Gary Gershoff/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — 21 years after his last nomination, Dylan McDermott is back in the Emmys mix, with a nod on Tuesday for playing Ernie West, the man at the center of a gas station sex ring in Ryan Murphy’s Netflix limited series Hollywood, and this time, he appreciates it even more.

“I think this time around is even sweeter because, because, you know…how many great shows there are, how time passes you by sometimes,” says McDermott, whose last nomination came in 1999 for his starring role in The Practice, tells ABC Audio.  “And, you know, it takes a long time to get back here. I mean, it took me 20 something years, 21 years to get back here, so I know how hard it is now.  Back then I thought, oh, yeah. Every year.”

This year’s Emmys will be a virtual event, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, and though McDermott’s not sure what it will look like, he’s confident they’ll figure it out.

“I feel sad that we’re in this position, but nonetheless, I’m really thrilled that we as humans are able to adapt to anything,” says the 58-year-old actor.  “We just make it work. And we will make this work.”

Adds McDermott, 2020 is going to be one of those years “we talk about for a long, long while.”

Hollywood is a limited series, which, in theory, means it won’t be coming back, but McDermott tells ABC, “I hope there’s a season two,” while cautioning, “I think we would kind of, like, we really do have to kind of wait for a vaccine.” 

The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards telecast is still scheduled for September 20 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.