This year's Emmy nominations are out, and it's an unusually lively and surprising year, with several genuinely unexpected nominations in the mix along with the more predictable snubs.
Digital Spy rounds up the highs and lows of this year's nominations below.
What to Read Next
HIT – Tatiana Maslany finally recognised for Orphan Black
It's no exaggeration to say that no other actress on television comes close to doing what Maslany does every week on BBC America's Orphan Black, and this year the Television Academy could no longer ignore her.
Playing anything from 10 to 14 separate clones depending on which season you're watching, Maslany (and her body double) pulls off a near-miracle every week, distinguishing each clone's physicality and personality with such precision that it's easy to forget you aren't watching several different actresses. Maslany's Best Actress nod is a long-overdue but immensely satisfying bit of recognition for one of TV's most genuinely extraordinary performances.
MISS – Vincent Kartheiser snubbed again for Mad Men
Please accept our rage here as a response not solely to Kartheiser being snubbed for the final episodes of Mad Men, but to his being the only member of the regular cast never to have been nominated at all.
…WHAT THE ACTUAL?!?!? Weaselly and craven though he was, Pete Campbell was one of the show's most consistently surprising and complex characters. Every single thing he made you feel – amusement, revulsion, ambivalence, pity, reluctant fondness – was down to Kartheiser as much as the stellar writing, and we will never understand this perpetual snub.
HIT – Taraji P Henson's nomination for Empire
For an ensemble drama series that boasts some Hollywood heavy-hitters, nobody shines brighter on Fox's megahit than Taraji P Henson as the vivacious and vindictive Cookie Lyon.
It's a slight overstatement to credit the entire success of Empire to Henson's weekly tour-de-force – but only slight. This is sure to be the first of many Emmy nominations. Boo boo kitty to you all!
MISS - Downton Abbey is inexplicably still here
Listen up, America. Your ongoing love affair with Downton has gone from being charmingly strange to actively worrying. We're all fond of the show, but we don't believe there's a single person on earth who genuinely believes that series five was one of the best things on television this year. And yet there it is again, right beside the likes of Mad Men and Orange is the New Black.
It's been a good while since Downton got anywhere near a major award, or even critical acclaim, back on its home soil, and yet somehow it retains its place at the Emmys year after year. When The Americans is sitting right there! On which note...
MISS - The Americans
Every year we have hope that FX's Cold War drama series finally gets the Emmy recognition that it deserves. And every year, we're disappointed. To be fair, the series did earn an Outstanding Writing nomination and a guest cast nod for Margo Martindale's creepy KGB handler.
But The Americans ticks so many of the Emmy voters' boxes: it's a period drama, loaded with acclaimed performers and helmed by a creator with a well-established television pedigree. So why is this show continually ignored? FX boss John Landgraf practically begged Emmy voters at the TCA press tour for a nomination this year, warning that the show's long-term survival could depend on its award success. So if the show's cancelled, we know who to blame.
HIT – Bob Odenkirk's nomination for Better Call Saul
Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould's spinoff was such an unqualified success – not to mention very distinctly a drama rather than the comedy some predicted – that there was very little question it would earn a place in the Drama Series category.
But Odenkirk, playing a character previously known as comic relief on previous Emmy favourite Breaking Bad, had a much tougher task to break into the notoriously tough Lead Actor in a Drama field. He did, and we're thrilled.
MISS - Marvel's Daredevil shut out
Marvel's Daredevil is likely tarred with the same brush as The Walking Dead, given that both are based on a popular comic book series – you'll see a similar bias at the Oscars. But surely a scintillating street-level Greek tragedy like Daredevil should be judged for the wondrous accomplishment that it is.
Despite the albatross that was Ben Affleck's critically-derided and almost career-killing movie adaptation, Daredevil bowled over viewers and critics with its brutal morality tale of vengeance and ethics. Its brilliant writing was only heightened by revelatory performances from Charlie Cox as blind vigilante Matt Murdock and Vincent D'Onofrio as the damaged crime boss Wilson Fisk. Where was its recognition?
HIT – Dame Diana Rigg's nomination for Game of Thrones
Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke and Peter Dinklage's acting nods grabbed most of the headlines today for Game of Thrones, but tucked quietly in the guest acting category was Diana Rigg. Her scheming Lady Olenna Tyrell was less of a presence in season five than the year before, but the producers sure made her appearances count.
