LEAD ACTRESS, TV MOVIE/LIMITED SERIES

Carrie Coon, Fargo

Felicity Huffman, American Crime

Nicole Kidman, Big Little Lies

Jessica Lange, Feud: Bette and Joan

Susan Sarandon, Feud: Bette and Joan

Reese Witherspoon, Big Little Lies

SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA

Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul

Ron Cephas Jones, This Is Us

David Harbour, Stranger Things

Michael Kelly, House of Cards

John Lithgow, The Crown

Mandy Patinkin, Homeland

Jeffrey Wright, Westworld

SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY

Louie Anderson, Baskets

Alec Baldwin, Saturday Night Live

Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Ty Burrell, Modern Family

Tony Hale, Veep

Matt Walsh, Veep

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA

Uzo Aduba, Orange Is the New Black

Millie Bobby Brown, Stranger Things

Ann Dowd, The Handmaid's Tale

Chrissy Metz, This Is Us

Thandie Newton, Westworld

Samira Wiley, The Handmaid's Tale

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY

Vanessa Bayer, Saturday Night Live

Anna Chlumsky, Veep

Kathryn Hahn, Transparent

Leslie Jones, Saturday Night Live

Judith Light, Transparent

Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live

SUPPORTING ACTOR, TV MOVIE/LIMITED SERIES

Bill Camp, The Night Of

Alfred Molina, Feud: Bette and Joan

Alexander Skarsgard, Big Little Lies

David Thewlis, Fargo

Stanley Tucci, Feud: Bette and Joan

Michael Kenneth Williams, The Night Of

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, TV MOVIE/LIMITED SERIES

Judy Davis, Feud: Bette and Joan

Laura Dern, Big Little Lies

Jackie Hoffman, Feud: Bette and Joan

Regina King, American Crime

Michelle Pfeiffer, The Wizard of Lies

Shailene Woodley, Big Little Lies

VARIETY TALK SERIES

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

The Late Late Show with James Corden

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Real Time with Bill Maher

VARIETY SKETCH SERIES

Billy on the Street

Documentary Now!

Drunk History

Portlandia

Saturday Night Live

Tracy Ullman's Show

REALITY TV, COMPETITION

The Amazing Race

American Ninja Warrior

Project Runway

RuPaul's Drag Race

Top Chef

The Voice

GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Riz Ahmed, Girls

Dave Chappelle, Saturday Night Live

Tom Hanks, Saturday Night Live

Hugh Laurie, Veep

Lin-Manuel Miranda, Saturday Night Live

Matthew Rhys, Girls

GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Becky Ann Baker, Girls

Angela Bassett, Master of None

Carrie Fisher, Catastrophe

Melissa McCarthy, Saturday Night Live

Wanda Sykes, Black-ish

Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live

GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Hank Azaria, Ray Donovan

Brian Tyree Henry, This Is Us

Gerald McRaney, This Is Us

Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline

Denis O'Hare, This Is Us

BD Wong, Mr. Robot

GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

Alexis Bledel, The Handmaid's Tale

Laverne Cox, Orange is the New Black

Ann Dowd, The Leftovers

Shannon Purser, Stranger Things

Cecily Tyson, How to Get Away with Murder

Alison Wright, The Americans