Irish designer nominated for Emmy for The White Lotus

A Mayo-based designer is among the Irish nominees travelling to the US this weekend for the Emmy Awards.

Motion graphics designer Cían McKenna (37), who is originally from Dublin, has been nominated for his work on the opening credits of the popular HBO series, The White Lotus.

We need your consent to load this YouTube contentWe use YouTube to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences

Mr McKenna is in the running at this year’s Emmys, which recognise excellence in television production, in the Outstanding Main Title Design category for his work on the second series of the hit HBO Max show.

The designer, who moved to Westport in Mayo during the pandemic, worked on the Italian-villa-inspired opening sequence with Sydney-based Illustrator Lezio Lopes for three months during the summer of 2022.

The Emmy awards show for writers, directors and actors will take place on Monday, 15 January.

Other design nominees in the same category include the Lord of the Rings (Rings of Power), Wednesday, The Last of Us – the first video game adaptation to receive major Emmy attention – Hello Tomorrow! and Cabinets of Curiosities.

On Saturday, Mr McKenna will attend The Creative Arts Emmy awards, which honour artistic and technical achievements in television.

He is one of four Irish nominees attending the television academy awards, all taking place at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles. The event is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.

Other Irish nominations include actress and writer Sharon Horgan for her work on Apple TV’s Bad Sisters, while Dearbhla Walsh, who directed Bad Sisters, is nominated in the category for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series.

Father Ted director Declan Lowney has also been shortlisted in the Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series category.

The Emmy awards usually take place in September but were pushed back four months to January 2024 due to the Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strikes.

The Emmys move to January marks the first time the Emmys has shifted dates since 2001, when the telecast was forced to move twice after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and US military action in Afghanistan.

More television news here.