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The Emmy Awards love continuity, as proven by the immense haul of nominations Succession<\/em> just scored for its final season\u2014but every year also brings its share of shocking snubs and unexpected surprises. 2023 is no different, leaving out a few presumed locks (justice for Elizabeth Olsen<\/strong>!) while anointing several less predictable projects (nice work, Jury Duty<\/em>!). Below, we take stock of the 2023 Emmy nominations\u2019 least expected moves.<\/p>\n Going into the Emmy nominations, it was unclear if Ted Lasso<\/em> was going to perform as well as it did in its first two seasons, where it earned a slew of acting nominations and won for best comedy series two years in a row. But even if the third season wasn\u2019t quite as well received, the Apple series scored a massive 21 nominations, the fourth-most of any show this year and the most for any comedy series. Jason Sudeikis, Juno Temple, Hannah Waddingham,<\/strong> and Brett Goldstein<\/strong> are all returning nominees, while Phil Dunster<\/strong> earned his first nom. Sam Richardson, Sarah Niles, Becky Ann Baker<\/strong> and Harriet Walter<\/strong> also earned guest nominations. This incredible stack of nods indicates Ted Lasso<\/em> will once again be a real contender to take that comedy series title for the third time. \u2014Rebecca Ford<\/em><\/p>\n It feels like every year, we\u2019re waiting for Taylor Sheridan<\/strong>\u2019s popular Yellowstone<\/em> universe to break through. Well, this wasn\u2019t the year. The original series didn\u2019t earn a single Emmy nomination, not even for lead actor Kevin Costner<\/strong>. There seemed to be a lot of hope that the spin-off 1923<\/em> might garner more love, since it features strong performances from two giant movie stars, Harrison Ford<\/strong> and Helen Mirren<\/strong>. But much like Yellowstone<\/em> itself, the series didn\u2019t land a single nomination, either. \u2014RF<\/em><\/p>\n Jury Duty<\/em> was a bit of a stealth offering this year, sneaking up on viewers and quickly becoming a beloved and much-discussed new series. The show, which followed one unsuspecting regular man who thought he was serving on an ordinary jury but was actually on a hidden camera show surrounded by actors, charmed its way into voters\u2019 hearts and nabbed a comedy series nomination along with a nom for James Marsden<\/strong>, who hilariously plays a version of himself. \u2014RF<\/em><\/p>\n The Peacock series came into the Emmys with some strong momentum, but was surprisingly left off the comedy series list. Its Emmy performance could still be viewed as a big win for Peacock, since the Rian Johnson<\/strong>-created mystery series picked up four nominations anyway\u2014including acting noms for star Natasha Lyonn<\/strong>e and Judith Light<\/strong> ,and nods for production design and stunt coordination. \u2014RF<\/em><\/p>\n If you just started watching Bravo\u2019s reality hit this year, you were certainly not alone. You probably already knew that, in fact\u2014who among us didn\u2019t crash-course on all things Scandoval?\u2014which is why more of us should have seen a long-awaited Emmy breakthrough coming. It\u2019s taken a full 10 years, but with Vanderpump<\/em> in the reality zeitgeist like no other show this past season, the Television Academy finally woke up by bestowing it with its first-ever nominations, including outstanding unstructured reality program. \u2014David Canfield<\/em><\/p>\n Once again putting up a double-digit nominations tally, Only Murders in the Building<\/em> remains a favorite of the TV Academy. But with the acting branch falling hard for Shrinking<\/em> and The Bear<\/em>, and the lack of comedy competition only making room for five lead-acting spots, some tough choices had to be made\u2014and that led to the surprising omission of Steve Martin.