The Biggest Snubs and Misses From the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards Nominations

Ah, AWARDS SZN; how we've missed you. Earlier today, the Television Academy announced the nominees for the 71st annual Primetime Emmy Awards, which takes place on September 22, 2019 live on Fox. While there were some great nominees (including Jharrel Jerome snagging a Lead Actor nom for his compelling performance in Ava DuVernay's limited Netflix series When They See Us, which received 16 nominations), many have been left wondering why some strong performances and series were left to the wayside.

We get it; there's a voting body, and not everyone can watch everything—we are in the middle of the Too Much TV era, which isn't always a bad thing. This is also the year where that season of Game of Thrones received a record 32 nominations. Something's gotta give. There can only be so many nominations, but some of these nominations look a little funny in the light compared to the huge misses and outright snubs from this year's crop of nominess.

As the dust is still settling, let's take a look at the most egregious snubs and misses from the 71st annual Primetime Emmy Awards nominations.

Now Mahershala Ali definitely deserved his Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie nomination for his portrayal of Hays in Season 3 of True Detective—that guy morphed himself over numerous eras, and really leaned into the role. That said, Steven Dorff was right alongside of him, and in many ways, Dorff's work as Roland West was one of the highlights of the season. In no way shading the work done in When They See Us, but three performers (including Michael K. Williams, who brought so much emotion to the series) received Outstanding Supporting Actor nominations. It would've been dope to see Dorff included in that mix as well.

When I spoke to Vida star Mishel Prada, she kept it real when it came to the chances of the Starz series receiving Emmy recognition: "Our show stands for what it stands, regardless of whether it received an award or not. It doesn't need an award to be deemed worthy or important or special." That said, it would've been dope for the show, which shines a light on the Latinx and LGBTQ+ communities in Los Angeles, to get that recognition. Their second season excelled in all areas, but it might still be too small to receive this kind of mainstream press. Those who know, know, and should be putting their friends on, regardless of noms.

Hollywood dynamo Julia Roberts taking her talents to the small screen for Sam Esmail's Amazon Prime series Homecoming was a surprise in and of itself. The series, which is based on the podcast of the same name, blended Esmail's intriguing eye with classic film soundtracks and threw Roberts (and the awesome Stephan James) into this complex puzzle. Roberts shined (because duh), but surprisingly didn't get a Lead Actress nom. It was a strong category, with both Killing Eve stars (Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh) receiving noms alongside Emilia Clark (Game of Thrones), Laura Linney (Ozark), Robin Wright (House of Cards) and Mandy Moore (This Is Us). Stiff competition, but Julia did the damn thing.

The Comedy Central series, which is focused on the older siblings of a viral pop sensation, was one of the most hilarious shows to hit television. It was also heavily slept-on (primarily because outside of shows like Broad City and Drunk History, no one is really checking for the channel like that). With another packed category (series like Barry, Russian Doll, and Fleabag are great additions, but also stand up against Veep and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), it's sad that one of the funnier shows on television couldn't edge its way in.

While the BBC series Bodyguard (which everyone fell in love with when it hit Netflix) did receive a deserved nom for Outstanding Drama Series, the show's lead, Richard Madden, surprisingly was left off the noms. His icy stare and strong performance in the series already netted him a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama TV Series, but he somehow couldn't find his way into a packed Lead Actor in a Drama Series category. If you're gonna nominate the show, why not throw Madden some shine individually?

For the first few episodes of Russian Doll, viewers are spent trying to figure out why Nadia is reliving the same day over and over. No matter how hard she tries, she can't fix her situation, and you're left wondering "how can this series continue to go on?" That is until Alan (Charlie Barnett) steps in, and you realize that it's not just happening to Nadia. It switches up the entire flow of the show, and Barnett kills it as an obsessive-compulsive mess trying to right he wrongs of the most horrible day in his life. Nadia might be the brains of the show, but Alan definitely feels like its heart, and for the Netflix series to rake in as many noms as it did, Barnett definitely feels left out of the mix.

This might be the biggest shock, honestly. After receiving Lead Actress in a Comedy Series nominations for the last two years, Pamela Adlon doesn't get a nomination in 2019? The series, which managed to get better despite many wondering if it would be gobbled up in the Louis C.K. scandal, not getting a Comedy Series nomination? Adlon's really turned this show into HER show, from both sides of the camera, and in a season that felt like it was better suited for Emmy nomination, it received nothing? Yeah, color us shocked.