From Jennifer Aniston to a quiet 'This Is Us' sendoff, ET takes a look at this year's top nomination snubs and surprises.
The nominations for the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards were revealed Tuesday, with Succession, Ted Lasso and The White Lotus dominating the morning. While the new class of nominees had a lot to celebrate as they look ahead to the September awards ceremony, there also left room for head-scratching snubs and pleasant surprises among this year's newly minted honorees.
As Hollywood gradually returns to a new normal, Emmy nominations were revealed by Brooklyn Nine-Nine alum Melissa Fumero and Curb Your Enthusiasm's J.B. Smoove, who co-star in Netflix's upcoming Blockbuster series, on Tuesday morning as they presented the top categories virtually, alongside Television Academy Chairman and CEO Frank Scherma.
From final seasons of This Is Us and Killing Eve to buzzy juggernauts like Squid Game and Succession to first-year darlings Abbott Elementary and Yellowjackets, there wasn't a shortage of quality television (and maybe too much) to sink your teeth into. And the Emmys agreed, giving many established favorites and worthy newbies the awards spotlight. Though final season send-offs for This Is Us and several outgoing Saturday Night Live vets failed to generate any kind of awards love, singer Lizzo scored notable Emmy love for her Amazon Prime Video series Watch Out for the Big Grrls and White Lotus proved unbeatable with nearly its entire cast receiving acting nominations, among others.
ET breaks down the biggest TV surprises and snubs of the 2022 Emmy nominations below.
SURPRISES
Quinta Brunson's Breakout Year Continues
What a year for Brunson. The comedian's star wattage skyrocketed after the debut of ABC's Abbott Elementary last fall and she had even more to celebrate following Tuesday's nominations reveal after she and the workplace comedy earned seven total nominations for its freshman season, including Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Brunson and supporting nods for co-stars Sheryl Lee Ralph, Tyler James Williams and Janelle James. Brunson's Emmy nominations, both as the star and executive producer, come on the heels of a Humanitas Prize nod, three Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards honors and a TCA Award nomination. Not a bad way to round out the show's first year!
Yellowjackets Makes a Big Splash
After sucking audiences in with its many twists and turns -- not to mention that opening cannibalism scene -- Yellowjackets has garnered several major nominations, including ones for the Critics Choice Television Awards, Television Critics Association Awards and the Peabody Awards. Now, the Showtime series is rightfully and officially an Emmy juggernaut with several notable nominations, including one for Outstanding Drama Series and another for Melanie Lynskey.
It's Lizzo's Day
The singer and host had a great morning Tuesday when she snagged six total nominations for her program, Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, on Amazon Prime Video. Lizzo -- whose new album hits shelves in mere days -- was up to see the Emmy nominations live, retweeting the TV Academy's announcement of the Outstanding Competition Program category, for which her reality show is nominated. "EMMY NOMINATED?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?" she later tweeted. "All I have to say is….WATCH OUT FOR THE BIG GRRRLS."
Station Eleven's Timely Honor
The timely HBO Max post-apocalyptic limited series, adapted from Emily St. John Mandel's 2014 dystopian novel, scored an acting nomination for Himesh Patel in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series category, but left off a few of his co-stars -- most notably Mackenzie Davis, who played the adult version of pandemic survivor Kirsten. But with arguably flashier names vying for the same category (see: Lily James in Pam & Tommy, Amanda Seyfried in The Dropout), Davis had a tough hill to climb. With Patel now a first-time Emmy nominee, he's the show's only hope in securing an acting win for the miniseries as confirmation of the cast's heartachingly nuanced performances. Station Eleven, which deserved an Outstanding Limited Series nod and was omitted from the category, can still potentially take home a statuette with nominations for writing and directing, as well as four other technical categories.
White Lotus Checks Into Supporting Categories
While the standout performances from Jennifer Coolidge and Murray Bartlett were anticipated nominations this year, the HBO anthology comedy booked plenty more spots in the supporting categories for limited series, scoring noms for Connie Britton, Alexandra Daddario, Natasha Rothwell, Sydney Sweeney, Jake Lacy and Steve Zahn.
