“The Crown” tops BAFTA Television Award nominations

PanARMENIAN.Net - Netflix’s lavish “The Crown” received royal approval from BAFTA voters Tuesday, April 11 as it led with five nominations for the 2017 BAFTA British Academy Television Awards, Variety reports.

Three other shows, including “Fleabag” and “Happy Valley,” each earned three nods. “War and Peace” and “The Night Manager,” both of which were well-received by critics and viewers, managed to score just one nomination apiece.

“The Crown” garnered nominations for best drama series; best leading actress for Claire Foy, who played the young Queen Elizabeth II; supporting actress for Vanessa Kirby, who played Princess Margaret; and supporting actor nods for both John Lithgow and Jared Harris, who played Winston Churchill and King George VI, respectively. It was Foy’s second consecutive lead-actress BAFTA nomination, following last year’s nod for “Wolf Hall.”

The show’s lead actor, Matt Smith, missed out on a nomination. The lead-actor nominees are Benedict Cumberbatch in “The Hollow Crown: The War of the Roses,” Adeel Akhtar in “Murdered by My Father,” Babou Ceesay in “Damilola, Our Loved Boy” and Robbie Coltrane in “National Treasure.” Cumberbatch’s role as Richard III in “The Hollow Crown” marked his sixth TV BAFTA nomination. He has also been nomination for a BAFTA film award.

Netflix also saw its cult hit “Stranger Things” named in the international category, the one category which focuses on non-British productions. “Stranger Things” will compete against HBO’s “The Night Of,” FX’s “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” and Amazon’s “Transparent.”

The biggest surprise was an almost complete shutout for the BBC’s “The Night Manager,” which had scored six craft nominations when they were announced March 28. The show’s only nomination Tuesday came for Tom Hollander, who will compete in the supporting actor category. Daniel Mays fills out that category for “Line of Duty.”

Also scoring just a single nomination was the BBC’s acclaimed adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace.” It will contest the best drama series category against “The Crown,” ITV and Masterpiece’s “The Durrells” and the BBC’s “Happy Valley.”

BAFTA favorite Olivia Colman missed out on a nomination for “The Night Manager” but was nominated for best female performance in a comedy program for “Fleabag.” It was Colman’s sixth nomination in six years; she has won three British Academy Television Awards. She will compete this year against co-star Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the show’s creator. “Fleabag” also scored a nomination for best scripted comedy.

“Happy Valley” scored nods for leading actress Sarah Lancashire and supporting actress Siobhan Finneran. Lancashire will compete against Foy, Jodie Comer for the BBC’s “Thirteen,” and Nikki Amuka-Bird for the BBC’s “NW.” Finneran is up against Kirby, Nicola Walker for the BBC’s “Last Tango in Halifax” and Wunmi Mosaku for the BBC’s “Damilola, Our Loved Boy.”

A one-off drama “Damilola” tied with “Happy Valley” and “Fleabag” for three nominations each.As well as its leading actor and supporting actress nominations “Damilola” will contest the best single drama category. Its rivals are “Murdered by My Father,” “NW” and the BBC’s “Aberfan: The Green Hollow.”

Ninety-year-old David Attenborough will see two of his BBC natural-history programs compete against each other in the specialist factual category, with “Attenborough’s Life That Grows” going up against “Planet Earth II.” The BBC’s “Alan Bennett’s Diaries” and Channel 4’s “Grayson Perry: All Man,” are also nominated in the category.

The nominations were announced by “Chewing Gum” actress Michaela Coel and “Broadchurch” actor Andrew Buchan at BAFTA’s London headquarters.

The British Academy Television Awards ceremony will take place May 14 at London’s Royal Festival Hall. They will be hosted for the first time by former “Great British Bake Off” presenter Sue Perkins.