The 2016 Emmy nominations came out yesterday – go here to see our post. My first and second reactions were “Hey, this looks like a decent list… wow, they got a lot of these nominations dead-on.” There was a lot for the die-hard fans of The Americans, Game of Thrones, Mr. Robot, Master of None, Ray Donovan and more. I’d also like to point out that the Emmys have really been running with diversity, probably because TV is a lot more diverse than films these days. In many of the major acting categories, there are at least one (and sometimes several) actors of color. That’s great, and I hope the film awards shows take a page out of that book, because I really CANNOT do a third year of #OscarsSoWhite.
Still, there were some significant snubs with this year’s Emmy nominations, so I thought you guys might enjoy an in-depth list of the snubs.
No Outlander. Outlander was snubbed for Best Drama, and the leads, Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan, weren’t nominated for anything either. I don’t think people really expecting Sam to get anything, but Balfe gets critical acclaim for her work, and she got a Globe nomination earlier this year. Still, I’m not really surprised? Outlander is a beautiful show with great costumes, but the actual story is… not good.
No Orange Is the New Black. This year, OITNB was supposed to be categorized as a drama as opposed to a comedy. But OITNB didn’t get a series nom! And Uzo Aduba – who previously won an Emmy for her work – didn’t even get nominated.
No Lady Gaga. No American Horror Story in general! But Gaga won a Globe for her performance and she didn’t even get nominated for an Emmy! Which is sort of funny to me. This was supposed to be The Year of Gaga and it’s just not happening. She lost the Oscar for Best Song too.
No Leftovers. People who really like The Leftovers think it’s one of the best shows on TV. But those people are a very tiny minority. Very few people are watching in general, and even though some actors are doing great work, I get the feeling that Emmy voters just hate the show generally and don’t want to give it any nominations. I also think it’s funny that this was supposed to be Justin Theroux’s big breakout and no one’s buying it.
No Patrick Wilson. Fargo picked up a lot of acting noms (Bokeem!!!!!) but Wilson wasn’t one of them. That’s too bad, because he did solid, great work. I actually would have loved to see a nomination for Zahn McClarnon, who absolutely blew my mind as Hanzee.
No Christian Slater. While Mr. Robot picked up big nominations for the show and for Rami Malek, Slater was snubbed. He won a Globe this year too.
No Lena Dunham. And no Girls! It really did feel like in 2015, people just stopped giving a sh-t about Lena Dunham and Girls. It was sort of amazing, because Lena and the show were always bizarrely overrated and faux-controversial. Now everyone just ignores Girls.
No Julianna Margulies. Nothing for The Good Wife in general, which is weird because it was – at one time – an acclaimed, award-winning series. Margulies won two Emmys for her work on The Good Wife, and now she didn’t even get nominated for the last season. This is also fine with me: TGW’s quality fell off a cliff in the last two seasons, and it was basically limping along in a half-assed way that last season.
No Constance Wu. While the Emmys embraced diversity more than the Academy, it does feel like Blackish has sucked up the air around “sitcoms employing a non-white cast.” Fresh Off the Boat didn’t get any love, and many believed Wu in particular should have been recognized.
No Sophie Turner. While Game of Thrones’ actors swarmed the supporting categories, some have pointed out that Sophie Turner really was deserving this year for her work as Sansa Stark. While Lena Headey, Kit Harington, Maisie Williams, Peter Dinklage and Emilia Clarke all got noms for their excellent work, Sophie was definitely doing some of her best work too. I would argue that Dinklage should have been left off the noms this year, because Tyrion barely did anything this year, and all of the real drama was happening with Sansa and Jon.
No Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. People love that show. I’ve never watched it, but I am sad for Rachel Bloom, she seems funny and cool.
No Billions. Showtime launched Billions to critical acclaim, but I don’t think many people are watching it? No nominations for Damian Lewis (who won Emmys for Homeland) or Paul Giamatti.
No Jim Parsons. Parsons has won four Emmys for Big Bang Theory and now he’s not even getting nominated? I don’t hate that – that show ran its course a while back, right?
Those are the main snubs, but I’m sure I forgot some!
Photos courtesy of WENN, HBO.
Not happy CXG got snubbed. And I enjoyed Billions a lot. It’s soapy and silly and fun. And I think this is a better role for Damien Lewis than his turn in Homeland. I’m thinking voting for GOT occurred well before the Sansa Stark storyline was in full throttle this year and voters are basing their opinions on last year’s season for that particular show.
