As usual, most of the Emmy nominations (ironically coming out on the day the actors announced they would join Hollywood writers on the picket lines) were from streaming shows this year. Only a few game shows and their hosts and ABC's "Abbott Elementary" managed to pass muster among the over-the-air network crowd. 

But there was a major breakthrough in the nominees this year and it almost went unnoticed. It's for a show you've probably never heard of before called "Jury Duty." The premise of the surreal comedy is that one single juror is the only real person involved in what turns out to be a fake court case. Everyone else in the show is in on the gag, knowing it's all being staged for him. 

The reason this is so historic, though, isn't the plot. It's that it's being shown on Freevee, the FAST (Free Ad Supported Streaming Televlsion) offshoot of Amazon Prime. It's the first time a non-pay service steaming show has ever earned an Emmy nod. In fact, this one has four, including for some of the actors. 

To see the show, you need an Amazon account and you have to sign in. But it costs you nothing to watch if you're not a Prime member (although there are ads in the free version) and critics have been raving about this "Truman Show"-type program. 

Hard to imagine a non-pay online program getting this honour. But there's always a first time for the critics and the jury is no longer out - they've pronounced this show a winner. And while the odds are against it, could soon be an award winner.

Jury Duty page on Amazon 

Jury Duty Makes Huge Emmys Splash, Snags 4 Nominations