Her showdown with Jonathan Pryce's devious High Sparrow was one of the undisputed highlights in a season that reached some stratospheric highs and disappointing lows. Pitted against perennial Emmy darling Allison Janney (Masters of Sex), the odds might not be in her favour, but if anyone can pull off an upset it's Dame Diana Rigg.
HIT – Amy Schumer's nomination for Inside Amy Schumer
A couple of months ago, Amy Schumer could reasonably have been described as up-and-coming. But the viral impact of sketches like the 'Last F**kable Day' one from her Comedy Central series, along with a starring role in Judd Apatow's latest Trainwreck, has seen her rise astronomically into the pop culture consciousness.
For once, the Emmy voters took notice, recognising Schumer as her star is rising rather than several years down the line, and that's encouraging.
MISS – The Walking Dead remains invisible
What's it going to take for The Walking Dead to get the rewards that it so richly deserves at this point? The Emmys have once again rewarded the impeccable craft and mass appeal of Game of Thrones by awarding 24 nominations, but The Walking Dead is just as deserving of critical praise.
Along with Thrones, The Walking Dead dominates pop culture discussion when it airs new episodes, consistently pushing the boundaries of episodic drama with a story of survival that defies genre conventions. A cast and team of writers this talented shouldn't be ignored.
MISS – Empire snubbed
While Taraji P Henson's acting nomination was a foregone conclusion to anyone with a pulse, the series was largely ignored outside of costume categories. Particularly surprising was the lack of recognition for Outstanding Music Composition or Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics, despite the fact the series scored actual iTunes chart hits under the musical direction of Timbaland.
Also ignored was the show's creative mastermind Lee Daniels in the Drama directing category, even though the man has two Oscar nominations to his name. Those snubs prove the Hollywood factor doesn't always equal Emmy glory.
MISS – Ellie Kemper snubbed for The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Netflix's rapidly-beloved comedy racked up nominations left, right and centre, for everything from the show itself to supporting stars Jane Krakowski and Tituss Burgess to guest star Jon Hamm. But lead actress Kemper, who anchored the entire show, went unrecognised in the Lead Actress in a Comedy category.
Playing a victim who's been imprisoned in a doomsday cult for 15 years is a tall order in itself. Making that character funny, and hopeful, and vivacious as well as emotionally complex is an almost impossible task, and Kemper pulled it off with effortless grace. We have no idea how she missed out, and Amy Schumer's nomination for Inside Amy Schumer is only making it halfway better.
HIT – Homeland's nomination for its comeback season
Setting aside the atrocious finale which we like to pretend was simply a bad dream, Homeland's fourth season was an unusually successful reboot for a show that had fallen hard from grace.
Cutting loose the subplots and side characters that had blighted seasons two and three (RIP, Dana Brody), the writers centered a lean, morally conflicted season around Carrie and Saul in over their heads in Pakistan. It's good to see showrunners right their wrongs, and even better to see them recognised for it.
MISS – Keegan-Michael Key but not Jordan Peele?
Some serious shade was thrown at Jordan Peele by Emmy voters shutting him out for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy, while handing a nomination to his partner Keegan-Michael Key.
That's an indignity that the Television Academy might have to answer for in the days to come. Like any great comedy duo, Key and Peele are two halves of a brilliant, subversive and laugh-out-loud hilarious whole. What possible justification could there be for nominating one without the other?
HIT – Kate McKinnon nominated for Saturday Night Live
It's always controversial when cast members from SNL are nominated in the Comedy Series category – there's a valid argument to say that SNL is simply a different breed of television than Veep, The Big Bang Theory and Transparent. That said, if there was ever a performer who transcended the sketch form it would have to be Kate McKinnon.
Let's not kid ourselves – the 40th season of SNL was rough. Shaky writing, some underwhelming hosts and an overall sense of complacency dogged the iconic comedy series in a year that should have been a home run. However, the cast were consistently brilliant, and McKinnon was the standout among them. She elevates everyone with whom she shares a scene, and has that rare gift (like Phil Hartman or Amy Poehler before her) to single-handedly salvage subpar writing.
What did the Emmy voters get right and wrong this year? Let us know in the comments below.
Emma Dibdin is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles who writes about culture, mental health, and true crime. She loves owls, hates cilantro, and can find the queer subtext in literally anything.
Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
