AAPI artists nominated for Emmys

CREATED BY GEMINI

The 2026 Emmy nominations are out, and once again, it is a mixed bag for our community. While we are seeing historic representation on one side of the ledger, the TV Academy still manages to leave some of our finest talent out in the cold.

Let’s break down the wins, the behind-the-scenes power players, and the glaring omissions that have us scratching our heads.

Actors' noted

Our community showed up in major acting categories this year. Leading the pack is Riz Ahmed, who secured a Lead Actor nod for his powerful role in Bait. 

Meanwhile, the second season of Netflix's smash hit Beef brought in major acting love: Oscar-winner Youn Yuh-jung and Charles Melton both scored Supporting Actress and Actor nominations for their respective turns in the anthological dramedy.

Over on the drama side, Sepideh Moafi clinched a Supporting Actress nod for her stellar performance in Max’s medical juggernaut The Pitt. playing Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi, a doctor taking over the ER as Noah Wiley's character prepares for a sabbatical. She is the first Iranian woman and woman from the Middle East to be nominated in the support actress in a drama series category, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"I can’t imagine a more ideal world, show, character to have this sort of recognition with," Moafi said after she heard about her nomination. 

"Playing this woman who carries so many worlds, so many of which I can identify with in my own way, and that I’ve heard over the last several months, so many people identify with, whether it’s with her chronic disease, her chronic illness, people with disability, people who are mixed race, people who are from the Middle East or Africa, women in medicine who are in similar positions and have to deal with certain male counterparts."

FYI: The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards will air live on NBC on Monday, September 14, 2026 at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT

Steven Yeun, who won an Emmy two years ago in the first season of Beef, landed a voice-over nomination for keeping things animated in Invincible.

True representation means having a seat at the table where decisions are made, and our behind-the-scenes creatives are dominating this year's Emmy ballot.

The Beef mastermind Lee Sung Jin, continues his historic streak, earning individual nominations for Outstanding Writing and Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series, alongside a nod for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series as executive producer. He's joined in the executive producers' circle by Steven Yeun, Ali Wong, Kitao Sakurai and Anna Ouyang Moench.

Destin Daniel Cretton, the Japanese American director-producer, is nominated as the driving executive producer behind Marvel’s buzzy Wonder Man.

Hiro Murai & Claudia Shin: The powerhouse duo earned Executive Producer nods for Apple TV+'s freshman comedy hit Widow's Bay.

FYI: For a complete list of the 2026 Emmy nominees, click here.

Chris Nguyen-Gia & Marian Wang: Nguyen-Gia scored a Best Drama Series nomination as a producer for the freshman drama Paradise, while Wang is back in the mix as a producer for the late-night champion Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

Yulin Kuang: Celebrated writer-director Kuang scored an Outstanding Television Movie screenplay nomination for adapting Netflix's People We Meet on Vacation.

You can't talk about the Emmys without talking about who got left behind, and the Academy dropped the ball on several standout AAPI performances.

Should have been nominated

Isa Briones (The Pitt): In what is arguably the most heartbreaking snub of the morning, Briones was completely shut out for her role as the sharp, headstrong Dr. Trinity Santos. What makes this a bitter pill to swallow is that The Pitt actually led the entire pack with 25 total nominations—including 13 acting nods for her co-stars. How voters completely bypassed Briones's polarizing, fiercely layered performance is beyond us.

Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live): Despite delivering a highly celebrated final run on the sketch show before his mid-season departure, Yang missed out on a Supporting Actor in a Comedy nod. The Academy chose to shut out the entire regular SNL cast this year.

Industry Cast & Crew: HBO's financial thriller was entirely shut out by the Television Academy. This means no love for Ken Leung, who has consistently turned in a masterclass performance as the complex and shrewd management executive Eric Tao.

Young Mazino & Tati Gabrielle: Both actors missed out on highly predicted guest and supporting drama nominations for their impactful roles in The Last of Us.

View from the edge

We've come a long way from the days of absolute invisibility, but as these snubs show, the fight for the Academy to fully recognize the depth of our talent continues.

What is especially noteworthy, is none of the characters played by AAPI actors, are the stereotypes that pigeonholed generations of Asian actors in Hollywood.

But there is so much more room for improvement. That's why overlooking Briones' role as Dr. Trinity Santos in The Pitt is so disappointing. There were so many moments where we saw glimpses of the life of Santos beyond the ER -- such as a white-passing Filipino American -- makes us crave  for more of her storyline to explore.

In fact, you can say that about all the acting AAPI nominees and the AAPI community as a whole. As two seasons of Beef have shown us, there's more complexity in us than Hollywood has been able to capture so far.  Hollywood's creators and artists are only starting to scratch the surface of the multiple worlds we live in and start delving into those stories.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. If you find this perspective interesting, please repost.

