The 70th annual Emmy Award nominations were announced today and while many people received congratulatory phone calls this morning, there were a few notable snubs and a few surprises after the nominations were handed out.
Snub: Modern Family – Since the show premiered in 2009, Modern Family has been an Emmy mainstay and while its days of winning Best Comedy Series are long behind it, the show usually received nominations in some of the acting an writing categories but it was completely shut out this year. This marks the first time since its launch that the show won’t be a presence at the ceremony. Perhaps the end of the show is near?
Surprise: The Americans – Some of us have known since its premiere that The Americans was one of the best shows on television but the Emmys consistently snubbed it. Well color me surprised when I saw that the show picked up a Best Drama Series nomination for its final season. This is only the second time in its six year critically acclaimed run that it has made it in this category and it’s pretty damn stacked this year. Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell have previously been nominated and they are once again this year in the Lead Actor and Actress Drama category but it’s nice to see the Emmys showing the show love in other categories this year, including writing and directing because all of these elements make for one hell of a show.
Snub: Will & Grace – The Will & Grace revival has been well-received and the Golden Globes showed it some love with a Best Comedy nomination but the Emmys weren’t as kind. The show is known for having all four of its leads win an Emmy award but only Megan Mullally was acknowledged in the supporting category while the other performers, and the show itself, were left out.
Surprise: Laurie Metcalf – It’s more of a pleasant surprise but I figured that after the Roseanne Barr debacle and the cancellation of her show after her now infamous racist tweet, that the Emmys would ignore the show entirely but the talented Laurie Metcalf managed a Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy nomination for her role as Roseanne’s sister on the show. Will it be awkward for her to be the lone representation for the tainted revival? Maybe, but The Connors are coming back this fall without their namesake so perhaps this is a nice welcome back again party for the TV family.
Snub: The Women of This Is Us – Appaently the men of This Is Us are carrying all the emotional weight of the popular series because the women with major roles on the show were left out of the nominations today. Leading men Sterling K. Brown and Milo Ventimiglia both saw sophomore noms in the lead actor in a drama category but for the second year in a row Mandy Moore’s underappreciated performance was snubbed while Chrissy Metz, who was nominated last year, also didn’t make the cut. Both women had strong arcs this past season and deserved to be acknowledged in my opinion.
Surprise: Barry – I know people like HBO’s Barry and critics also enjoyed it but it didn’t seem to be making enough noise to garner nominations but that was proven wrong this morning. The series barely made eligibility for the Emmys which might’ve helped because it was fresh in voter’s minds which led it to Best Actor in a Comedy nom for Bill Hader and a Best Comedy Series nomination as well.
Snub: Twin Peaks – The Twin Peaks revival may have been polarizing but no one denied that it was ambitious and featured fine performances but, aside from some tehnical award nominatons, the show was widely snubbed in all the major categories. Judging what I’ve seen on social media, this seems to be the biggest snub and it has many people on Twitter calling foul!
Surprise: Westworld Still A Contender – When Westworld got its nominations last time, the show was the show de jour and, even though it was quite ambitious, award shows tend to lavish attention on the big new thing, particularly on cable. It received 22 nominations for its season one and season 2 is not far behind at all with 21 nominations. It’s featured in several major categories, with Ed Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Evan Rachel Wood and Thanie Newton all receiving acting noms while the show scored a Best Drama Series nomination as well. Sophomore slump? Doesn’t look like it!
Snub: The Good Doctor – ABC’s The Good Doctor is the most popular freshman drama of last season on network TV but the Emmys showed it no love. Now, I kind of figured it wouldn’t get a Best Drama nomination but to snub Freddie Highmore’s highly emotional and compelling performance is just beyond me. I don’t know what this kid has to do to get their attention because he was consistently snubbed for Bates Motel as well and that was just blasphemy!
Surprise: American Vandal – So I finally watched this show after many pushed me to do so and I’m so glad I did because it’s a hilarious satire of the current obsession with True Crime Docs (I’m guility as charged.) I thought it was one of those lower tier cult shows on Netflix but it was surprising, and nice, to see it score a Best Writing For a Limited Series Or Movie nomination this morning. The episode in question is “Clean Up” by Kevin McManus and Matthew McManus and it’s much deserving of the nominaton if I do say so myself.
Snub: Alison Brie – Alison Brie scored a Golden Globe nomination for the first season of the wrestling dramedy, Glow, but the Emmy’s snubbed her. The show did scores a Best Comedy nomination and her co-star Betty Gilpin received a Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy nom but the show centers on Brie so it’s strange that she didn’t make the cut.
Surprise (or Not Really): Women Largely Ignored In Directing Categories – With all this talk of parity lately in the industry you would think that the Emmys would’ve paid a bit more attention to the women who are churning out strong behind the scenes work but I guess we have to wait until next year. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s Amy Sherman-Palladino was the lone woman to be nominated for directing a comedy series this year, while The Handmaid’s Tale’s Kari Skogland was the only woman to break through for dramatic directing.
Surprise: Ted Danson Gets Nominated For The Good Place – It was a nice surprise seeing Ted Danson’s name called for Best Actor In a Comedy for the series because this is a show that has been one of the best comedies on network TV and it has laregely been ignored which brings me to…
Snub(s): The Good Place & Kristen Bell – The Good Place still hasn’t gotten some Best Comedy series love even though it is one of the best and while Danson is great on the show, so is Kristen Bell who was also snubbed yet again. I guess I should be thankful for slow progress.
Surprise: John Legend Is Getting Close To An EGOT – John Legend received a nomination today for Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for Jesus Christ Superstar: Live In Concert and if he were to win it would put him in the rare company of performers who have one Emmy’s, Golden Globes, Oscars and Tony’s. while that would be cool for him to win, that would mean Darren Criss would lose for his “give me the Emmy now” performance in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story and we can’t have that.
Snub: Ozark – Jason Bateman was rightfully shown some love for his performance on the addicitng Netflix drama but the show itself was ignored. Surprising considering how much critics love it and it just seems like a show the Emmys would love to praise.
Snub: Al Pacino – Paterno was nominated for Best TV Movie but Al Pacino was ignore for his portrayal in it, despite its critical acclaim. I guess it shows that being a big name in a TV movie doesn’t always mean you’ll get the nom.
Final Snub: Liev Shrieiber – Schreiber has been nominated in the lead actor in a drama category every year since 2015 for his role as the titular fixer on Showtime’s Ray Donovan. This year he was tasked with a storyline that saw him reeling from his wife’s death, but when the third time wasn’t the charm for him to win last year, the Academy seemed to have enough an just decided to leave him out.
