The usual glitz and glamour of the Emmy Awards won't be the same this year due to the restrictions of the coronavirus lockdown.

It's unlikely that the red carpet arrivals and step-and-repeat fashion commentary will happen this year but the awards will go ahead in some shape or form, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, on Sept. 20.

Star gazers will still have plenty to marvel over, including performances from some of the world's greatest actors - among them Aussies Cate Blanchett, Hugh Jackman, and Russell Crowe.

Russell Crowe was passed over this year by the Emmys. Picture: Getty Images

The Nominations for the 72nd annual Emmy Awards were unveiled on Tuesday, local time, and not surprisingly, Netflix walked away with a massive 160 noms, a record for any station or streamer.

HBO's miniseries Succession starring Russell Crowe led the drama category with 18 nominations, but while Crowe won a Golden Globe for his performance, surprisingly, he was snubbed by the Emmys.

On the other hand, Hugh Jackman received a nomination for his lead performance in Bad Education.

But it's Cate Blanchett who is receiving raves for her portrayal of conservative anti-feminist Phyllis Schlafly in Mrs. America.

The Hulu series has garnered Blanchett a nod for Outstanding lead actress in a limited series or TV movie.

Cate Blanchett has been nominated for her first Emmy for Mrs. America. Picture: Sabrina Lantos/FX

Blanchett's performance in the star-studded show (which also features Aussie Rose Byrne as feminist legend and Ms. Magazine editor Gloria Steinem) examining the struggles of the American second-wave feminist movement was widely praised.

Blanchett attacked the role of Schlafly with nothing less than relish, imbuing a woman who is widely regarded as a female villain if not an enemy of civil rights.

Why did Blanchett take on the role of this nightmarishly anti-feminist, anti-gay, anti-fun character - the undeniable villain in a pantheon of feminist saints including Gloria Steinem, Shirley Chisholm, Bella Abzug, and Betty Friedan?

In an era when America is being torn apart by its inequities and political division - and some say is on the brink of civil war - Blanchett, an activist and human rights advocate, found the positive in trying to see things from a different perspective.

Cate Blanchett finds the human side, and the humour, in playing Phyllis Schlafly, one of Americas political villains. Picture: Sabrina Lantos/FX

The Oscar-winning actress told Harper's Bazaar, "It's interesting that in everything I read about Phyllis that for her supporters, she was a Joan of Arc figure to be admired and revered, but I didn't come across a lot of people who were very close friends with her."

But Blanchett digs deep and gets to the heart of the Midwestern housewife whose only mission was to stop the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) in its tracks.

"She was a mother of six, and between her activism and political aspiration and the kind of engagement with her family life, that left precious little time for her to have what's traditionally called friends," says Blanchett.

Schlafly lacked the sisterhood of intersectional feminism, says Blanchett, and her crusade - to preserve traditional women's roles as wife, mother, homemaker - was therefore "quite, quite lonely."

Cate Blanchett has been nominated for hundreds of international awards but Mrs. America is her first-ever Emmy nomination. Picture: Isabel Infantes / AFP

Critics have applauded Blanchett's interpretation of one of the villains in America's culture wars.

Leading film review website Roger Ebert singled Blanchett out for praise from the ensemble cast, noting that the Aussie star captures America's current Zeitgeist "brought to life by Blanchett's frozen smiles, flickering eyes, and a voice that shoots out like the gong of a bronze shield: to know something is wrong, do it anyway, and then keep doing it for as long as you can."

Punters predict Blanchett will walk off with the award - to the tune of 63 per cent, according to Gold Derby, which bets on Hollywood award races.

But Blanchett has some tough competition in her category: Shira Haas, Unorthodox; Regina King, Watchmen; Octavia Spencer, Self Made; and Kerry Washington, Little Fires Everywhere.

To date, Blanchett has won a total of 159 major international awards and been nominated for 341.

Mrs. America is her first Emmy nomination.

Originally published as Cate favourite to take out Emmy

Hugh Jackman received an Emmy nod for Bad Education. Picture: Supplied

Excerpt from:

Cate favourite to take out Emmy - Queensland Times