Every year, the awards for television’s best are full of seeming shoe-ins, but as the Emmy nominations were announced Wednesday, the snubs and surprises made themselves known.
Sure, “The Pitt,” “Love Story” and “Widow’s Bay” all made the cut — albeit not in all the categories for which they were originally predicted — and there were plenty of series that ended up left out in the cold, and others that snuck in right past them.
Emmy-winning actors Liza Colón-Zayas and Jeff Hiller, of “The Bear” and “Somebody Somewhere,” announced the marquee crop of nominations for the 78th Emmy Awards on Wednesday morning. They unveiled the Television Academy’s contenders for Outstanding Drama Series, Comedy Series, Limited Or Anthology Series and the corresponding lead performers, with the rest of the nominees available online.
Below, the snubbed shows that were vying for glory during the Emmys — airing Sept. 14 on NBC and streaming on Peacock — and the surprising ones now contending for a golden winged woman:
Surprise: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II for Lead Actor (Comedy), finally nudging out Jeremy Allen White
Abdul-Mateen II is no stranger to the Emmys nor superhero fare, having won in 2020 for his supporting role in HBO’s limited series “Watchmen.” This time, the “Aquaman” actor is tapped for playing Simon Williams in Disney+’s adaptation of Marvel’s “Wonder Man” comic. This year marks the first since the 2022 premiere of “The Bear” on FX — also owned by Disney — that Jeremy Allen White, who stars as Carmy, hasn’t been nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in A Comedy Series.
Surprise: Rob Reiner nodded for posthumous Emmy
The beloved “When Harry Met Sally” director, who was murdered in December with wife Michele, was tapped Wednesday for his three-episode stint playing Albert Schnurr in season four of “The Bear.”
Snub: “The Comeback” shut out of Outstanding Comedy Series
Lisa Kudrow has now earned three Emmy nods for her portrayal of fictional sitcom star Valerie Cherish. But the “Friends” star’s third and final season of her HBO cult comedy — which had seasons in 2005, 2014 and now this year — did not earn its predicted due for Comedy Series. That slot instead went to the second season of Netflix’s “Nobody Wants This.”
Surprise: “The Gilded Age” tapped for Outstanding Drama, shutting out “Stranger Things” and “Task”
The HBO period piece’s third season, set in high society 1880s New York, wedged into the spot pundits believed was reserved for the fifth and final season of Netflix’s supernatural 1980s-set phenomenon, “Stranger Things,” or the inaugural season of HBO’s hit crime drama. The end of “Stranger Things” was nominated in below-the-line categories, while “Task” still got its due in acting categories (with Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey both nominated), as well as cinematography, writing and directing.
Surprise: Chase Infiniti, snubbed for an Oscar, gets her due
The “One Battle After Another” star may have been shut out of the Oscar nominations, but her dystopian turn as a teen in Hulu’s sequel to “The Handmaid’s Tale” has earned Infiniti her first Emmy nod.
Snub & surprise: Paul Anthony Kelly and Jamie Bell beat out by Riz Ahmed and Jason Bateman
FX’s “Love Story” may have dominated the zeitgeist earlier this year, but Paul Anthony Kelly was not nominated for his portrayal of John F. Kennedy Jr., nor was Jamie Bell acknowledged for his role in HBO Max’s “Half Man.” Rather, Riz Ahmed was nominated for his portrayal of an actor making a bid to play James Bond in Amazon Prime Video’s “Bait,” and Bateman was nominated for Netflix’s crime thriller “Black Rabbit.”
Surprise and snub: “All Her Fault” gets the slot reserved for “Half Man”
The Peacock show earned seven nominations overall, including for Sarah Snook’s leading performance and Dakota Fanning’s supporting one; but its nod for Outstanding Limited Or Anthology Series was initially predicted to go to HBO Max’s “Half Man,” from “Baby Reindeer” star and creator Richard Gadd.
Surprise: “The Pitt” and “DTF St. Louis” sweep
Maybe it’s the HBO effect — the network earned the most nominations this year with 122 — but the respective nods for 2025’s reigning Outstanding Drama Series and this year’s new limited series overwhelmed categories both above and below the line. Most notably, though, “The Pitt” earned four of the seven slots in Outstanding Supporting Actress for a Drama Series, and three of the six slots for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. “DTF St. Louis,” meanwhile, occupies three of the six spots for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Or Anthology Series or Movie, as well as two of the six in the Supporting Actress counterpart.