CMU Professor and Alumni Earn 17 Primetime Emmy Nominations

^{Above: Matt Bomer in "Fellow Travelers." Photo courtesy Ben Mark Holzberg/SHOWTIME.}

The 76th Primetime Emmy Award nominations were announced on July 17 and a professor in the Master of Entertainment Industry Management program and 10 Carnegie Mellon University alumni from the School of Drama racked up a total of 17 nominations.

Michele Smith, a professor of business development in the Master of Entertainment Industry Management program at CMU Los Angeles is nominated for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series for HBO’s “STAX: Soulsville U.S.A.,” for which she is an executive producer. The four-part documentary follows Stax Records, a record label that ushered in artists like Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, The Staple Singers and Sam & Dave. Smith, who is the vice president of estate and legacy brand management at Craft Recordings (Concord), also won a Grammy earlier this year for “Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos.”

Matt Bomer (BFA, 2000) is nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for his role as Hawkins “Hawk” Fuller in Showtime’s “Fellow Travelers.” 

The television miniseries has a little bit of everything, billed as a political, romantic, historic thriller based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Thomas Mallon. The miniseries also features 2009 School of Drama alumnus Will Brill (who recently won a Tony Award for his portrayal of Reg in the Broadway hit “Stereophonic”) as the infamous lawyer Roy Cohn. This marks Bomer’s second Emmy nomination. He was also nominated in 2014 for his role as Felix Turner in HBO’s “The Normal Heart.”

Two-time Emmy winner Noah Mitz (BFA, 2002) added four nominations to his credit, bringing his career total to 32. Mitz is a lighting designer, nominated this year for Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Series for his work on both “America’s Got Talent” and “Dancing with the Stars,” as well as Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Special for his work on both the 66th Grammy Awards and the 76th Tony Awards.

Also in lighting, Ryan Tanker (BFA, 2010) and Will Gossett (BFA, 2015) earned two nominations each, for their works as lighting directors on both “America’s Got Talent” and the 66th Grammy Awards. 

Art Directors Alana Billingsley (BFA, 2004), Kristen Merlino (BFA, 2005) and John Zuiker (MFA, 2011) added to their climbing number of Emmy nominations. All three are nominated for Outstanding Production Design for a Variety Special. Billingsley, a three-time Emmy winner, and Zuiker were both nominated for their work on the Oscars, while Merlino earned her tenth nomination for her work on the 66th Grammy Awards.  

This year marks the first Emmy nominations for alumni Hillary Knox (BFA, 2002), Emma Present (BFA, 2016) and Hannah Kerman (BFA, 2021). Knox is nominated for Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Series for his work as moving light programmer for “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Present is nominated for Outstanding Sound Editing For A Limited Or Anthology Series, Movie Or Special for her work as dialogue editor on “All The Light We Cannot See.” Kerman earned two nominations as lighting director in the category Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Series, for her work on both “America’s Got Talent” and “Dancing with the Stars.”

The 76th Primetime Emmy Awards will air live on ABC on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET.