Los Angeles-area therapists woke up with their schedules cleared and dollar signs in their eyes Wednesday morning, as the 2023 Emmy nominations were announced hours before the SAG-AFTRA union may make the decision to strike—setting up a wild emotional roller coaster for the industry’s actors.
(Check out the full list of this year’s Emmy nominations here.)
If you were an actor on a HBO drama series, chances are endorphins were high this morning, as Succession, The Last of Us, and The White Lotus led this year’s nominations with 27, 24, and 23 nods apiece. (In fact, if you looked at the Supporting Actor in a Drama Series category, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Succession and The White Lotus were the only dramas that aired this year.) It was also a good year to be a part of the teams from Ted Lasso (21 nods), The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (14), and The Bear (13), which led the comedy races.
Whether you had a hand in creating this year’s Emmy hopefuls or are a fan combing through the nominations at home, there are ample reasons to squeal with delight and, alternately, scream into a pillow over this year’s choices. We rounded up the 15 biggest snubs and surprises.
SNUB: Somebody Somewhere is nowhere
It’s no secret that several of the TV fans here at The Daily Beast’s Obsessed revere Bridget Everett’s stirring, profound, and often outrageously raunchy HBO series. Everett was a dark horse contender for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy, owed to how loudly critics rallied around her performance. A writing nomination also seemed likely, but, in the end, one of the best series of the year got zero nominations.
SURPRISE: Jury Duty is the Emmys’ Cinderella story
Joining predicted awards juggernauts like Abbott Elementary and Ted Lasso in Outstanding Comedy Series is Jury Duty, the word-of-mouth sensation from previously obscure streaming platform Freevee. The series, in which an average guy didn’t know he was a juror on a fake trial, not only received the genre’s biggest nod, but it also scored mentions for actor James Marsden, who played himself; casting; and, in an eyebrow-raiser for a largely improvised show, writing.
SNUB: Harrison Ford is confusingly left out
While Apple TV+’s freshman comedy series Shrinking missed out on a widely predicted Comedy Series nod—I’d venture that Jury Duty took that slot—stars Jason Segel and Jessica Williams both scored acting mentions. Harrison Ford, however, did not, despite being the cast member presumed to be guaranteed a nomination. It wasn’t Ford’s only snub—he also missed out in Outstanding Actor in a Drama for his work in 1923.
SNUB: The Yellowstone universe is ignored
Speaking of 1923, the Western drama, plus every other series in Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone universe, was completely shut out of nominations—even for Ford and his 1923 co-star Helen Mirren, who were thought by many prognosticators to be major contenders. Guess it’s not the best awards strategy to insult the industry during voting season.
SNUB: Where is Atlanta?
There was plenty of love for comedies that had previously been Emmy favorites and aired their (presumed) series finales this year—that is, except for Donald Glover’s Atlanta. While Barry, Ted Lasso, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel all got Outstanding Comedy Series mentions and a slew of acting nominations, Atlanta only received one nod, for its cinematography. For such a groundbreaking series, and one that had a stellar final season, that’s pretty egregious.
SURPRISE: The Emmys really love The White Lotus
It may not be the most surprising news that The White Lotus received a veritable monsoon of nominations, given how many trophies the series has already picked up at various other ceremonies. But the extent of the love in the acting categories, especially, is eyebrow-raising. Nine cast members—essentially the entire ensemble, save a small few—show up in the supporting categories: F. Murray Abraham, Michael Imperioli, Theo James, Will Sharpe, Jennifer Coolidge, Meghann Fahy, Sabrina Impacciatore, Aubrey Plaza, and Simona Tabasco.
SNUB/SURPRISE: James Corden gets the cold shoulder
Despite winning so many Emmys over the years, there must be a warehouse somewhere in Los Angeles storing them all, James Corden’s The Late Late Show and its farewell special with Adele were conspicuously ignored this year. Corden and his show are certainly polarizing, but given their Emmy history—remember when he won over Beyoncé?—and the fact that it was the show’s last season, that Corden only received one nod (in the short form category for Carpool Karaoke: The Series) is a bit of a shock.