I’m disappointed The Night Manager wasn’t snubbed. Shoulda been.
–TheRealPinky
Rachel Bloom is so good in CXG. The Sexy Getting Ready song has remained in my head for quite a while.
Also, I’d have exchanged either Emilia or Maisie for Sophie. Esp. Emilia. You know who else deserves a nom? Sir Davos. His confrontation scene with Melisandre regarding Shireen’s death was so good. In fact, I think he deserves it more than Dinklage IMO. I mean Peter’s as good as ever but he hasn’t really done a lot for Season 6.
Oh, Ser Davos. Sob. I loved that scene–it was one of my favorites of the whole season. I loved Davos and Shireen’s scenes together and I couldn’t wait for him to find out what happened. I think he, and Sophie Turner, were hurt by the timeline. I read that voting had already started when some of the end of season episodes aired–and that’s when they had their best mateial.
“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” may not have been nominated, but Rachel Bloom earned TWO Emmy noms: for original song and main title theme music. So she’s a nominee.
LOVE that Laurie Metcalf has THREE nominations (for “Getting On” and “The Big Bang Theory” and “Horace and Pete”).
+100000
I really loved Billions. It was excellent, well acted and scripted television
I’m also unhappy that more recognition was not given to Crazy Ex Girlfriend.
Constance Wu definitely deserved recognition. I rarely remember when that show is on but when I do catch it, her performance is always a treat.
Yeah, Constance Wu and the Fargo snubs are the most outrageous to me. She’s hilarious and touching at the same time and Fargo is plain better than 95% of the movies that came out this past year. Story, look and actingwise.
Agree 100%.
OMG – she is so good and carries that show. The writing is also very good too, but i would guess many voters don’t really get how on point they capture the first generation experience.
The episode where they teach Eddie about sex is hilarious, Constance teaches him “no means no” in the funniest way possible.
i’ve never seen that show until recently, never heard of it. i dropped something off at someone’s house and it was on. constance wu is so great in that. i have no interest in sit coms with kids as a rule. but i like her enough to FF through the kids.
No Eva Green for Penny Dreadful. ☹️
Oh, I KNOW! Eva Green’s performances episode to episode are so visceral, and from the gut. She’s so vulnerable, odd, eerie, and beautiful. I really love her acting in PD. That show was constantly overlooked. It’s really beautiful. Le sigh
This is the real travesty! 🙁 🙁 🙁 I reserve my right to believe the Emmy’s, like a lot of other award shows, have nothing to do with celebrating real talent and outstanding performances. 🙁
Yes, No Eva Green again! Whats wrong with those people.
I was so bummed that showtime used Damian Lewis in that show. At the time it was rolling out I was in the process of binge watching homeland and he was the WORST. I felt like I would like billions but I couldn’t get myself to sign on for more Brody
Watch Billions!! I loved it. Can’t wait for season 2.
me too! It’s great!
It’s all a popularity contest. Vera Farmiga not invited to the party baffles me, but then again she doesn’t star in GoT.
I haven’t seen the show but Vera Farmiga is an amazing actress .
I wanted Eva Green to be recognized by her amazing work but let’s face it that show is not Emmy material, as for its genre. But Eva was great and she should have gotten Claire overarrted Danes slot, or Taraji Henson’s.
OITNB its clear that Nextlix would have choose to campaign for House of Cards instead of OITNB if both were competing in the drama category. And frankly HoC this season was amazing. And I think Robin Wright should have been nominated for Direction: she’s extremely good at directing, her episodes were masterful. I hope the show will benefit from Willimon’s departure, his writing was the main problem.
I’m among those who despise the Leftovers. Shitty show, IMO.
Margulies and her bitchy behavior, besides her terrible acting, had a lot to do also with the demise of the show.
Penny Dreadful was the best show on TV no one watched. 🙁 I loved it, and no one I knew watched it. That said, this final season was unbelievably bad. Green’s acting was great, but her material was really lacking especially when compared to the previous seasons.
I completely agree about Eva Green. I have rarely seen an actress who can transform herself so completely in a role.
I disagree on the third season, I thought it was great! Except for the ending. The last 3’ish episodes felt so rushed and messy.
While Eva was definitely robbed, the rest of the cast deserves some love too. Timothy Dalton, Josh Hartnett and Billie Piper were just as deserving of noms imo.