American Ballet Theater's principal dancer Stella Abrera retires

After 24 years at one of the premiere ballet companies in the United States, Stella Abrera is retiring.

The 42-year old Filipina American principal dancer for American Ballet Theater was supposed to have her farewell performance last June 13 but the social restrictions brought about by the pandemic forced her to miss out on her final standing ovation and bouquets.

STELLA ABRERA

“I always thought my heart would break on this day, and it’s true that it does ache, but I see now that it’s because my heart is so full—it’s bursting with love and gratitude for everyone who has made this twisty, exhilarating, colorful journey I’ve been on, one of which dreams are made,” Abrera posted on Instagram June 15. “ABT will forever be in my heart—thank you and farewell.”

She is reportedly traveling and not available for further comment.

When she returns, she will move into a new chapter in her life as artistic director at Kaatsbaan, the 153-acre cultural park for dance in Tivoli, N.Y.

“Dancing at American Ballet Theater for 24 years has been a realization of a dream,’’ the 41-year-old Abrera said in a statement, “and now I’m inspired to impact the art form from the other side of the proscenium.’’

Abrera was only a junior year at South Pasadena High School in Califoria when she was invited to join the prestigious ballet company based in New York.

“It’s very rare that something happens like what happened to me,’’ she said in an interview with the Review. “Imagine the millions of ballet students there are, and there are 90 spots in ABT.

“I was really lucky to get my dream company. I wanted to dance with ABT since I knew what ballet was.’’

Her first  performance as a lead dancer was something out of a Hollywood movie. Five years ago when the principal dancer was injured for her role -- ironically, enough -- in Giselle. As the backup dancer, Abrera stepped in and was so impressive that she was made a principal dancer shortly thereafter.

In her new position as Kaatsbaan's artistic director, Abrera’s position will include working with artists on their projects. She will also teach and coach dancers as the head of Kaatsbaan’s ballet intensives and the Pro-Studio/Stella Abrera program, which launched last year.

Check out Google today to learn about legendary artist Tyrus Wong

SCREEN CAPTURE / CBS

Tyrus Wong's most famous work was for Disney's animated 'Bambi.'

ASAM NEWS

CHINESE AMERICAN ARTIST Tyrus Wong was featured as the Google Doodle today (Oct. 25) to celebrate his 108th birthday, reports CNN.

While Wong was a multitalented artist, he is best known for working on the 1942 Disney movie Bambi as an animator and illustrator, the movie’s scenic backgrounds he painted inspired by Song dynasty-era classical Chinese art.

Google Doodle creator Sophie Diao said Wong’s work “has inspired me since I first learned about him as a first-year animation student,” explaining that his art “motivates me to think about ways to channel my own Chinese heritage in the stories and artwork I make.”

Born in China in 1910, Wong immigrated to the U.S. at nine years old with his father. The Chinese Exclusion Act restricted the number of Chinese immigrants at the time; while his father got into the U.S., Wong was held for nearly a month before he was able to enter the States, reports Newsweek.

Wong said his father encouraged his love for art and made him practice calligraphy daily with water and newspaper since they couldn’t afford formal education, according to an interview Wong had with the Otis Art Institute. The institute offered him a scholarship at 16 years old.

DISNEY

Tyrus Wong's work on behalf of Disney are works of art unto themselves.

According to Newsweek, Wong was initially credited as only a background artist for his work on Bambi. Despite his talents as a painter, muralist, ceramicist, lithographer, kite maker, set designer, and storyboard artist, he was not recognized for most of his achievements until the latter part of his life.

Wong also recalled wearing a pin stating he was Chinese, not Japanese, during World War II, a time of high anti-Asian sentiment. He became a U.S. citizen in 1946.

Wong was fired by Disney after an animators’ strike in 1941. He then worked at Warner Brothers for most of the rest of his career. Major credits include The Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), Rebel Without a Cause (1955), Around the World in 80 Days (1956), and The Wild Bunch (1969). He also designed popular greeting cards for Hallmark.

Wong’s work has been featured in the Chinese American Museum and the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles.

In 2001, Disney honored him by naming him a Disney Legend for outstanding contributions to animated media. He died in 2016.

Wong’s work has been featured in the Chinese American Museum and the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles.

In 2001, Disney honored him by naming him a Disney Legend for outstanding contributions to animated media. He died in 2016.

Wong’s daughters Kim, Tai-Ling, and Kay collaborated with Google for this project. “Our Dad was always creating art,” they stated. “Growing up, we benefited from his rich imagination and creativity—from his design of our family’s home and garden to the handmade holiday gifts he created for us even when he was in his 90s.

“Through his work ethic, appreciation of nature’s beauty, and joy in creating art, Dad was a role model for us. We miss him very much and to this day, whenever we see something humorous, clever, or beautiful, we think of him and wish we could share it with him.”
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