SNUB: The Traitors is betrayed
The Emmys doesn’t have a stellar track record of catching on to great new shows in the reality categories, a pattern that continues this year with The Traitors’ omission from the Reality Competition Program category. The Peacock series, hosted by Alan Cumming (who also was snubbed), reinvigorated the genre. Nominating The Voice again instead? Really?
SURPRISE: The force is with Obi-Wan Kenobi
Yay for Andor for earning the Star Wars universe a much deserved Outstanding Drama Series nomination, picking up the baton (lightsaber?) from The Mandalorian, which has had a steep decline in quality this season. But few expected it to be one of two major Star Wars series nominations, with Obi-Wan Kenobi being one of the most “whoa!” surprises of the morning. While it received five nods total, none are for its writing, directing, or acting. So Obi-Wan’s inclusion in Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series over contenders like Black Bird, Swarm, George & Tammy, Love & Death, Dead Ringers, A Small Light, and Tiny Beautiful Things is a shock.
SNUB: No love for legends Shirley MacLaine and Steve Martin
Only Murders in the Building got 11 nominations Wednesday morning—hardly something to scoff at. But given that windfall, it seems peculiar that two of its legendary stars, Shirley MacLaine and Steve Martin, were left out, in the guest and lead actor categories, respectively.
SURPRISE: The Other Two finally gets an Emmy nod
While unsavory reports that came out alongside the announcement that Season 3 of The Other Two was its last have undeniably tainted some of the fan enthusiasm for this comedy, it’s hard to deny that—controversy aside—the series has been overdue for Emmy recognition. It finally gets that this year in the writing category.
SNUB: The Patient is gonna need therapy
Steve Carell’s remarkable dramatic turn in the creepy-as-all-hell series The Patient won raves when the series premiered last August. Maybe that was too long ago for Emmy voters to remember, as the series and Carell were both overlooked completely.
SURPRISE: Vanderpump Rules rides the #Scandoval wave
Vanderpump Rules did what not even the juiciest, most expertly edited, buzziest, and best-produced seasons of the Real Housewives franchise has ever managed: an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program.
SURPRISE: A few favorite fun nominations that we weren’t expecting
Ray Liotta’s posthumous nod for The Bear; Tim Robinson’s acting nomination in the short form category for I Think You Should Leave; Kate Berlant and John Early getting writing nods for the comedy special Would It Kill You to Laugh?; and Sharon Horgan’s much-deserved Actress in a Drama mention for Bad Sisters.
There’s also Late Night With Seth Meyers, the best of nightly talkers, getting its second Talk Series mention; the core four cast of Welcome to Chippendales—Kumail Nanjiani, Analeigh Ashford, Murray Bartlett, and Juliette Lewis—all getting in; Pamela: A Love Story earning a Documentary or Nonfiction Special mention; and Keri Russell’s slightly unexpected nod for the delightful The Diplomat.
SNUB: A few snubs of my favorite projects and performances that sting
What We Do in the Shadows should be in Comedy Series and its stars all over the acting races; Carol Burnett is wildly missing from Supporting Actress in a Drama for Better Call Saul; Diego Luna should be in the Actor in a Drama Series race; A-listers Rachel Weisz (Dead Ringers) and Emily Blunt (The English) missing Actress in a Limited Series/Movie nods is a surprise; and if we’re doing the “let’s nominate every single star from the show” thing, why not give Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti, and William Stanford Davis their due for Abbott Elementary?
It’s almost blasphemy that Sarah Goldberg isn’t nominated for the final season of Barry; I don’t understand how, at the very least, Schmigadoon! didn’t get an Original Music and Lyrics nomination; Elle Fanning, Nicholas Hoult, and The Great are all perfect; and Ghosts is a broadcast comedy that Emmy voters are, well, ghosting—but shouldn’t.
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