Penny Dreadful was my favorite show on TV for its first two seasons. Then season 3 happened. When I read about the last two episodes I just couldn’t finish it out. Vanessa Ives was my precious cinnamon roll and in my mind, she and Ethan got married and lived happily ever after.
Penny Dreadful was great for 2 seasons. The last one was a dud. The acting was great and I was deeply surprised that it ended abruptly. I wanted more seasons. Timothy Dalton, Eva Green and Josh Hartnett were superb. Sir Malcolm crush!
I love it too! I still haven’t seen the last 3 episodes. That way I’d be admitting that it’s actually over. But if they felt rushed and not so good it’s because the show got cancelled and they had to come up with an ending. Quite sad!
But why do people say the show itself is not Emmy material?
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee should have been nominated for best variety show. She is doing great work.
You know, I felt that way at first, too, but at some point I thought it all became too try-hard.
Genuinely curious – what do you mean try-hard? Samantha Bee seemed very passionate about the issues she raised in each episode.
I feel pretty confident she’ll get a nom next year. I think that show has rabid fans (I am one) but it feels like it hasn’t quite hit a “mainstream” audience yet. When it does, I’m sure Bee will get recognized.
Leftovers
+1 So annoying that something like Downton Abbey was nominated for a lazy, craptastic season and this was not. With the exception of maybe Lena Headey, the Leftover cast’s acting blew GOT out of the water. I thoroughly enjoy GOT, but really hate the whole popularity context voting over talent thing. #giveanndowdandreginakingsomeawardspeople
Regina King did win last year–for American Crime.
+1 I really enjoy with this show. Can’t wait for the final season.
I love Show Me a Hero and disappointed that David Simon was overlooked again and again. Oscar Isaacs should have secured a nom over wooden Hiddlestone or Cumberbatch any day for that matter.
No Iwan Rheon aka Ramsay Bolton!! Kit deserves his nomination, sure, but The Battle Of The Bastards (and the two last seasons in general) wouldn’t have been the same without Iwan.
It may have hurt Iwan Rheon that his character was written pretty one-note, though he did a tremendous job with the material given.
Orange is the new black was not eligible for this Emmy season.
I’m kind of glad that the good wife and Big Bang weren’t in there.
Disappointed that Rachel Bloom and crazy ex-girlfriend did not get recognized, that is a very unique and well done show.
I still haven’t watched the Leftovers, but most people who do say the performances are fantastic. It’s a shame they weren’t nominated, especially Regina, who is always great.
Samantha bee is a huge snub though, her show is fantastic .
Even if Lady Gaga is not nominated, which was no surprise of course. She is still wining. I agree wholeheartedly that Constance Wu should be nominated, Fresh of the Boat was a very good comedic show and I was so happy that an Asian Americans for the first time in a decade finally been recognized. I am however, truly disappointed that the Night Manager managed to get nominated, I am going to see this sick love fest of Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddlestone on my TV doing red carpets. URGH! This will never end.
Biggest snub for me was Wagner Moura from Narcos, He was nominated for a Golden Globe easily should have been in the outstanding male lead category. I think hes not well known enough. Get the feeling emmys nominated well known actors first and foremost.
Sophie Turner definitely should have been nominated. Emilia Clarke getting a nomination baffles me.
Also I love Constance Wu and wish she got some recognition. I thought that neither the Good Wife not OITNB were good this year.
So excited that the Americans has finally gotten some love and also pleased that Lady Gaga wasn’t nominated. It was completely insane that she won a golden globe over Kirsten Dunst in Fargo.
Same on Emilia Clarke. Really? If the Emmys had the razzie award, she’d be at the top of my list. Agree that Constance Wu deserves recognition.
Agree with you both, she’s terrible in GoT. Haven’t seen her in anything else though.
She is the WORST! too bad the actress they wanted for the role at first backed out.
I saw Me Before You and she was so so bad in that too. Eyebrow acting all the way, I was distracted the whole time.
No Hannibal either. Such an underrated show 😯
Hannibal, Lucifer, Gotham, and my fav Bates Motel…..they can’t compete with the $ of HBO. They are all good shows but not the flavor of the month like Thrones which I do like but not worship like some.
I watched seasons 1&2 of Hannibal on the edge of my seat, they were perfection from every point of view: acting, story, visuals, everything. Season 3 was a such a let-down for me, incredibly self-congratulatory.
completely agree! I loved Hannibal and thought Mads should have been at least nominated in seasons 1 & 2. And the set designs were amazing.
