Emerson Alums Net Primetime Emmy Nominations

Bill Burr ’93; Rob Paine ’92; Opus Moreschi ’00; Ballard C. Boyd ’04; and Rosebud Baker ’06 are among the Emerson alums up for a Primetime Emmy Award this year.

The Television Academy announced nominations on Tuesday, July 15. The Emmys will air on Sunday, September 14, on CBS and Paramount +.

Burr is nominated for his Hulu special, Bill Burr: Drop Dead Years, his second Emmy nod.

Paine is nominated for two Emmys this year, both in the Outstanding Variety Special (Live) category: one as co-executive producer of The Oscars, and one as supervising producer for SNL50: The Homecoming Concert. Paine now has 19 nominations and two wins to his name.

Moreschi is co-executive producer and Boyd is a producer on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which is nominated for Outstanding Talk Series. This is Moreschi’s 28th Emmy nomination; he’s won four times. Boyd has been nominated six times and won once.

Baker, a writer for Saturday Night Live‘s Weekend Update segement, is once again nominated with the rest of the SNL writers room for Writing for a Variety Series. Baker has been nominated in the category since 2022.

Zach Rothfeld ’12 is an executive producer of 100 Foot Wave, which was nominated for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. It’s Rothfeld’s second Emmy nod.

James Merrill ’07, executive producer of Common Side Effects, and alum John Frink, executive producer on The Simpsons, are up for Outstanding Animated Program. It’s Merrill’s seventh nomination and Frink’s 24th nomination. He has won seven times.

Erik Messerschmidt ’02, who won an Oscar for Cinematography for Mank in 2021 received his second Emmy nomination for Outstanding Technical Direction and Camera Work for a Special for Bono: Stories of Surrender.

Kevin R. Johnson ’95 and Ryan Shaw ’21, both camera operators on The Amazing Race, are up for Outstanding Cinematography for a Reality Program. Johnson has been nominated four times, and this is Shaw’s eighth nomination.

Steve Welch ’92, an editor on Welcome to Wrexham, is nominated for Outstanding Picture Editing for an Unstructured Reality Program; Eric Beetner ’92, an editor on The Amazing Race, is nominated for Outstanding Picture Editing for a Structured Reality or Competition Program; and Christopher Salerno ’17, a film unit editor on SNL50: The Anniversary Special is up for Picture Editing for Variety Programming (Segment).

Welch has been nominated five times and won twice. This is Beetner’s seventh nomination, and Salerno has been nominated five times, with one win.

Zach Rothfeld ’12 was an executive producer on 100 Foot Wave, which was nominated for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. It’s Rothfeld’s second Emmy nod.

Ellen Jaworski ’11, art director on The 67th Annual Grammy Awards, was nominated for Production Design for a Variety Special, an award she was nominated for last year as well.

Tyler Kinney ’10, assistant costume designer on The Studio, was nominated for his first Emmy, for Outstanding Contemporary Costumes for a Series.

Samuel Ejnes ’09, re-recording mixer, and Christopher Battaglia ’14, supervising sound effects editor on The Last of Us are nominated for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series. Christopher Costello ’08, music monitor mixer on SNL50: The Anniversary Special, is up for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or Special.

This is all three alums’ third nomination; Battaglia won for sound editing in 2023.

Matt Benson ’18 is up for two awards: Outstanding Lighting Design/Direction for a Series, as chief lighting technician on Dancing with the Stars, and Outstanding Lighting Design/Direction for a Special, as lighting director on The 67th Annual Grammy Awards. Benson has been nominated 17 times, with one win in 2023.

In addition, several alums are producers on nominated series (individual names on the ballot have not yet been announced):

Joe Mande ’05 is an executive producer of Hacks, nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series.

Brian Smith ’95, is an executive producer of Love Is Blind, nominated for Outstanding Structured Reality Program.

Chris Nguyen-Gia ’08, is a producer on Paradise, up for Outstanding Drama Series.

Jeff Ackerstein ’12, is a producer on Survivor, up for Outstanding Reality Competition Program.

Did we miss anyone? Let us know at alumni@emerson.edu.