A friendly reminder: Latinos are still here.
Emmy nomination voting closes Monday, June 22, at 10 p.m. PT. For those who track Latino representation in awards conversations year-round, the 2026 submissions reveal a deeper and more diverse bench of contenders than the eventual nominations are likely to reflect. The names below are not a wish list; rather, they are performers currently on the Television Academy ballot, and several could find a legitimate pathway to hearing their names called on nomination morning. Being realistic, not many of them will, but Variety is here to remind the members to consider…everyone.
Between the current political climate in the United States and the growing attacks aimed at Latino communities, this has been a discouraging stretch for anyone paying attention, particularly those who hoped the entertainment industry’s diversity gains would prove durable. UCLA’s latest Hollywood Diversity Report, released earlier this month, reinforced a message the business has been sending loud and clear: As budgets tighten and the commitment to inclusion wanes, representation for people of color is slipping, especially in film and streaming.
Meanwhile, the Latino population in the United States surpassed 68 million in 2024, and researchers estimate that Latinos generated $4.4 trillion in economic output. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Latino GDP has grown faster than that of any major economy, outpacing even India and China. According to the latest Latino GDP report from UCLA and California Lutheran University, the economic contribution of U.S. Latinos now exceeds that of Japan, making it equivalent to the world’s fourth-largest economy.
Yet when looking at one corner of the entertainment industry, a more encouraging story emerges. Television — and, specifically, this year’s Emmy ballot — is not entirely moving in lockstep with that broader retreat.
In no particular order, here are 11 Latino contenders that Variety deems worthy of Emmy voters’ consideration.
Honorable mentions: Stephanie Beatriz (“Twisted Metal” in lead comedy actress); Diego Calva (“The Night Manager” in supporting drama actor); Eiza González (“Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice” in lead actress, limited or movie); Gabriel Luna (“Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy” in supporting actor, limited or movie); Justina Machado (“Matlock” in guest drama actress); Natalie Morales (“The Beast in Me” in supporting actress, limited or movie); Catalino Sandino Moreno (“From” in supporting drama actress); Michaela Jaé Rodriguez (“Loot” in supporting comedy actress); Anthony Ramos (“Ironheart” in lead actor, limited or movie)
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Raúl Castillo (‘Task’)
Image Credit: HBO Max Category: Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Castillo, a respected character actor since “Looking,” turns up in Brad Ingelsby’s HBO Max crime drama, the follow-up to “Mare of Easttown.” He has never been Emmy-nominated, though he is an Independent Spirit nominee for “We the Animals” and a Gotham nominee for “The Inspection.” With a prestigious pedigree and the kind of grounded work the Academy gravitates toward, he could be an accompanying voice with his co-star Tom Pelphrey, giving him a real shot in a category that prizes exactly this register.
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Liza Colón-Zayas (‘The Bear’)
Image Credit: FX Category: Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
A former champion in the race. Colón-Zayas made history in 2024 as the first Latina to win an Emmy for supporting comedy actress. Her emotional work as Tina Marrero in the FX kitchen dramedy has had plenty of standout moments across its four previous seasons, with her interpretation of the role growing richer with each outing. While she doesn’t have a de facto standout episode like Season 3’s “Napkins,” her “Replicants” episode, which she shares with her real-life husband David Zayas, could make the pair a package deal.
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Ariana DeBose (‘Scarpetta’)
Category: Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
The first Afro-Latina Oscar winner for “West Side Story” (2021) steps into the Prime Video crime drama opposite Nicole Kidman, playing Lucy Farinelli-Watson, the daughter of Jamie Lee Curtis’ Dorothy. DeBose, already a two-time Emmy nominee for hosting the Tony Awards, is a well-known name in the space, and arrives with awards-body goodwill and high-wattage co-stars, both of which help a freshman series get viewed.
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Andy Garcia (‘Landman’)
Image Credit: Emerson Miller/Paramount+ Category: Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
The Cuban screen legend brings instant gravitas to Taylor Sheridan’s oil drama as Gallino. He’s a two-time Emmy nominee, both in 2001 for “For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story,” as lead actor and as a producer, in addition to his history-making Oscar nomination for “The Godfather Part III” (1990), the first Cuban ever nominated for an acting Oscar. Sheridan’s shows have struggled to convert massive audiences into Emmy attention, which will undoubtedly make this an uphill climb. Still, a name of Garcia’s stature in a buzzy ensemble is exactly the kind of late consideration voters sometimes reward.
