Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Still, there were some snubs that were still pretty shocking. Here are the dozen most shocking/least defensive Emmy snubs.
'Transparent'
Despite nominations for stars Jeffrey Tambor, Judith Light, and Kathryn Hahn, Transparent was stiffed on a third-consecutive nod for Outstanding Comedy Series. The show has always been an odd fit among the comedies, but its 30-minute running time and the fact that it would drown among the heavier drama-series nominees has kept it as the least funny comedy series on the ballot for two years. While it’s not that shocking that Emmy voters moved on to new things (FX’s Atlanta, for instance), it’s still galling to see Transparent‘s stellar third season snubbed in favor of an EIGHTH nod for Modern Family.
'Mr. Robot' and Rami Malek
What a difference a year makes. This time last July, USA’s Mr. Robot was picking up a Drama Series nod for its acclaimed phenom of a first season, and star Rami Malek was on his way to WINNING the Lead Actor in a Drama Emmy. Now, after a second season that disappointed many, its Emmy fortunes have passed along to the next hot new property (hello, Stranger Things!). Still, even if the show’s quality went down, Malek’s performance was still incredibly strong. Certainly strong enough that he should have beat out Anthony Hopkins’s hamminess, Milo Ventimiglia’s horrifying old-age makeup, and Liev Schrieber’s “I can’t believe Ray Donovan is still a show”-ness to a second nomination.
'The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon'
The late-night landscape is among the most scrutinized on television, with every shift in the ratings or stumble by the hosts picked apart to no end. The narrative is all about who’s up and who’s down, and very often it’s a zero-sum game. So speaking on those terms, Jimmy Fallon lost big today, missing out on a Variety Talk Series nod after six consecutive nominations. Meanwhile, his time-slot competition Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel sailed their way to nominations of their own, putting Fallon at the bottom of that particular totem pole.
'Late Night with Seth Meyers'
While you might not cry over Jimmy Fallon’s snub, given how aggravating his Trump-hair-muss moment was this year, you actually should shed a tear or two for Seth Meyers, who did such great work making his show better and delivering some of the most essential comedy of the Trump era. Emmy voters weren’t feeling it in the Variety Talk Series category, though Late Night did get a writing nomination.
Winona Ryder
18 nominations for Stranger Things and not a single one to spare for the Winona Ryder Comeback? Rude! While Millie Bobby Brown got the Supporting Actress nod that was expected and David Harbour got the Supporting Actor nod that was a welcome surprise, and the less said about FUCKING BARB showing up in the Guest Actress category, the better. And it’s not like we can take issues with too many of the Supporting Actress in a Drama Series nominees (though honestly, Uzo Aduba has probably been rewarded enough). Mostly, it’s just fun to watch Winona at awards shows. More of that!
Issa Rae and 'Insecure'
Okay, this was some BULLSHIT. Modern Family gets nominated but not Insecure? Hell, subpart seasons of Veep and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt get nominated and not Insecure. Okay, fine, but surely they at least recognized star/writer/producer/creator Issa Rae for all the work she put into getting such a singular, smart, and funny show on tele—WAIT, JANE FONDA AND LILY TOMLIN??
Brian Tyree Henry, 'Atlanta'
Atlanta should have gotten more than six nominations, though its’s very cool that Donald Glover got three of them (acting, writing, and directing). Still, it was snub-town for the show’s supporting cast, including Zazie Beetz as Van and the massively deserving Brian Tyree Henry for his performance as Paper Boi, easily one of the season’s best breakout characters. Ty Burrell from Modern Family COULD NEVER.
Silver lining: Henry was nominated as a Guest Actor for his performance on This Is Us.
'The Young Pope'
Imagine ten years ago thinking that an HBO mini-series from an Oscar-winning director, starring Jude Law and Diane Keaton, and garnering good reviews would get snubbed from the mini-series category. But welcome to the world of peak TV, where FX is the mini-series king, and where HBO produced not one but TWO even more highly regarded mini-series. That Big Little Lies outpaced The Young Pope is both just and unsurprising. We’d be willing to hear arguments on whether it deserved to edge out The Night Of, though.
Rita Moreno, 'One Day at a Time'
Netflix … had a good day. That’s a massive understatement. 91 nominations! Three in Outstanding Drama Series! Bow down, et cetera! It seems strange to be complaining that it should have been 92, but it is a massive bummer that One Day at a Time got zero love from the Academy, and it’s downright puzzling that EGOT winner and national treasure Rita Moreno couldn’t get anything for a performance that nailed both broad comedy and touching moments. Love you, Leslie Jones, but nope.
'The Leftovers'
If we’re being honest, the Emmy chances for The Leftovers were always a long shot. Zero nominations over the course of its first two seasons — the second of which was hailed repeatedly as one of TV’s best — should have been a pretty good clue. Still, the phenomenally high quality of the show’s end run might have been enough to turn voters’ heads … right? Well, sort of. Enough to nominated Ann Dowd in the Guest Actress category. But not enough to make a dent in Outstanding Drama Series (where it delivered a better season than, oh, every other nominee) or nab nominations for either of its leads, Carrie Coon and Justin Theroux. Coon could at least take comfort in getting a Best Actress nod for Fargo in the Limited Series category, but still. Huge missed opportunity by the Emmys.
Oprah Winfrey
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series was a beast of a category; we’ve been saying that for months. But it still seemed like Oprah would have been too big of a get to pass up, especially after her performance in HBO’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks was so acclaimed. Still, the Big Little Lies and Feud ladies weren’t budging, and it’s hard to take issue with the performances of Felicity Huffman (American Crime) or Carrie Coon (Fargo).
'American Horror Story'
For the first time in six years, Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story anthology series didn’t manage to score any acting nominations. Both Kathy Bates and Sarah Paulson were expected to contend, but the buzz had clearly moved on to other Ryan Murphy anthology series, as evidenced by the fact that Judy Davis and Jackie Hoffman were (quite deservingly) recognized for their work on Feud.
