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15 of the biggest snubs and surprises from the 72nd Emmy Award nominations

‘Desus & Mero’ won’t be lighting up the stage.
July 28, 2020 8:15 p.m. EST
July 31, 2020 10:05 a.m. EST
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The 72 annual Emmy award nominations went down virtually on July 28, with host Leslie Jones ushering in the likes of Tatiana Maslany, Laverne Cox and Josh Gad to announce to the world which shows and actors are being recognized for their contributions to all of our quarantine entertainment.Not surprisingly, Watchmen led the pack with the most nominations—26!—officially making the comic book series with a serious social message one of the most important shows of the season. Meanwhile, the nominations also included several diverse new nominees, including Karamo Brown and Tan France (Queer Eye), Nicole Byer (Nailed It!), William Jackson Harper (The Good Place), Leslie Odom Jr. (Central Park), Octavia Spencer (Self Made), Ramy Youssef (Ramy), and Zendaya (Euphoria), who were all nominated for the very first time.Through it all there were serious snubs and some sweet surprises among the bunch. Let’s break them all down, shall we?

Is the brand as strong as ever?

With the new, pandemic-era brand of late-night comedy, many people have felt that Desus & Mero are setting a new standard. Yet the show itself and its hosts, Daniel "Desus Nice" Baker and Joel "The Kid Mero" Martinez, were all absent from the ballots yet again on July 28, prompting many fans to light up and wonder what the actually eff.

No one is calling Saul

Remember when Breaking Bad dominated the Emmys every year? There are plenty of critics who feel that its spinoff, Better Call Saul, should be dominating too. Well, it kind of did this year since it pulled in seven nominations, including a nod for best drama. Shockingly though, its two leads, Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn, were not nominated. And to think that AMC even submitted Seehorn as supporting actress to give her a better shot, even though she’s pretty clearly a lead. Meanwhile, Jonathan Banks’ snub was equally surprising, especially since there were those early birds out there that predicted him to flat-out win the supporting actor in a drama category. Poor Mikey.

It’s definitely time to strike a ‘Pose’

Billy Porter fans thought it was pretty fab that the star received a nomination for leading actor in a drama for his role on Pose, especially after winning the category last year. But where was Pose’s larger representation? Many found it odd that the show itself wasn’t nominated in the drama category, or that none of the women—including the show’s unsung hero Mj Rodriguez— received any love.

Has the academy moved on with ‘Better Things?’

 Pamela Adlon and her series about being a working single mother raising three girls has earned plenty of critical love over the years, but it’s also no stranger to the awards circuit. Adlon was nominated in 2017 and 2018 for her role on the show, which she also created, writes, produces and directs on. Unfortunately for fans, the series and Adlon were shut out completely this year, a situation that Sam Fox would surely have a few choice words about…

The little Canadian town that could

In terms of surprises, one of the best ones on the home front came in the form of all the Schitt’s Creek love. The Emmy voters absolutely showered Dan Levy’s series with 15 nods in its final season, including acting nominations for Levy and his pops Eugene, Catherine O’Hara, and Annie Murphy. To top it all off? The series was also nominated for best comedy.

‘Never Have I Ever’… been nominated for an Emmy

Real talk: Mindy Kaling’s new, feel-good comedy series was maybe on the fringe of being considered Emmy-worthy by many critics out there, but there was a pretty impressive contingent pulling for newcomer Maitreyi Ramakrishnan to get some love. After all, she carried the first season as high schooler Devi, pulling in some serious performances about teen love, parental death, and dramatic friendships. Fans were more than a little disappointed she wasn’t among Tuesday’s nominees.

This puts a serious wrench in our spiritual journeys

Leslie Jones was among those who were super pumped to hear that Ramy Youssef was nominated for his role on Hulu’s comedy Ramy (which Canadian fans can catch up on via Crave). But there were also those who were baffled that the show itself wasn’t among the best comedies. After all, in typical Emmy years, when the lead of a series is nominated, the show usually follows suit. On the plus side, at least he also scored a nod for best director.

Reese is snubbed… times three

If you found it odd that an Oscar winner was on three high-profile TV shows this season and didn’t get a single acting nomination, then you would not be the only one. The internet had plenty of thoughts about Reese Witherspoon not getting any love for Little Fires Everywhere, Big Little Lies, or The Morning Show. On the plus side she produces all three series, so she’s got to be pretty happy for the love her shows got in general… right?

Drama on ‘The Morning Show’

Speaking of The Morning Show, people were plenty surprised that the series received so many nominations (Jennifer Aniston and Steve Carell as leads, Billy Crudup and Mark Duplass in supporting, and Martin Short as a guest actor) but the show itself didn’t squeak in a nomination for best drama. Once again people were scratching their heads that a show with eight overall nominations would not be recognized as a whole. Those Emmy voters, they’re mysterious if nothing else.

Baby Yoda is everyone’s Yoda

Also mysterious? The academy’s inclusion of The Mandalorian as one of the best drama nominees. In fact, the show received 15 overall nods. It was a pleasant surprise for people who are used to their sci-fi series kind of getting pushed to the wayside during these awards shows, but it also goes to show you that no one messes with Baby Yoda.

There’s more to Gilead than Elisabeth Moss

Many people feel that Elisabeth Moss is one of the greatest actors of our time, but the voters clearly didn’t feel the same way during this season of The Handmaid’s Tale. Sure, the series itself got all kinds of love with 10 nominations (including nods for Moss’s co-stars Samira Wiley, Alexis Bledel and Bradley Whitford). And the show itself was among the best drama nominees. But Moss’s name was missing, prompting all of her fans to put on their own steely-eyed close-up faces.

Well, they put up a ‘Good Fight’

The fourth season of The Good Fight still hasn’t aired in Canada, but in the States the season worked up some serious buzz for its themes of race, politics and feminism, which were carried out by an equally compelling cast. So there were plenty of fans who wondered why the show was completely snubbed from every single category this year. And those fans definitely had feelings about it online.

A pretty ‘Unbelievable’ snub

Although Unbelievable debuted a while ago now, it’s hard to forget the tough issues at the heart of the limited series, aka a show about a serial rapist that for once didn’t put the rapist at the centre of the story. The critically acclaimed series launched star Kaitlyn Dever to the top of the awards chatter buzz while renewing fans’ faith in established stars Merritt Wever and Toni Collette. Yet while the show was nominated in the best limited series or movie category, somehow only Collette's performance was recognized.

Nyet to Alison Brie

Betty Gilpin is probably glowing after her nomination for the female period wrestling drama GLOW, but many (many) fans are wondering what the what after Alison Brie did not get any love for her portrayal of Ruth Wilder, aka Zoya the Destroya. The omission seemed like enough to make fans want to take out their frustrations in the ring, at any rate.

Brad Pitt’s three-minute Emmy nod

Last but not least, fans were quite eager to talk about the voters' decision to bestow a best guest actor in a comedy nod to the one and only Brad Pitt. Did he nail his performance as Dr. Anthony Fauci opening one of the at-home editions of Saturday Night Live? Sure. Was it worth a nomination? Fans seem divided, but either way it’s clear that 2020 is shaping up to be Pitt’s year. For a full list of nominations, go here. The 72nd Emmy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, take place Sunday, Sept. 20 on CTV.[video_embed id='2002940']RELATED: 5 reasons why Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is Emmy worthy[/video_embed]

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