【Online Selling (2025)】

LOS ANGELES -- Short-form video scored big during the 2016 Emmy nominations,Online Selling (2025) with YouTube, Maker Studios, AOL and Funny or Die all nabbing nods in various categories. 

But can they take home the statuettes?

Here's a look at some of the digital players to look out for on Sunday, night two of the Creative Arts Emmys.

Her Story

A web series on YouTube nominated for best Shortform Comedy or Drama Series.

The six-episode show, which launched on YouTube in January after making the rounds at various festivals, is the only indie project nominated in the Emmys Short Form category. 

The show explores how LGBT women in Los Angeles navigate the intersections of labels, identity, and love. 

Mashable chatted with the creators and cast members last month. Check out more here.

Lou Diamond Phillips

Nominated for best actor in a Shortform Comedy or Drama Series for Maker Studios' The Crossroads of History.

The show, from creator Elizabeth Shapiro, is a series of 10-minute episodes that explore historical stories that aren't very well known. Diamond Phillips received the nod for his role as the chieftain in the Christopher Columbus episode.

Notably, the series was picked up by History Channel exclusively for 48 hours as part of a TV deal between Maker Studios-branded platforms and the History Channel's digital platforms.

It was part of History's new comedy block, which also included Great Minds with Dan Harmon, created by Harmon (Community) and Richard Korson (The Daily Show).

Oscar Nunez

Nominated for best actor in a Shortform Comedy or Drama Series for Maker Studios' The Crossroads of History. Nunez tackled the role of Jac in the Columbus episode.

Janet Varney

Nominated for best actress in a Shortform Comedy or Drama Series for Funny or Die's Everyone's Crazy But Us

Tracie Thoms

Nominated for best actress in a Shortform Comedy or Drama Series for Send Me: An Original Web Series.

Epic Rap Battles of History

Maker Studios' YouTube show nominated for best shortform Variety Series.

The series, which is going into its fifth season, takes prominent figures (in history and fiction) and has them battle against one another in (you guessed it) epic rap battles.

Since launching, it has amassed a whopping 2.5 billion views.

Check out Mashable'sinterview with creators Lloyd Ahlquist and Peter Shukoff here.

Gay of Thrones

The FunnyOrDie.com show is nominated for best shortform Variety Series.

Hairdressers can often be the best confidants. But who knew they could also be the best TV show recappers?

Three years ago, Erin Gibson -- a director at Funny or Die -- was getting her hair done when stylist Jonathan Van Ness began trying to convince his colleague to watch HBO's Game of Thrones.

Gibson couldn't stop laughing. But along with the laughter came a great idea: A Game of Thrones recap show, starring Van Ness.

And Gay of Thrones -- nominated for an Emmy -- was born.

"I do think it’s a crowded space in the digital world, but I always have the confidence the fact that I don’t think anyone is writing jokes that we are writing," Gibson told Mashablein an interview ahead of the Emmys. "And I don’t think anyone can top Jonathan."

Honest Trailers

ScreenJunkies' YouTube show nominated for best shortform Variety Series.

Mashable chatted with ScreenJunkies' Andy Signore during a Facebook Live (above), where he talked about how the series came to be.

The first Honest Trailers video was Star Wars: Episode I: ThePhantom Menace, which at the time was being re-released in theaters. Then came Twilight, Avatar, andTitanic.

"We cracked this format, we figured out how to make a structure to it that we could repeat for other movies -- very early on we knew it was about interaction with audience," Signore said. "It became this own beast."

In honor of the Emmys, ScreenJunkies (owned by Defy Media) even created a special honest trailer for the awards show.

Making a Scene With James Franco

AOL's web series nominated for best shortform Variety Series.

Park Bench With Steve Buscemi

AOL's web series nominated for best shortform Variety Series.

While this is Buscemi’s eighth Primetime Emmy nomination, he has never actually won the award. The actor/director/executive producer could break his long losing streak on Sunday.