Courtesy of HBO(LOS ANGELES) — The Emmy nominations were announced Tuesday, with HBO’s Watchmen and Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel leading the pack with the most nominations. While many of the nominees were predicted by experts, other nominations — or lack thereof — came as a surprise. Some of those included:

Snubs

Elisabeth Moss won the best actress in a drama series Emmy in 2017 for her starring role in The Handmaid’s Tale, and earned a nomination in the same category in 2018. This year, however, her name was omitted.

Although Meryl Streep and Laura Dern received best supporting actress in a drama series nominations for their work on Big Little Lies, the show was snubbed in the best drama series category. Additionally, Nicole Kidman was expected by some to be recognized as one of the year’s best actresses in a drama series, but she wasn’t.

Better Call Saul star Bob Odenkirk was not recognized Tuesday morning, though he was nominated for best actor in a drama series in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019.  And his Saul co-star Rhea Seehorn was once again snubbed, even though critics agree she did some of her strongest work this season.

Pose star Billy Porter — an Emmy winner last year for best actor — received another nomination, but Pose itself — expected by some to be recognized in the best drama series category — was shut out.

While Reese Witherspoon was nominated as an executive producer of of Hulu’s Little Fires Everywhere, she wasn’t nominated for her acting in either that series, nor in AppleTV+’s The Morning Show, nor in Big Little Lies.

Surprises

Euphoria star Zendaya received her first-ever Emmy nomination in the best actress in a drama series category.

The Mandalorian won over Star Wars fans when it premiered on Disney+, and on Tuesday, many were pleasantly surprised to hear its name called in the best drama series category.

Unorthodox, the Netflix series about an Orthodox Jewish woman leaving her community, earned eight nominations — more than many had predicted.

Insecure actress Yvonne Orji earned her first-ever Emmy nomination in the best supporting actress in a comedy series category, and the show itself was recognized in the best comedy series category.

The FX vampire comedy What We Do in the Shadows was recognized for comedy series in its second season — it was seen as a long shot amidst other high-profile series.

Linda Cardellini earned a nomination for Dead to Me along with her co-star Christina Applegate. Last year, only Applegate was nominated.

By Lesley Messer & Carson Blackwelder
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