Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys will attend the Emmy Awards this year as nominees for separate projects, marking the first time the couple has been nominated in the same year since their work together on "The Americans." Russell is nominated for her role as an ambassador on "The Diplomat," while Rhys has nominations for his performance as a mayor on "Widow's Bay" and as a real estate developer on "The Beast in Me." Both are also nominated as executive producers, bringing their combined total to five nominations.
Couples have received Emmy nominations in the same year previously, including Tracy Letts and Carrie Coon, Sarah Paulson and Holland Taylor, and Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Russell and Rhys last attended the Emmys together as nominees in 2018, when "The Americans" was in its final season. Rhys won best actor in a drama that year and joked in his acceptance speech that Russell had promised to punch him in the mouth if he proposed onstage, a reference to Glenn Weiss's on-air proposal earlier that same Oscars ceremony.
The pair, who have been together for 13 years and are 50 and 51 respectively, have kept their relationship largely private. In a recent interview at a hotel in upstate New York, they discussed their approach to avoiding public declarations about their relationship status and their strategy for taking on diverse roles after "The Americans" concluded in 2018. Rhys emphasized the importance of pursuing roles that feel different from his previous work.
"Widow's Bay," an Apple TV horror-comedy about an isolated community and its mayor, has become the most-nominated new series at this year's Emmys. "The Beast in Me," a Netflix limited series featuring Rhys, debuted as the streaming service's top-viewed program. Russell is competing against Zendaya and Rhea Seehorn, among others, and "The Diplomat" earned the highest Emmy nomination tally of its three-season run.
