Netflix Just Racked up Some Major Award Nominations

Netflix has picked up a total of 40 nominations for the 2021 Annie Awards, and animation fans are overjoyed. The Annie Awards celebrate the best in animation from children’s shows to anime to adult sitcoms and beyond. This year, Netflix original series are represented in full force.

A total of 24 Netflix productions have a total of 40 Annie Awards nominations this year. That includes comedies like Big Mouth, BoJack Horseman and The Midnight Gospel, as well as children’s shows like Dragons Rescue Riders, Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy (Siege) and She-Ra and the Princess of Power. It even encompasses TV shows and movies that are live-action with some heavily-animated elements, such as The Umbrella Academy and The Christmas Chronicles 2.

Some of the Netflix shows will be competing against each other, particularly in niche categories or highly technical categories. Both Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous and Tales of Arcadia, Wizards are nominated for Best FX for TV and Media, for example. However, others stand out like Big Mouth, which is nominated for Best Writing in TV and Media.

Notably, several of the nominees are shows that have been canceled or have ended their runs since the episodes they are nominated for first aired. That includes Bojack Horseman, which finished its six-season run last year, as well as She-Ra and The Princess of Power, which many fans felt ended too soon. Some are in limbo as well, including The Midnight Gospel which has been neither renewed nor canceled.

The Annie Awards may not have quite the pomp and circumstance that award shows like The Oscars and The Emmys have, but they are a long-running and vital part of the animation industry. They are presented by the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, and have been running consecutively since 1972.

The name “Annie” was used as shorthand for “animation” when the award show was first conceived, and at the time it was intended only for lifetime achievement-style honors in the industry. Starting in 1992, the show expanded to include more general categories for each year. Today, it examines all animation releases from the previous year when handing out its trophies.

Like so many other auspicious events, this year’s Annie Awards is going virtual. Right now, the official website promises more details coming soon around the event and attendance. No date for the live-stream has been set.