‘Master of None’ gets nod for its raw humor.
By Sreekanth A. Nair
Indian American actor Aziz Ansari made history by getting nominated for a lead comedy acting Emmy nomination. His performance in Netflix’s series “Master of None” made him the fifth South Asian to be nominated in an acting category in Emmy.
“I’m very happy but it’s a very specific accomplishment,” Ansari told USA today. The nominations for the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards were declared on Wednesday by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Ansari co-authored the series with Alan Yang.
“Master of None,” got two more nominations for outstanding comedy series, and outstanding new program. The “Parents” episode of the series got nominations for outstanding writing for a comedy series and outstanding directing for a comedy series.
In the series, Ansari appears as Dev, a 30-year-old actor who faces difficulties in developing an acting career as being the children of immigrant parents. The series has been noticed for discussing the challenged of racism faced by immigrants.
“I think every minority actor runs into that,” Ansari told USA today. “You hear people say things like, ‘Oh, they already got the black guy.’ Or, ‘Oh, they already got their Asian lady.’ It kind of feels like, to minority actors that I’ve spoken with, once they have one (minority actor cast) they’re like, OK, we’ve placated the ‘diversity issue.’ That was coming from a real place.”
Dev said that minorities experience all sorts of casual racism which is also described in “Master of None.” Ansari and Alan Yang are currently working for season 2 of the series which will be out in April next year.
Recently, Ansari was nominated for individual achievement in comedy at the 32nd Television Critics Association (TCA) Awards for his performance in “Master of None.”
The 68th Emmy Awards distribution ceremony will be held on Sept. 18 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.