Nominee Regina King praises Emmys' 'forward movement' on diversity

For the fourth year in a row, Regina King has been recognized by the Television Academy with an Emmy nomination.

Unlike previous years, however, this is the first time King has been nominated in the lead actress category for the gritty Netflix crime series "Seven Seconds."

King gushed to ABC News about the honor.

"It feels good. I'm not going to lie," she said. "But I guess what's the better feeling is that I am continuing to work and I am able to be a part of storytelling that is provocative. And also storytelling that has social issues that are going on right now, and have been going on, unfortunately, as long as I can remember."

Much like her previous work, including her Emmy-winning role in "American Crime," King, 47, welcomes the opportunity to take on important social issues such as race and police violence, she said.

In "Seven Seconds," she plays Latrice Butler, the mother of a teenage son who dies after a hit-and-run by a white police officer who tries to cover it up.

King, one of the 29 black actors nominated for a 2018 Emmy, said the nominations this year help to confirm the progress being made in both television and film.

"I mean … it let’s me know that there is forward movement," she explained. "Because from the first time I was nominated to this time, each year it's been more people of color. And that's an exciting thing.

“I feel like when I speak to my peers and those up-and-coming creators that are black, I don't feel like it's a trend. So. yeah. it's a good thing."

The 2018 Emmys air tonight at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.