Martin Short but not Steve Martin? The Emmy voters can be harsh.
The nominations for television’s biggest awards were announced Wednesday, and while predicted favorites like “Succession,” “Ted Lasso,” “The White Lotus” and “Beef” all scored major nods, some acclaimed series and actors with big fan bases were left out when “Community” actress Yvette Nicole Brown read the list of honorees.
Wednesday’s announcement came amid the pall of the current Hollywood writers strike, and a possible actors strike, hanging over it. If labor disputes can be resolved, the Emmy ceremony will air Sept. 18 (8 EDT/PDT) on Fox. But it may be significantly delayed.
Here are the biggest snubs of the 2023 Emmy nominations.
Steve Martin and Selena Gomez snubbed by Emmys for ‘Only Murders in the Building’
Hulu’s murder mystery comedy “Only Murders” is a classic three-hander, playing off the dynamic of generational high jinks between the three leads: Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez. But although both Martin and Short scored noms for the series’ first season, only Short’s name was read on Wednesday morning. Gomez, who represents the millennial point of view of the series, has missed out for both installments of the comedy.
Harrison Ford snubbed by Emmys for ‘Shrinking’ and ‘1923’
Ford, best known as Indiana Jones, had a big year on TV, but the Emmy voters didn’t seem to agree. Ford had celebrated performances in both Apple TV+’s comedy “Shrinking” and Paramount+’s “Yellowstone” prequel “1923,” but neither was enough to get him an Emmy nomination. “Shrinking” scored noms for Ford’s co-stars Jason Segel and Jessica Williams, but “1923,” which also starred Helen Mirren, was shut out entirely.
Emma D’Arcy snubbed by Emmys for ‘House of the Dragon’
Although HBO’s big-budget and big-on-dragons prequel series to “Game of Thrones” managed a nomination for best drama series, the actors were mostly left out in the cold. D’Arcy’s performance as the elder version of embattled Westerosi heir Rhaenyra Targaryen was especially praised, even if the series didn’t receive stellar overall reviews. But D’Arcy was overlooked.
Diego Luna, Stellan Skarsgard and Andy Serkis snubbed by Emmys for ‘Andor’
The best show of 2022 was Disney+’s surprisingly dark and mature “Star Wars” series, “Andor,” which followed Diego Luna’s character from the 2016 film “Rogue One” in a prequel story. Although the series managed a best drama nomination, its two best performances, from Luna and Stellan Skarsgard, didn’t make the list. It’s a shame, because the commitment of these two actors is part of why the series works so well. And while the guest acting categories never get quite as much attention as the others, consummate CGI actor Andy Serkis delivered the best performance of his career without a motion-capture suit in sight over three “Andor” episodes, and deserved recognition.
‘Black Bird’ snubbed by Emmys for best limited series
Apple TV+’s prison-set drama “Black Bird” has been a darling at other awards shows, garnering wins and nominations for its actors Taron Egerton, Paul Walter Hauser and the late Ray Liotta, as well as for the show itself. And while all three men received nods, the show was left out of the competitive limited series category in favor of series like Netflix’s “Beef” and Netflix’s “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrrey Dahmer Story” and a surprise nomination for Disney+’s “Obi-Wan Kenobi.”
‘Yellowstone’ and Kevin Costner snubbed by Emmys again
Although it’s the most-watched show on television, Paramount Network’s Kevin Costner-led Western, “Yellowstone,” has never been an Emmy favorite. And that hasn’t changed for the drama’s fifth season, which couldn’t net a single nomination. Considering the series is ending after the upcoming second half of the season (after some real-life drama), it’s unlikely that the supremely popular series will ever get the Emmy love its fans believe it deserves.
Elizabeth Olsen snubbed by Emmys for ‘Love and Death’
Elizabeth Olsen may have been fully devoted to her role as a 1970s murderer in based-on-a-true story Max miniseries “Love and Death,” but the Emmy voters weren’t convinced. Although many pundits picked her for a nomination, she missed out as best actress in a limited series. The show wasn’t entirely shut out: Olsen’s co-star, Jesse Plemons, received a nomination as supporting actor.
The biggest surprises in the 2023 Emmy nominations
In addition to all those angering snubs, there were some pleasant (and head-scratching) surprises when the TV Academy unveiled the list.
- Disney+’s critically panned “Star Wars” series “Obi-Wan Kenobi” managed a limited series nod.
- “Jury Duty,” a semi-scripted comedy/prank show starring James Marsden as himself and featuring a man who didn’t know he was the only non-actor in a fake courtroom, nabbed a best comedy series nomination, as well as a supporting actor nomination for Marsden.
- “Catastrophe” star Sharon Horgan sneaked into the best actress category for Apple’s Irish dramedy “Bad Sisters,” about four sisters plotting to kill their horrible brother-in-law.
- “Vanderpump Rules,” perhaps buoyed by the must-watch “Scandoval,” got its first Emmy nominations.
See the full Emmy nominations list:HBO’s ‘Succession,’ ‘The Last of Us,’ ‘White Lotus’ lead