Billions was awesome. I binge watched it although I am a foreign in the stock market talk. Sad they got no nominations. But not sad about the Good wife, the last season was horrible. It felt like they all were just waiting for getting out of that misery.
Yes, happy the Good Wife got no love. What a depressingly bad final season.
I think Jane the Virgin was snubbed! The second season was equally as good as the first season. 100% qualified fresh in rotten tomatoes!
I am really surprised Tobias Menzies didn’t get a nomination. His performance is amazing. Electric. You feel equal parts sympathy and disgust for his character.
Even if I thought AHS was a big pile of poo this year, I really thought Denis O’Hare deserved a nomination. He was just wonderful as Liz Taylor.
Everyone knew The People vs. O.J. Simpson was going to get a massive amount of nominations, and since AHS is from basically the same people as PvsOJS, I think the AHS actors were overlooked. But Kathy and Sarah did get nominations for Supporting Actress.
Iwan Rheon was not submitted by HBO and the producers because they focused on Peter Dinklage again even though he hardly said anything during the whole series. Keeping egos happy seems to be the name of the game
Bates Motel and Vera Farmiga. Major snub.
I was starting to think that I was the only one who watched Bates. Agree….snub
I love the Americans and I’m glad they are funny getting Emmy love but this was its weakest season so who knows what Emmy voters are thinking. Bummed about The Leftovers snubs, particularly Justin Theroux and Christopher Eccelson.
Yay for the Americans!!! It’s a cumulative nomination — the Emmys missed out on three previous seasons of this amazing show!!!
I also love The Americans. It is such a good show; I’m glad that the emmy voters finally noticed.
completely agree. Justin and Cristopher were absolutely amazing. Cannot wait for 3rd season
I was thinking the same thing about Fresh Off the Boat. That show & Blackish are two of my favourites! But why couldn’t both be nominated? Constance Wu is so funny in that!
Constance Wu is the funniest actress on television bar none imo. Julia Louis-Dreyfus and she are practically a tie for the leader, but I think Wu edges JLD out by a hair.
agree totally! I love that show and she just steals every scene. I’m not a huge sit com fan but it is lol funny!
I was thrilled that The Americans was nominated. Also as someone who grew up in the 90s it was awesome to see nominations for Keri Russell, Gaby Hoffman, and Anna Chlumsky
I tried and tried to get into The Americans, but just couldn’t. It was so dark.
I watched Billions a couple of weeks ago (the whole first season, in one day….I know, shhhhh….) and I love it. Damian Lewis is one of my favs and I’m a bit cranky that he didn’t get a nod. I’ve loved him since Band of Brothers and even stuck out some of Homeland to watch him, though I admit that I had to stop with that show after a couple of seasons.
OITNB was ok up until the awesome van crash scene. After that, no thanks. I honestly just can’t watch it anymore. Taylor Schilling’s character drives me mental. Piper is the worlds most annoying woman. I’m not sad that the series itself didn’t get the love but I am sad that Uzo didn’t get a nom. She is a phenomenal actress.
I really need to watch Mr. Robot. There isn’t much of Slater’s stuff that I haven’t seen but this is one that I haven’t yet. I will reserve judgement on him until then. He is either absolutely amazing in whatever he is in or he can be the most wooden actor ever. There is no in between with him. Off to stream I go.
As a GoT fan, I’m not excited about those noms at all. This season was terrible. Sophie Turner and Iwan Rheon are the only people I’d nominate, but I’m not mad at Lena and Kit. Tyrion and Arya were a big ball of nada this season so I’m puzzled by those noms. And Emilia Clarke is an awful actresss.
Absolutely disgusted they snubbed Bates Motel. Freddie Highmore was phenomenal. He did Anthony Perkins proud.
NO Vikings???? How cruel!
Vikings!!! Vikings is the best show on TV that I refuse to miss. So bad*ss! Am I the only one that see it often as a feminist statement (especially this last season)?
I loved Fargo this last season, and thought Jean Smart and Zahn McClarnon gave a master class in how to “become” their characters. I wonder if the writers are going to do another season, I just love this style of storytelling. Jessie Clemons and Kirsten Dunst were no slouches either. I guess not everyone is appreciated for their stellar work, and it really boils down to a popularity contest. Maybe the work is its own reward, afterall some of the best actors in history never won awards, they just acted, “Dear, Boy”, as Larry would say!
Fargo was fantastic! I’m disappointed that Patrick Wilson and Ted Danson were not also nominated.
