The 78th Emmy nominations brought plenty of expected love for The Pitt, Hacks, Widow’s Bay and Pluribus. But nomination morning also delivered the usual chaos: major snubs, surprising shutouts and a few “wait, really?” inclusions.
One of the biggest stories was the continued Emmy cold shoulder for Taylor Sheridan.
After years of Sheridan-created series being overlooked in top categories, many awards watchers thought this might finally be the year. Landman had momentum, with Billy Bob Thornton earning attention for the show, while The Madison arrived with the star power of Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell. Instead, both shows were shut out entirely.
The lone Sheridan-world mention came from Tulsa King, which landed a stunt coordination nomination. Otherwise, Sheridan’s TV empire once again found itself largely outside the Emmy conversation.
Several other well-reviewed or highly visible shows also missed out, including I Love L.A., Industry, Matlock, Elsbeth, The Lowdown, The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins and St. Denis Medical. The Industry shutout is especially notable, as the series will end its five-season run without a single Emmy nomination.
There were individual snubs as well. Kathy Bates, who was expected to return to the drama actress race for Matlock, missed the cut. So did Nobody Wants This stars Kristen Bell and Adam Brody, despite the Netflix rom-com landing a comedy series nomination.
Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette earned six nominations, including limited series and lead actress for Sarah Pidgeon, but Paul Anthony Kelly, who played John F. Kennedy Jr., and Grace Gummer, who played Caroline Kennedy, were both left out.
Beef also had a mixed morning. The Netflix limited series earned a strong 16 nominations overall, but Cailee Spaeny missed in acting, though she is nominated as an executive producer as part of the show’s limited series nomination.
Then there is The Bear. The Chicago-set FX/Hulu series still earned 8 nominations, including for comedy series, but its supporting-actor nominations cooled considerably. Ayo Edebiri was the only regular cast member nominated for acting this year. Guest stars Rob Reiner and Jamie Lee Curtis also made the cut, but Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bacharach and Liza Colón-Zayas were absent from the acting races.
That does not mean Emmy voters are done with The Bear. But it does suggest the show’s iron grip on the comedy acting categories may be loosening.
Other underperformers included The Comeback, which returned to Emmy attention but landed only two nominations: lead actress for Lisa Kudrow and writing for a comedy series. It failed to make the comedy series lineup. Richard Gadd’s Half Man, following his Emmy success with Baby Reindeer, landed just one nomination, for Gadd in supporting actor.
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On the drama side, Your Friends & Neighbors made the drama series category, but that was its only nomination. Jon Hamm missed the lead actor race. Task, meanwhile, landed acting, supporting acting, writing and directing nominations, but missed drama series.
As for surprises, Ryan Murphy’s critically panned All’s Fair managed to land two nominations. That may not sound like a lot, but given the reception, it still counts as a nomination morning eyebrow-raiser.
Other shows performed better than expected. Widow’s Bay became one of the morning’s biggest stories with 19 nominations, more than any other new series. Spider-Noir landed 11 nominations, while The Gilded Age and Margo’s Got Money Troubles each earned 8. Black Rabbit picked up 7 nominations, including a surprise lead actor nod for Jason Bateman.
Reality also brought a few twists. Dancing with the Stars returned to the reality competition program race for the first time since 2016, while long-running Emmy favorite The Amazing Race missed the category. And Love Island USA host Ariana Madix scored a surprise nomination for reality host.
Nomination morning always creates two stories: who got in, and who did not. This year, the first story belongs to The Pitt, Hacks, Widow’s Bay and Pluribus. The second belongs to Sheridan, Matlock, Industry, Nobody Wants This and a cooling Bear ensemble.
In other words, Emmy voters did what Emmy voters do best: reward the expected, ignore the obvious and somehow still find a way to surprise everyone.
