The BAFTA Television Awards nominations have landed and, as always, there were a few eyebrow raisers from jury members.
The likes of Baby Reindeer and Mr Bates vs The Post Office were expected to do well, and both series duly delivered with eight and six nominations respectively.
Baby Reindeer has been a darling of the season, and the BAFTA TV Awards will be the big crescendo to its campaign. The beloved Jessica Gunning and creator Richard Gadd both compete for prizes, while the series — which remains the subject of a massive U.S. lawsuit from Fiona Harvey — will compete in the Limited Drama category.
There was also good news for Slow Horses, which bagged six nominations for Apple TV+, including the notable return of Gary Oldman in the Leading Actor category after he missed out in 2024.
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Where there is good news, there is also bad news, with a few notable absentees from this year’s nominations. There were also a couple of surprises along the way — scroll on for more. The BAFTA Television Awards will be hosted by Alan Cumming and take place on May 11. The ceremony will be broadcast on the BBC in the UK and BritBox in the U.S.
SNUBS
The Day of the Jackal
Sky and Peacock will likely be bitterly disappointed that The Day of the Jackal failed to sharpshoot its way to any nominations in the main awards. The lavish assassin drama, which has been renewed for Season 2, was one of Sky’s big hopes for the BAFTAs, but has only managed to get nominations at the Craft Awards for editing and production design. Eddie Redmayne was among the cast shut out of performance categories.
Amazon & Clarkson’s Farm
The nominations don’t make pretty reading for Amazon Prime Video, which only managed a single nomination for Season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power in the Craft category for special and visual effects. This meant there was not a single nomination for ratings smash Clarkson’s Farm, which is adored by viewers and has helped put farming issues on the news agenda. The show is so influential that Prince William is expected to appear in next year’s season.
Mark Rylance
Mark Rylance is usually a firm favorite with BAFTA voters, but he failed to clinch a nomination for his performance as Thomas Cromwell in Wolf Hall Season 2. He won for the same role in 2016. Rylance’s co-star Damian Lewis was nominated for Supporting Actor for his portrayal of King Henry VIII.
Netflix Brit Hits
While Baby Reindeer performed well, there was no room for a number of big British hits on Netflix last year. Black Doves, The Gentlemen, and Fool Me Once were all shut out of the main awards (Black Doves got a Craft nom for costume design), while Bridgerton — which is produced by Shondaland but is synonymous with the UK — only figured in the Memorable Moment category. One Day did manage a nomination in the Limited Drama category.
Ambika Mod
Ambika Mod is one of the UK’s finest young actors, but she was overlooked for her leading role in Netflix’s David Nicholls adaptation One Day. There was some controversy when she did not figure in 2023 for her breakthrough role in BBC/AMC series This Is Going To Hurt. Leo Woodall was also frozen out for One Day.
SURPRISES
Billie Piper
Billie Piper has not really generated any awards buzz for her role as Newsnight journalist Sam McAlister in Scoop, Netflix’s drama on the BBC’s Prince Andrew interview. She will compete for Leading Actress alongside the likes of Anna Maxwell Martin (Until I Kill You) and Marisa Abela (Industry).
Supacell
Netflix’s hit series about a group of Black South Londoners who acquire superpowers has been renewed for a second season and will compete for best Drama Series. Supacell has not received a single other nomination, yet managed to fend off rivals, such as Industry, to figure in one of BAFTAs prestige categories.
Nabhaan Rizwan
Neflix may have canceled its Greek God series Kaos, but the drama still managed to clinch a BAFTA nom in the shape of Nabhaan Rizwan. He is up for best Male Performance in a Comedy after playing Dionysus in the Sister-produced series.
OTHER TALKING POINTS
Disney+
The BAFTA list will be toasted at Disney+, which registerd a record haul of 15 nominations. This put it behind Netflix (26), but ahead of Apple TV+ (13). Disney was propelled by decent showings for Rivals, which scooped seven nominations, including for David Tennant and Katherine Parkinson. Extraordinary also figured, with Bilal Hasna competing for best Male Performance in a Comedy.
Life and Death in Gaza
After the Royal Television Society’s debacle over a special award for Gaza journalists, could BAFTA attract controversy for the nomination of BBC documentary Life and Death in Gaza in Current Affairs? The documentary has been targeted by right-wing publications in the UK for featuring Aya Ashour, who has celebrated the murder of Israelis in social media posts.