The Good Wife has gone downhill. I don’t think JM was ever a good actress, anyway.
I’m disappointed in the snub of Jane Fonda’s daughter, June Diane Raphael. She is amazing in it!!
And I am way tired of Julia Louis Dreyfuss – I don’t like the show VEEP and I don’t really enjoy her anymore. I loved her on Seinfeld!!!
The walking dead…AGAIN. This show is just so well acted. Bummer.
Underground.
This. 10000%.
Anthony Mackie should have been nominated for All the Way. He was brilliant.
Jessica Jones should have been nominated for more of the major awards, just like Daredevil’s first season should have been (last season wasn’t as good, so I can understand why there was no nominations for that)
Kingdom should have gotten at least a nomination for Jonathan Tucker or Frank Grillo. Of course, it has Sons of Anarchy’s problem. It doesn’t fit the Emmy mold.
The biggest snub, in my opinion is Underground. That show is so well done and every single actor is amazing. I just can’t believe it wasn’t nominated for ANYTHING.
With the exception of Constance Wu, none of those listed are snubs. Maybe the Emmys voters are finally see that some shows and/or actors do not live up to the hype.
I just binge-watched Peaky Blinders, and it’s so criminally underrated. I don’t know if Netflix puts all its promotion into House of Cards and Bloodline, but Cillian Murphy and Tom Hardy were definitely snubbed. They are incredible.
I hear that this is very good. I need a binge weekend,
+1
Loved it.
The alien beauty of Cillian Murphy. I am anxiously awaiting Season 4 of Peaky Blinders. It is one of my favorites.
I think Netflix puts all its campaign effort into the shows it creates/produces itself as opposed to the series it simply imports and airs that were produced elsewhere like Happy Valley, Peaky Blinders, River. It is different than the British shows that PBS, HBO and now AMC broadcast because those three have actually put money into the production usually. Netflix just purchases broadcast rights.
Vera Farmiga for Bates Motel getting snubbed is the worst!
Oh! And The Middle. My favorite sitcom on tv.
The middle is probably the most underrated show on TV…..I absolutely love it
Happy Valley! That show is great and really deserves some recognition, not surprised it doesn’t get any, though.
Denis O’Hare as Liz Taylor in AHS was a definite snub. He was wonderful.
And for special guest actress in a drama I’d have gone with Bella Ramsey as Lady Mormont on Game of Thrones. She was great!
We can say that Constance Wu deserved recognition without saying Blackish “sucks up all the air”, can’t we? Black ish is a cool show with great actors. They aren’t sucking anything away from Constance Wu.
Other snubs include Catastrophe (funniest script!), Togetherness (I know, it was cancelled, but it was one of the best dramas), and Life in Pieces – a show no one has heard of yet has INCREDIBLE acting and is hilarious!!!
And no Mozart in the Jungle with Gael Garcia Bernal.
If you haven’t seen it, it is on Amazon Prime and it is about a young musician trying to establish herself in a symphony in NY as they bring in a new star conductor, phasing out the long established one, the symphony has rocky finances, and the musician’s union fights for its rights. And everyone is sleeping with everyone else.
Agree that Constance Wu is hilarious and spot on, Rachel Bllooms show CXG does a lot and tries to convey A LOT in one episode and I believe she is sincere in her (from what I read on Rachel Does Stuff) attempts to send a message to young woman. I get the feeling the premise of her show (which showcases her total LOVE of the Broadway musical and is Emmy worthy just for that) is that women (young and older) should not pen all their hopes on “finding love” but instead should get real…but despite trying to send that message in the show….her character is always “stuffing up” and so it also (in my humble opinion) also says..at least “try” not to make finding love your only priority OK girls?
I’m sad about Patrick Wilson (and Ted Danson, too, for that matter).
And Sophie Turner’s performance on GoT was 10x better than Emilia Clarke’s. Boo.
Vera Farmiga for Bates Motel
I was just about to say for me this was the true snub, four seasons of acting her dang heart out in that role, she deserved better, the whole show does but mostly her as it was her last season.
No nomination for The Leftovers? Are you kidding me? One of the best show I’ve ever seen.
Justin Theroux, Carrie Coon, Cristopher Eccleston, Regina King, everyone deserves an Emmy, and the screenplay!
And Mads Mikkelsen deserves an Emmy too, no doubt. From a foreign’s point of view (I live in Italy) Emmy Awards have no credibility at all.