..as is There She Goes

Motherland has been nominated for an international Emmy.

The Christmas special of the BBC Two comedy is up against French Netflix breakout hit Call My Agent, Vir Das’s Netflix stand-up special For India and Columbian political satire Promesas de Campaña, which translates as Campaign Promises.

Motherland stars  Anna Maxwell Martin, Diane Morgan, Paul Ready and Lucy Punch; is written by  Helen Linehan, Holly Walsh, Barunka O'Shaughnessy and Sharon Horgan; and made by the latter’s production company Merman.

Another Merman show, the comedy-drama There She Goes, which stars David Tennant and Jessica Hynes and is based on comedy writer Shaun Pye’s experiences with a disabled daughter, has been nominated for best drama.

And Tennant has been nominated in the best actor category for his role as serial killer Dennis Nilsen in ITV drama Des, which is also up for best TV movie or mini-series.

Britain has a good record in the comedy section of the International Emmys, last winning in 2017 for Alan Partridge’s Scissored Isle. Other previous winners include  Little Britain (twice), The IT Crowd, The Kumars At No 42, Moone Boy and Hoff The Record.

This year’s awards, given out by the Television Academy in the US, has 44 nominees across 11 categories and a record number of 24 countries.

President of the academy’s international section, Bruce Paisner, said: ‘We’re so proud of our nominees and the record-breaking number of countries. To those who feared the pandemic would slow down TV production around the world, this is your answer.’

This year’s winners will be announced at a ceremony in New York City on November 22.

Published: 23 Sep 2021