In a year with a record-breaking number of Emmy submissions, it’s only natural that the Emmy nominations 2022 would recognize a few left field contenders—and ignore others whose nods seemed like a sure thing. Below, Awards Insider’s David Canfield and Rebecca Ford break down the least predictable outcomes of Emmy nominations day—from basically a goose egg for This Is Us to a long-awaited nod for Seth Meyers.
SNUB: This Is Us
NBC and its weepy drama’s cast put everything into the campaign for its final season, ultimately to no avail. The show fell too far out of favor with the Television Academy—it returned to the drama-series lineup last year, but was snubbed in 2020—and with so many buzzy new contenders entering the fray, it couldn’t catch up for a farewell embrace. Still, you have to wonder how Sterling K. Brown couldn’t sneak into the best-actor category after so many consecutive noms. Or why Mandy Moore’s remarkable final-season work was overlooked in favor of the work by both Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh, representing a faded final season of their own for Killing Eve—and a rather terrible one at that. —David Canfield
SURPRISE: The Great’s Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult
The first season of Hulu’s quirky The Great was notably unappreciated by the TV Academy, which snubbed leads Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult for their bombastic, respective performances as Catherine the Great and Peter III. It made it right this year by nominating both actors, who delivered versatile and hilarious performances in extremely demanding roles. —Rebecca Ford
SNUB: Sarah Goldberg, Barry
Barry’s excellent third season found plenty of love with Emmy voters, but puzzlingly, its biggest breakout performance couldn’t make the cut. Goldberg was breathtaking in the climax of the dark HBO comedy’s run, alternating between rage and panic and a hint of slapstick as she faced up to the reality of her Hollywood dream. She’s been nominated before; let’s hope voters find room to welcome her again before Barry takes its final bow. —D.C.
SURPRISE: Sarah Paulson, Impeachment: American Crime Story
The FX series was supposed to be one of the hottest shows of the season, but it quickly fizzled after its debut. If anyone can lock down an Emmy nomination, though, it’s Sarah Paulson, who landed a nod for playing Linda Tripp in the series. It’s her eighth career nomination, and would be her second win (she won in 2016 for The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story) if, by some long shot, she’s able to take the prize. —R.F.
SNUB: Rothaniel
The most thrilling comedy special of the year was somehow overlooked in the prerecorded-variety-special category, in favor of…the most controversial (Dave Chappelle’s The Closer). Jerrod Carmichael’s hilarious, heartbreaking stand-up confessional, in which he comes out as gay while exploring his family’s damaging lineage of secret-keeping, certainly deserved a spot in the eclectic group, which also found room for the Harry Potter reunion special and Adele’s live concert. But it’s especially galling to see such an exciting, up-and-coming comic reaching his prime lose a spot to another comic going in the opposite direction. At least Carmichael was nominated for writing. —D.C.
SURPRISE: Abbott Elementary
The new ABC mockumentary comedy was expected to be a big breakout, but it exceeded even that expectation. Along with a nomination for comedy series, it also earned acting noms for star-creator Quinta Brunson and supporting cast members Janelle James, Tyler James Williams, and Sheryl Lee Ralph, plus a writing nom. It’s hard enough for a network show to break into the Emmys, but Abbott rose to the top of the class. —R.F.
SNUB: Black-ish
Another ABC comedy came into this year’s Emmy season with 24 nominations under its belt, including four best-comedy-series nominations over seven seasons. Plus, lead Anthony Anderson has been nominated every single year for his role, and his costar Tracee Ellis Ross has five past noms for hers. So it seemed likely that the TV Academy would send the show off with a slew of nominations for its eighth and final season. But alas, the show didn’t earn a comedy-series nomination or any acting noms—only landing craft nominations for costumes and hairstyling. —R.F.
SURPRISE: Late Night With Seth Meyers
Finally one of the freshest shows in late night cracked the top variety-talk category. Seth Meyers’s Late Night had been nominated for writing multiple times, but whether due to lingering boomer affection for Bill Maher or farewell fondness for Conan, it could never make the program cut despite the adoration of critics and viewers. It took a literal showrunner campaign against shrinking the category to make it happen, but, hey, we can all rest easy now. Or almost—now he’s just gotta beat John Oliver. —D.C.