SNUBS
No Jennifer Aniston
Though Aniston was nominated for the first season of The Morning Show, she couldn't repeat for season 2. Instead, it was her fellow co-star (and Friends onscreen Green sister), Reese Witherspoon, who took her spot in the Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series. A bit of a surprising move for the Apple TV+ series to be sure.
Selena Gomez Falls Short
What could have been. Gomez, who celebrates her birthday July 22, unfortunately did not get an early present when she was left off the shortlist for her comedic work on Hulu's recently renewed murder comedy, Only Murders in the Building. Though any worries about whether the actress-singer would be able to hold her own opposite Steve Martin and Martin Short, both nominated for Emmys, fell to the wayside as her performance as building resident Mabel Mora earned her praise for her chemistry with her seasoned co-leads, she was still left on the outside looking in. In what could have been a historic first Emmy acting nomination for Gomez -- she would've been the first Latinx actress in 14 years to earn one for acting -- she still made it into the history books as an executive producer for the series' Outstanding Comedy Series nom. Gomez's inclusion as part of the EP team is only the second time a Latina has had the honor as a producer of an Emmy-nominated comedy series, following Salma Hayek in 2007 for Ugly Betty. It follows a slew of critics' honors for the young starlet, including the Critics Choice Television Awards and Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards.
Ghosts Scares Off the Emmys
One of the year's most pleasant TV discoveries, it's a sin the Academy failed to recognize CBS' delightfully quirky yet heartwarming supernatural comedy -- that's really about a found family that happens to have ghostly ties -- for its stellar freshman season. Loosely adapted from the British flagship series, Ghosts deserved to be in the comedy conversation for its genius way of giving life to a motley crew of undead personalities that shouldn't work on paper, but does tenfold when the ensemble -- led by Rose McIver and Utkarsh Ambudkar -- come together onscreen. And after the "mystery" of the origins behind Trevor's missing pants were revealed in season 1, we've barely scratched the surface on the ghost family.
No Big Send-Off for This Is Us Goodbye
The Pearsons' farewell party just got a little sadder. It's a huge shock that This Is Us' leading lady, Mandy Moore, was not recognized for her gut-wrenching performance as Rebecca Pearson in the NBC drama's final season. Though she earned her sole acting nomination for the show in 2019, Moore's stirring work throughout season 6, which centered around her character's final years as she succumbed to old age and health struggles, should have catapulted her into the Emmy conversation. This Is Us' lack of Emmy presence for its final chapter is a slight surprise, considering the show was once an Emmy darling. Even awards favorite Sterling K. Brown couldn't sneak in for one final Emmy hurrah.
Outgoing Saturday Night Live Vets Don't Get Any Love
Kate McKinnon, who said goodbye to Saturday Night Live in May, was the only outgoing cast member to earn an Emmy nomination, leaving Aidy Bryant and Pete Davidson in the dust. Bowen Yang was the only other cast member recognized with an Emmy nomination, with longtime star Kenan Thompson shockingly snubbed. Usually a staple in the guest comedy acting categories, SNL only scored a nomination for host Jerrod Carmichael's episode this time around.
Where's the Yellowstone Love?
Sometimes the populous doesn't exactly translate into Emmy love. The popular Paramount Network drama series may have a big audience, but when it comes to the TV Academy, it's as if it doesn't exist. The Kevin Costner-led Western was completely snubbed at the Emmys, even after earning an ensemble nomination at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Better luck next time?
Anne Hathaway and Jared Leto Won't Crash the Emmys
The WeCrashed stars were largely ignored for their Apple TV+ series that dramatized the real-life downfall of WeWork's Adam and Rebekah Neumann. Though they weren't the only high-profile names skipped over by the TV Academy (see: Nicole Kidman for Roar or Julia Roberts for Gaslit), it's a bit jarring to see their names left off the Emmy shortlist.
Stacy Lambe and Meredith B. Kile contributed to this story.
The 74th Primetime Emmy Awards will be handed out live Monday, Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on NBC and Peacock. In the meantime, stay tuned to ETonline.com for complete Emmys coverage.
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