<\/strong> Clearly, with a more restricted ballot, voters felt compelled to choose between him and his colead Martin Short,<\/strong> and ultimately kept the latter in play. \u2014DC<\/em><\/p>\n It can always be hard to tell which fall premieres will remain in voters\u2019 memory. But clearly, the Television Academy\u2019s acting branch couldn\u2019t get Hulu\u2019s juicy Welcome to Chippendales<\/em> out of its mind. Murray Bartlett<\/strong> was considered a strong bet for a nod, given his sterling performance and overall profile on TV right now, but Kumail Nanjiani<\/strong> figuring into a competitive lead-actor race marks a real triumph, as do Annaleigh Ashford<\/strong> and Juliette Lewis<\/strong> not only avoiding vote-splitting, but jointly making it into the supporting-actress field. It\u2019s Lewis\u2019s first nomination in 20 years, and Ashford\u2019s first ever<\/em>\u2014given the expansive work they\u2019ve done on TV of late, overdue recognition. \u2014DC<\/em><\/p>\n The Emmys have a rather outdated reputation for favoring movie stars\u2014but in more recent history, the Television Academy tends to turn their nose at A-listers shifting to the small screen. (Julia Roberts<\/strong> has been snubbed for her last two\u2014well-received!\u2014TV vehicles.) This year, that was especially evident in the lead-actress race for limited series. Rachel Weisz, Emily Blunt,<\/strong> and Elizabeth Olsen<\/strong> all earned great reviews for shows of varying popularity, and yet all were snubbed\u2014while in their place, Emmy-nominated TV vets Lizzy Caplan<\/strong> and Kathryn Hahn<\/strong> both found a place. And that\u2019s to say nothing of Dominique Fishback,<\/strong> the relative unknown of the group whose tour-de-force in Swarm<\/em> could not be denied. She\u2019s a veteran of David Simon<\/strong> series Show Me a Hero<\/em> and The Deuce<\/em>, so it feels appropriate that the Academy would recognize her here over glitzier names. \u2014DC<\/em><\/p>\n The drama about a 1970s band and its charismatic lead singers has a long to sing about today. It was a popular series, but it really overperformed with nine nominations. The Amazon series earned acting nominations for lead Riley Keough<\/strong> and supporting actress Camila Morrone<\/strong>, along with a nomination for limited series. \u2014RF<\/em><\/p>\n For any ordinary show, six nominations would not seem like a snub. But this Netflix heavyweight\u2019s previous season earned 11 nominations, and won seven\u2014including drama series, writing and directing. This year, there are some notable snubs within the nominations, including no writing nom for Peter Morgan<\/strong> and Imelda Staunton<\/strong> left off the lead actress group for her impressive work at the Queen. \u2014RF<\/em><\/p>\n Based on Cheryl Strayed<\/strong>‘s advice column book, Tiny Beautiful Things<\/em> was a well-done series that wasn’t exactly on the radar for Emmys. But its stellar acting performances by lead Kathryn Hahn<\/strong> and supporting actress Merritt Wever<\/strong> were rewarded with nominations, despite both of their categories being extremely competitive this year. \u2014RF<\/em><\/p>\n Movie star Ford had the possibility of landing two acting nominations his year, for his work in drama 1923<\/em> and comedy Shrinking<\/em>. But it turns out the TV Academy didn\u2019t eagerly jump to nominate a movie icon. 1923<\/em> was completed snubbed, and even though Shrinking<\/em> earned two other acting nominations (for Jason Segel<\/strong> and Jessica Williams<\/strong>), Ford was left out in the cold. \u2014RF<\/em><\/p>\n Likely a close call\u2014the acting, writing, and directing branches ignored the show\u2014but Disney still pulled off a bit of a shocker with this nod for best limited series. The sheer popularity of the Star Wars<\/em> built-in audience likely helped as Obi-Wan Kenobi<\/em> competed opposite far more niche limited series, especially seeing as, unlike Andor<\/em>, it wasn\u2019t a huge hit with critics. Among others, the show beat out Showtime\u2019s glossy George & Tammy<\/em> and Apple\u2019s Black Bird<\/em>, both of which were presumed to have much cleaner paths to nods here. \u2014DC<\/em><\/p>\n Last year, the reality-competition lineup got a jolt of energy when Lizzo<\/strong>\u2019s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls<\/em> not only scored a nomination, but ultimately triumphed in a category known for honoring decade-old shows. The hope this year was that Peacock\u2019s phenomenon The Traitors<\/em> could keep the trend up. Instead, voters leaned on the (very) old\u2014more on that shortly\u2014sticking to familiar habits. \u2014DC<\/em><\/p>\n Let\u2019s make the shock of this very clear: Survivor<\/em> has not been nominated in the best competition program category since 2006. That is a staggering comeback for a competition that has never gone off the air, save a COVID-year break, and that has retained everything from its basic format to its host through 40-plus seasons. It\u2019s a testament to the CBS show\u2019s