In the past few years, Hollywood has taken great strides to increase AAPI representation on screen, with a record number of Asians landing Emmy nominations and wins, from Sandra Oh’s recognition for “Killing Eve” to “Squid Game” picking up six trophies, including Lee Jung-jae for best actor in a drama series.
This awards season, more AAPI actors fight for history-making nominations, including Ali Wong for “Beef” and the ensemble cast of “Yellowjackets.” Former nominees contending again this year are “Saturday Night Live’s” Bowen Yang and “Ted Lasso’s” Nick Mohammed. Padma Lakshmi seeks a nomination for hosting “Top Chef,” as well as Tan France for “Queer Eye.” While Disney+’s “Ms. Marvel” dropped over a year ago, Iman Vellani seeks Emmy recognition for playing the MCU’s first Muslim superhero.
While AAPI representation has increased thanks largely to streaming platforms providing for diverse content, the 2023 Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Diverse Intelligence Series by Nielsen and the nonprofit Gold House showed a demographic breakdown of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders making up only 0.6% of the share of screen across broadcast, cable and streaming.
Here are 10 AAPI acting contenders to consider marking on your ballot as Emmy voting kicks off June 15.
See all the Awards Circuit Emmys Coverage here.
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Utkarsh Ambudkar (‘Ghosts’)
Network: CBS
Character: Jay
Season: 2
Category: lead actor comedyUtkarsh Ambudkar deserves Emmy attention for his role as Jay Arondekar in CBS’ “Ghosts.” The actor plays the unseeing husband of Rose McIver’s Sam, who can see the spirits who live inside their hotel. Ambudkar’s brilliance shines in the episode “Jay’s Friends,” in which he feels lonely because he can’t see the ghosts.
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Courtney Eaton (‘Yellowjackets’)
Network: Showtime
Season: 2
Character: Teen Lottie
Category: supporting actress in a drama seriesNew Zealander Courtney Eaton — who is Māori, Cook Islander and Chinese — got to explore more of teen Lottie in the ’90s timeline as she and her fellow teen Yellowjackets survive another brutal winter in the wilderness. Teen Lottie takes on a leadership role this season as the young characters cope with cannibalism and stillborn babies. Eaton’s most compelling scene comes in Episode 7 as she allows Shauna (Sophie Nelliese) to take her trauma out on her. Eaton delivers throughout the season, but her self-sacrifice of putting everyone’s needs before her own is riveting to watch.
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Simone Kessell (‘Yellowjackets’)
Network: Showtime
Season: 2
Character: Adult Lottie
Category: supporting actress in a drama seriesNew Zealander and Māori actress Simone Kessell — who also appears in Disney+’s “Obi-Wan Kenobi” — plays Charlotte in the present timeline of “Yellowjackets.” Her nomination would be history-making, as although there have been AAPI nominees and winners in the supporting actress category — Sandra Oh (“Grey’s Anatomy”), Archie Panjabi (“The Good Fight”), HoYeon Jung (“Squid Game”) — Kessell would be the first Pacific Islander to receive a nod. Kessell’s slow-burning portrayal of a woman unraveling as her past trauma rears its head is soul-crushing. She especially shines in the season finale, in which her spiraling journey is one of the best mental health studies on TV this season.
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Padma Lakshmi (‘Taste the Nation,’ ‘Top Chef’)
Show: “Top Chef,” “Taste the Nation”
Network: Bravo/Hulu
Category: host for a reality or competition program/hosted nonfiction series or specialWith 14 nominations under her belt for Bravo’s “Top Chef,” Padma Lakshmi has yet to take an Emmy award home. The competition reality host faces stiff competition from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” leader RuPaul. With Lakshmi exiting “Top Chef” after 19 seasons, this year is her last chance to become the first AAPI winner in the outstanding host for a reality or competition program category. Her other show, “Taste the Nation” on Hulu, puts her in contention for the outstanding hosted nonfiction series or special category.
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Nick Mohammed (‘Ted Lasso’)
Network: AppleTV+
Season: 3
Character: Nate
Category: supporting actor in a comedy seriesNick Mohammed could land his third Emmy nomination in the outstanding supporting actor in a comedy category. From quitting West Ham United to developing a love interest, Mohammed’s character Nate has had a wild ride in Season 3 of “Ted Lasso.” He pulls on viewers heartstrings in a particularly emotional scene in which he tells his parents he felt pressured as a child, and he takes out his violin and plays a solo.
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Kumail Nanjiani (‘Welcome to Chippendales’)
Network: Hulu
Character: Steve Banerjee
Category: lead actor in a limited series or TV movieActor, writer and producer Kumail Nanjiani brings the dramatic story of Chippendales founder Somen Banerjee to life in Hulu’s “Welcome to Chippendales.” Nanjiani, renowned for his comedic chops, goes against type in this immigrant story. Over eight episodes, he fleshes out the complex character of a man in the ’80s aspiring to be like Hugh Hefner as he pursues the American dream.
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Ali Wong (‘Beef’)
Network: Netflix
Character: Amy Lau
Category: lead actress in a limited series or TV movieWong, who is half-Chinese and half-Vietnamese, would become the first Asian actress to be nominated in the category. She would also become the second Asian woman ever to be nominated in a lead actress race — Sandra Oh became the first in 2018 for the BBC America drama “Killing Eve.” Wong has received rave reviews since her high-octane road rage drama “Beef” dropped on Netflix. Starring opposite Steven Yeun, Wong is fascinating to watch as she peels back the layers of a woman in an unhappy marriage who can’t help but dig herself into a deeper hole.
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Bowen Yang (‘Saturday Night Live’)
Network: NBC
Category: supporting actor in a comedy seriesBack in January, during “Saturday Night Live’s” cold open, Bowen Yang debuted his hilarious turn as New York representative George Santos. Yang has yet to win an Emmy for “SNL” despite landing three nominations for his work on the show — twice in the best supporting actor in a comedy category and once for best variety writing. Yang made history as the first Chinese American to have a principal role on the famed sketch show. He was also the first featured actor in the history of the show to score an Emmy nod.
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Michelle Yeoh (‘American Born Chinese’)
Network: Disney+
Character: Goddess of Mercy, Guanyin
Category: supporting actress in a comedyMichelle Yeoh cemented her place in Oscar history when she became the first Asian woman to win the Academy Award for best actress for her performance in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” Stepping into TV for Disney+’s new series “American Born Chinese,” the Malaysian actor portrays the goddess of Mercy, Guanyin. Should Yeoh win an Emmy, she would be halfway to achieving the much-coveted EGOT status.
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Steven Yeun (‘Beef’)
Network: Netflix
Character: Danny Cho
Category lead actor in a limited series or TV movieNetflix’s “Beef” allows Steven Yeun to show off his chops as Danny, who gets into a road rage incident with Ali Wong’s Amy. Rather than letting the incident go, frustration and anger consume them and change their lives — and their families’ lives — forever. It’s hard to take your eyes off of Yeun as Danny makes one self-destructive decision after another. His performance sticks with viewers long after the final credits roll.