The 2017 Primetime Emmy Awards were a celebration of the best in television from the 2016-17 season, but some shows weren’t exactly feeling the love. While Veep, The Handmaid’s Tale, Saturday Night Live and Big Little Lies got to bask in the glory of Emmy heaven, most of the competition was on the outside looking in.
The following shows received at least three nominations on Emmy night but went home empty-handed:
3 nominations
The Americans (FX) | black-ish (ABC) | Genius (Nat Geo) | The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS) | Transparent (Amazon) | Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix) | The Wizard of Lies (HBO)
4 nominations
House of Cards (Netflix) | Silicon Valley (HBO)
5 nominations
Better Call Saul (AMC) | Stranger Things (Netflix)
6 nominations
Fargo (FX)
7 nominations
Westworld (HBO)
10 nominations
Feud: Bette and Joan (FX)
While losing three or four categories can be disappointing, those behind the shows that lost five or more are likely wondering what the Emmys have against them. Well, as the old adage goes, the Emmys giveth and the Emmys taketh away. Numerous shows in Emmy history have racked up huge totals of nominations only to find that voters just don’t like them enough to give them anything.
A few of these shows seem to be settling into what I’d call the “bridesmaids” slots, the shows that get nominated year after year but never actually get their moment in the sun. Such shows are Better Call Saul, House of Cards, Silicon Valley, and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, which the Emmy voters seem to think are pretty good but not enough to give them more than a few minor awards, if that (Better Call Saul has now racked up 23 nominations and still has zero wins).
After a good showing for its first season, including a win for Best Limited Series, Fargo is another show that has fallen from grace. Despite six nominations here, it received absolutely nothing for its third season, even with beloved actors like Ewan McGregor, Carrie Coon, and David Thewlis in the mix. This is the second year in a row for Fargo‘s unluckiness, having lost all eight of its nominations last year. Many critics suggested this wasn’t exactly the best season of Fargo so this is understandable, but Thewlis absolutely deserved Best Supporting Actor for his chilling performance as V.M. Varga.
The lack of support for both Stranger Things and Westworld genuinely shocked me, considering both were Best Drama Series nominees with double digit nomination totals. They also had a huge presence at last week’s Creative Arts Emmys, netting five wins each. The pair competed in almost every category against each other, so did the sci-fi/fantasy elements cancel each other out in the end? It’s very possible, especially when the more socially relevant Handmaid’s Tale is what emerged victorious instead. I imagine it has to sting for Netflix especially, though, to still be lacking a major Best Series prize while rival streamer Hulu came in on its first real year of contention and took it home.
The most interesting case here, though, is the complete collapse of Feud: Bette and Joan. No show has racked up double-digit nominations heading into Emmy night only to walk away with nothing in 20 years, with ER losing all of its 17 nominations in 1997. The Ryan Murphy-created series starring Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon as feuding screen icons Joan Crawford and Bette Davis seemed right up the alley of Hollywood voters. It received six acting nominations, including Lange and Sarandon for Lead Actress, Alfred Molina and Stanley Tucci for Supporting Actor, and Judy Davis and Jackie Hoffman for Supporting Actress. Two episodes were nominated for Writing, one for Directing, and the show itself was nominated for Best Limited Series. So what the hell happened?!
No. 1, the show itself. While I appreciated the performances from all six of the actors nominated and enjoyed seeing the behind-the-scenes of Old Hollywood, I don’t know that it was as satisfying emotionally as Big Little Lies or as relevant and timely as The Night Of. Perhaps in a weaker year it could have excelled, but with so much great competition in the mix it was always going to be an uphill battle.
I also think there may be slight fatigue when it comes to mega-producer Ryan Murphy. Murphy and his shows have received an absurd amount of nominations over the years, but they often end up with very few wins. Glee only won six Emmys from 40 nominations, while the American Horror Story franchise has earned only 16 of 82 nominations, 12 of which weren’t even on the main Emmy telecast. His TV movie The Normal Heart earned 16 nominations but just two wins, including TV Movie. The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story obviously had great success last year, earning nine wins from 22 noms, but it’s looking very much like an anomaly at this point.
The lack of support for Feud: Bette and Joan (it only won two Emmys out of 18, accounting for last week’s Creative Arts Emmys) also suggests how voters’ tastes are changing. I could have easily seen a show like this sweeping even five years ago, but the voting membership (younger and more diverse) combined with the new voting procedure (simply picking your favorite rather than ranking all the nominees), is probably what led to its many losses. Big Little Lies, The Night Of and Black Mirror are all young-skewing shows that likely inspired more passion in voters than the older-skewing Feud. Plus, let’s face it, these voters have seen Murphy and Lange, his muse, tackle the subject of aging divas over and over this decade and they seem to be looking for something different.
Murphy has another project set to make a splash at next year’s Emmys, The Assassination of Gianni Versace, the second season of American Crime Story. Perhaps like People v. O.J., voters will be more inspired by the multi-hyphenate’s take on crime rather than dueling divas.