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Not everyone can be invited to the Emmys, and not a year goes by without the Television Academy snubbing some of the best that television has to offer. HBO shows Industry<\/em> and Somebody Somewhere<\/em> popped up on more year-end best-of lists<\/a> than almost any other 2024 series, but neither show has been nominated for a single Emmy\u2014and that trend may well continue in 2025. Apple TV+ has several contenders to push this year, between the triumphant return of Severance<\/em><\/a> and the breakout success of The Studio<\/em><\/a>. Yet few of its shows have found as much critical love as the unsung Pachinko<\/em>, whose presence on the FYC circuit is relatively miniscule. And how is it that a combination of great reviews, chart-topping ratings, and a rich Keira Knightley<\/strong> comeback narrative isn\u2019t enough to make Netflix\u2019s Black Doves<\/em> a top overall player?<\/p>\n So it goes when, as ever, there\u2019s Too Much TV\u2014and blockbusters like The White Lotus<\/em>, The Last of Us<\/em>, and Adolescence<\/em> take up so much of the oxygen. With voting beginning today, on this week\u2019s Little Gold Men<\/em> roundtable (listen above), my cohosts Richard Lawson<\/strong> and Rebecca Ford<\/strong> joined me in championing some of this season\u2019s awards underdogs\u2014as well as a few actors that deserve highlighting too.<\/p>\n Some of those performances are at least tangentially on voters\u2019 radar. Take the supporting cast of Andor<\/em>, Tony Gilroy<\/strong>\u2019s brilliant Star Wars<\/em> prequel which is primed to receive another best drama series nomination for its second and final season. But Andor<\/em>\u2019s cast was ignored by the Television Academy in season one, and while Diego Luna<\/strong> now stands a decent shot at getting his first Emmy nod, the show\u2019s exceptional supporting cast will likely again be crowded out by stacked ensembles in the likes of The White Lotus<\/em> and The Pitt<\/em>. This, despite that astounding speech<\/a> from Genevieve O\u2019Reilly, Adria Arjona<\/strong>\u2019s powerful exploration of trauma recovery<\/a>, the complex villainy of Kyle Sollner<\/strong> and Denise Gough,<\/strong> and perhaps most deservingly, the bracing authority projected by Stellan Skarsg\u00e5rd<\/strong> as the Rebellion\u2019s shadow leader.<\/p>\n For the shows with even more ground to make up, a top series nomination may be out of the cards\u2014but voters can still find a way in. With Industry<\/em>, which hit its stride in a breakneck third season, Marisa Abela<\/strong> shined as her character moved to the fore. As a freshly minted BAFTA winner, she now has some hardware to back up her campaign<\/a>. But there\u2019s also Ken Leung,<\/strong> who\u2019s done tremendous work for years as the veteran of the finance drama\u2019s otherwise young cast. Leung is a true industry journeyman\u2014see his small roles in Rush Hour<\/em>, A.I. Artificial Intelligence<\/em> and Saw<\/em>, to say nothing of his three seasons on Lost<\/em>\u2014now tearing into the best role of his career. His character\u2019s delicious double-cross to close out the season would mark an ideal occasion for a first Emmy nod.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the same story for the emotional explosives delivered by Jacob Anderson<\/strong> in Interview With the Vampire,<\/em> or Minha Kim<\/strong> in Pachinko<\/em>. If enough voters watch these shows, nominations should be easily within reach. The work is that good. Yet the Academy viewership figures, sadly, are not.<\/p>\n This is perhaps most tragic in the case of Somebody Somewhere<\/em>, taking its last awards stand for its note-perfect third and final season. (Don\u2019t take just my word for it: Critics from Rolling Stone<\/em>, Vulture<\/em>, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter<\/em>, IndieWire<\/em> and more named it the single best show of last year.) The Emmys\u2019 acting branch may not be familiar enough with Bridget Everett<\/strong>\u2019s ballsy alt-cabaret background to know just how striking a departure her tender, naturalistic, deeply vulnerable performance in the intimate slice-of-life has been, but her work on this show is simply revelatory. Ditto that of her co-star Jeff Hiller.<\/strong><\/p>\n Somebody Somewhere<\/em> belongs to a great but fading subgenre of idiosyncratic HBO half-hours that critics loved, even as viewership figures stayed small to tiny from beginning to end\u2014shows like The Comeback<\/em>, Flight of the Conchords<\/em>, Enlightened<\/em>, and Getting On<\/em>. In each of those cases, the lead actors were, at least, eventually Emmy-nominated. Everett and Somebody Somewhere<\/em> deserve the same recognition; current odds say they won\u2019t get it. On this first day of voting, here\u2019s a call for that to change.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n