SNUB: Selena Gomez, Only Murders in the Building
Selena Gomez was expected to earn her first Emmy nomination this year for her work on Hulu’s hit comedy Only Murders in the Building. But while her costars Steve Martin and Martin Short both earned acting noms, Gomez was left off the lead-actress-in-a-comedy list—an extremely competitive category this year. The good news: As an exec producer, Gomez is still a nominee for the show, which earned a best-comedy-series nod among its 17 nominations. —R.F.
SURPRISE: Christopher Walken, Severance
The breakout Apple TV+ sci-fi drama earned a seriously impressive 14 nominations for its first season, none more surprising than the recognition for Christopher Walken. He’s lovely and against-type in the show, but comes in late and shares scenes with a more obvious nominee in a wrenchingly good John Turturro. Voters loved the show just enough, it turns out, to nominate both. It’s Walken’s first Emmy nomination in more than 30 years; the last one came for the 1991 Hallmark movie Sarah, Plain and Tall. —D.C.
SNUB: Atlanta
The first two seasons of Atlanta garnered 22 nominations and five wins, but perhaps the nearly four years the show was away did not make the Academy’s heart grow fonder. Star and creator Donald Glover did earn a lead-actor nomination, but the show’s only other noms this year were for cinematography and directing. The outstanding work of its supporting cast (Brian Tyree Henry, LaKeith Stanfield, and Zazie Beetz) was overlooked along with the show’s sharp writing. The snub for comedy series stings the most, especially for a season that played on the circus of awards season with the description for its ninth episode: “Black and White episode? Yawn. Emmy Bait.” —R.F.
SURPRISE: Himesh Patel, Station Eleven
One of the season’s most acclaimed—and challenging—limited series, Station Eleven came into Tuesday as one of the morning’s bigger question marks. While it missed in the top category, the HBO Max postapocalyptic drama overperformed with seven nods—the most thrilling and unexpected of which came in best actor for Himesh Patel. The EastEnders alum anchors Station Eleven as the adrift, then heroic Jeevan, but it’s a subtle performance that had to compete with those of Jared Leto, Samuel L. Jackson, and Sean Penn at their showiest in various other projects. He beat them all out to a richly deserved nod. —D.C.
SNUB: Maid
The cutthroat limited-series category was always going to leave out some stellar shows, but the exclusion of Netflix’s Maid is a bit surprising because the show was a critically acclaimed hit. Star Margaret Qualley earned her second Emmy nomination for her work on the show, but her costar (and real-life mother) Andie MacDowell was left off the supporting-actress list, despite delivering a standout performance as Qualley’s character’s troubled mother. —R.F.
SURPRISE: Toheeb Jimoh and Sarah Niles, Ted Lasso
There’s no better evidence for the continued strength of Ted Lasso than the supporting nominations for these season two breakouts. Toheeb Jimoh’s role was expanded in an unexpected, delightful romantic arc that marked a highlight of Lasso’s sophomore campaign, while Sarah Niles entered as a new cast member with a completely new energy, playing Richmond’s new in-house counselor. While these are hardly dutiful name-checks—their performances marked emotional and comic high points for the show—the fact that they garnered enough votes signals that the show, and its best attributes, are as beloved as ever. —D.C.
SNUB: Yellowstone
Yellowstone had been billed all season as a much-beloved series that was finally going to break into the Emmy race with its fourth season. But despite the show’s dedicated and large fan base, the Paramount barrier was perhaps still too big to break. In addition to missing a drama-series nomination, the show was snubbed in the acting categories for the work of its stars Kevin Costner and Kelly Reilly. The fifth season debuts later this year, so maybe it can lasso some nominations in 2023. —R.F.
SURPRISE: Inventing Anna
Yes, Maid—and WeCrashed, and Under the Banner of Heaven, and Gaslit, and and and—didn’t make it into the outstanding-limited-series category. You know what did, though? Inventing Anna, an admittedly popular series that earned more than a few scorching reviews from critics. Does that make the Julia Garner–starring show this year’s Emily in Paris? Anna Sorokin would be enraged by the comparison, but it’s an uncanny one nonetheless. —Hillary Busis
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