Four months after she was elevated to chairman of Disney Entertainment Television, Debra OConnell experienced her first Emmy nominations morning in the new gig — and it was a good one for the exec. The Walt Disney Company scored a total of 125 nominations at the 78th Emmy Awards — including 46 for ABC (the most of any broadcast network).
“It’s an embarrassment of riches,” OConnell told Variety. Besides ABC, the 125-nom tally includes Disney Kids & Family, FX, Disney Television Studios (20th Television Animation and 20th Television), Hulu Originals, National Geographic and Onyx Collective, as well as The Walt Disney Studios’ Lucasfilm, Marvel Television, 20th Century Studios, and Searchlight Pictures.
At ABC, perhaps the biggest surprise was the return of “Dancing With the Stars” to the reality competition series category, scoring its first nomination there in a decade.
“I mean, what a phenomenon it continues to be, and just an incredible creative showing of great work, and decades of evolving and continuing to be just so top of mind,” OConnell said. “When you think about a bit, I would say it’s an overdue nod. Just a great example of its cultural impact.”
Also, “Jimmy Kimmel Live” scored its 15th consecutive nomination in the outstanding variety series field (which combined talk and scripted variety this year), and its first writing for a variety series nomination in 13 years.