unique combination of innovation and tradition, and its ability to maintain a large, loyal fanbase over decades\u2014while finding some new viewers along the way. \u2014DC<\/em><\/p>\n It\u2019s been five years since HBO\/Max has been without a nominee for best limited series\u2014a category they\u2019ve effectively ruled between Big Little Lies, Watchmen<\/em>, and last year\u2019s The White Lotus<\/em>\u2014but the streak ran out this year. The network simply didn\u2019t have the quality of content this year, with its big spring pushes Love & Death<\/em> and White House Plumbers<\/em> underwhelming critics and audiences. At least the true-crime drama did score an acting nod for its scene-stealing male lead, Jesse Plemons<\/strong>. \u2014DC<\/p>\n Last year, The White Lotus<\/em> got eight of its actors nominated. That seemed like a lot! And also near-impossible to top this time around, given that the glow around season one was gone and the new voting system would restrict the amount of choices fans of the show could make. Yet somehow, Mike White<\/strong>\u2019s satirical drama outdid itself this time around. Reigning champ Jennifer Coolidge<\/strong> was of course a lock, and the likes of newbies Aubrey Plaza, Michael Imperioli, F. Murray Abraham,<\/strong> and Meghann Fahy<\/strong> all making the list isn\u2019t a huge shock. That they were joined by Italian standouts Sabrina Impacciatore<\/strong> and Simona Tabasco,<\/strong> as well as the rivaling Will Sharpe<\/strong> and Theo James<\/strong>? Clearly, the actors\u2019 branch cannot get enough of this ensemble setup\u2014and clearly, if anything<\/em> were to really upset Succession<\/em>, it\u2019s probably this HBO sibling. \u2014DC<\/em><\/p>\n Was the popular ABC comedy really snubbed? With eight nominations, it earned more than it did for its first season. That includes nods for last year\u2019s supporting actress winner Sheryl Lee Ralph<\/strong> and acting noms for Quinta Brusnon, Janelle Jame<\/strong>s and Tyler James Williams<\/strong>. There had been hope that the show\u2019s increased momentum might land Lisa Ann Walter<\/strong> her first nom too, but that didn\u2019t happen. But the most glaring omission comes in the writing for a comedy category, where Brunson actually won last year. This hiccup might mean Abbott<\/em>\u2019s chances of winning the comedy series category will be more of an uphill battle than we thought. \u2014RF<\/em><\/p>\n The last time a TV movie was nominated in the writing category (which encompasses both limited series and standalone films) was 2015, when Hello Ladies: The Movie<\/em> (remember that? no?) and Dee Rees<\/strong>\u2019s Bessie<\/em> made their way through. Predictors such as myself had all but given up on the format making any sort of showing with the branch again, but what a difference some structural shifts in the industry can make. Somehow, fully half<\/em> of the writing nominees are TV movies, which can partly be attributed to the fact that these films weren\u2019t competing with themselves (meaning, many limited series submitted multiple scripts and canceled themselves out). They include Fire Island<\/em>, a glorious bit of recognition for Joel Kim Booster;<\/strong> Prey<\/em>, the Hulu horror film that probably would\u2019ve done well in theaters but that also<\/em> got into directing; and Weird<\/em>, the surrealist Weird al Yankovic<\/strong> biopic which the subject cowrote with director Eric Appel.<\/strong> These are fun, surprising nominees, and while it took a bit of weird ballot math for them to get there, let\u2019s hope this sets a new precedent. \u2014DC<\/em><\/p>\nSURPRISE: Ted Lasso<\/em><\/h2>\n
SNUB: Yellowstone<\/em> & 1923<\/em><\/h2>\n
SURPRISE: Jury Duty<\/em><\/h2>\n
SNUB: Poker Face<\/em><\/h2>\n
SURPRISE: Vanderpump Rules<\/em><\/h2>\n
SNUB: Steve Martin, Only Murders in the Building<\/em><\/h2>\n
SURPRISE: Welcome To Chippendales<\/em><\/h2>\n
SNUB: Movie stars in limited series lead actress<\/h2>\n
SURPRISE: Daisy Jones & The Six<\/em><\/h2>\n
SNUB: The Crown<\/em><\/h2>\n
SURPRISE: Tiny Beautiful Things<\/em><\/h2>\n
SNUB: Harrison Ford<\/h2>\n
SURPRISE: Obi-Wan Kenobi<\/em><\/h2>\n
SNUB: The Traitors<\/em><\/h2>\n
SURPRISE: Survivor<\/em><\/h2>\n
SNUB: HBO\/Max in outstanding limited series<\/h2>\n
SURPRISE: The White Lotus<\/em> outdoes itself<\/h2>\n
SNUB: Abbott Elementary<\/em><\/h2>\n
SURPRISE: TV Movies make a comeback<\/h2>\n
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