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Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (‘The Lincoln Lawyer’)
Image Credit: COURTESY OF NETFLIX Category: Lead Actor in a Drama Series
As hotshot attorney Mickey Haller, the Mexican leading man carries Netflix legal drama “The Lincoln Lawyer” on his good looks and charisma. While lead drama actor is one of the toughest categories on the ballot, and a popular procedural rarely breaks into it, Garcia-Rulfo’s submission is nonetheless a marker of how far a Latino star can drive a mainstream hit. Why not?
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Selena Gomez (‘Only Murders in the Building’)
Image Credit: Hulu Category: Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Gomez has been the reliable anchor of the hit Hulu whodunit comedy since its debut, and the TV Academy has previously recognized her with her first acting Emmy nom for the role in 2024. In addition, she has four consecutive bids as an executive producer for the show, making her the most-nominated Latina producer in the comedy series category. While she faces a crowded field, her standing in the series keeps her firmly in the race, and voters who love the show tend to love all three leads.
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Oscar Nuñez (‘The Paper’)
Category: Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Nuñez returns to the famed character of Oscar Martinez, the deadpan accountant he played for nine seasons of “The Office,” in the Peacock mockumentary comedy. In the spinoff series, his character is now stranded at a struggling Toledo newspaper. The Cuban actor is no stranger to the Television Academy, winning a 2007 Daytime Emmy for the webisode series “The Office: The Accountants” as well as garnering a Primetime Emmy nomination (in 2016 for actor in a short form series for “The Crossroads of History”). A nice way to recognize the breakout series, perhaps?
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Jenna Ortega (‘Wednesday’)
Image Credit: BERNARD WALSH/NETFLIX Category: Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
In 2023, Ortega became just the third Latina ever nominated in the category, following Rita Moreno for “9 to 5” in 1983 and America Ferrera for “Ugly Betty” in 2007 and 2008. At age 20, she was also the second-youngest nominee in the category’s history. If recognized again for her portrayal of the deadpan, psychic teenager, Ortega would become only the second Latina to earn multiple nominations in the category, joining Ferrera. Beyond Ortega, her co-star Luis Guzmán — one of the industry’s most beloved and recognizable character actors for decades — is also deserving of an Emmys look.
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Cathryn Dylan Ortiz (‘The Pitt’)
Image Credit: HBO Max Category: Guest Actress in a Drama Series
There are many names (arguably too many) in consideration for acting roles from the sophomore season of HBO Max’s medical drama “The Pitt.” With 24 performers submitted (both by the studio and by the actors themselves), the heartbreaking work of Cathryn Dylan Ortiz, who plays Brenda Azurmendi, who rushes her five-year-old son to the ER after finding him unresponsive, is among several standouts. After becoming consumed by guilt as doctors struggle to save him, she attempts suicide outside the hospital, before being saved by Dr. Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi), and is put on a psychiatric hold. In an ensemble this large, she’s the only Latina performer from the hit show on the ballot, and if the show is as gargantuan as the network hopes it will be, perhaps the 33-year-old Mexican actress can squeeze into the field.
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Judy Reyes (‘High Potential’)
Category: Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
The “Scrubs” and “Devious Maids” veteran brings gravitas to ABC’s breakout procedural as Selena Soto opposite Kaitlin Olson. Despite a career spanning decades, Reyes has received relatively few award recognitions, earning an Independent Spirit Award nomination for “Birth/Rebirth” and two ALMA Awards for “Scrubs.” As network dramas continue to struggle for Emmy attention in the supporting races, “High Potential” stands as one of broadcast television’s rare success stories this season. A nomination for Reyes would mark a long-overdue first Emmy nod for one of television’s most enduring and beloved Latina performers.
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David Zayas (‘The Bear,’ ‘Dexter: Resurrection,’ ‘The Night Manager’)
Categories: Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and Guest Actor in a Drama Series
Zayas makes his debut in the acclaimed “Replicants” episode of the FX culinary dramedy as David Marrero, Tina’s husband, played by his real-life wife, Liza Colón-Zayas, who earned an Emmy back in 2024. For Zayas, despite a respected career as an actor, he’s never been individually Emmy-nominated. However, he is a 2023 Tony nominee for “Cost of Living.” In addition, the Puerto Rican actor is also on the ballot for reprising his famed detective Angel Batista in the Paramount+ sequel series “Dexter: Resurrection,” a role he has carried across the franchise since 2006, and for guest drama actor for his work in the Netflix action-thriller “The Night Agent.”
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