Emmy nominations 2024: The good, the bad and the snubs

No set of Emmy nominations has ever gone by without a few raised eyebrows.

There are the shows you expect to do well, including the violent, Japan-set historical epic Shogun, which topped the list with 25 nods, and the second season of The Bear, which broke a 2009 record held by 30 Rock for the most nominations for a comedy with 23 mentions.

There are the legacy series that continue to be recognised, such as the final season of The Crown, which nabbed 18 nods, or Saturday Night Live with its 17 nominations. And recent favourites such as Only Murders in the Building, which scored 21 nods including a first-ever acting nomination for Selena Gomez, and Hacks, whose spectacular third season was nominated 16 times.

But then there are the surprises, both good and bad. Some are more shocking than others and some are just annoying.

THE GOOD

Quite a few perennial Emmy nominees (Succession, Ted Lasso, Barry, Better Call Saul, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel) finished their run the previous year which opened slots up for the new kids on the block, or those that have previously been overlooked.

One of the most wonderful surprises this year is, finally, recognition for Reservation Dogs, a small coming-of-age comedy about young Native Americans. The series has been critically lauded for its smart and darkly funny perspective but hasn’t been on Emmy voters’ radars for reasons you can speculate on. But the series nabbed a Best Comedy nod while actor D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai was nominated for lead actor.

It was a decent showing for Indigenous storytellers in general in the nomination stakes, with Lily Gladstone (Under the Bridge) and Kali Reis (True Detective) both nominated in acting categories. Of course, having three nominees out of the 96 slots up for grabs as a record best is revealing.

Among the 11 nominations for Baby Reindeer, which could safely be considered the favourite to win in its categories, is for Nava Mau, who becomes only the second-ever transgender actor to be nominated for an Emmy, after Michaela Jae Rodriguez for Pose.

Mr & Mrs Smith may be a new powerhouse title in the Emmys. The first season starred Donald Glover and Maya Erskine as a pair of assassins pretending to be a married couple to carry out covert operations. The series is sexy and cool, and nabbed 16 nominations including for its stars and director Hiro Murai.

It was great to see Maya Rudolph land a nomination for her lead role in Loot. Rudolph has won five Emmys previously — including for her guest roles on Saturday Night Live and her voice work in Big Mouth. But this nod for Loot feels extra special because it recognises her ability to oscillate between broad comedy and emotional groundedness. To give pathos and make relatable a billionaire divorcee is no small feat.

And the Emmy voters continue to make room for genre shows with sci-fi series 3 Body Problem and Fallout both nominated for best drama. Not long ago, any high-concept sci-fi or fantasy was the awkward cousin you didn’t want to be related to.

THE SNUBS

Ten years ago, if a big-screen star made the move to TV, they were guaranteed a nomination if not a win. Not anymore.

Kate Winslet has twice previously made a big showy limited series for HBO and she took home two shiny Emmys for her troubles (Mildred Pierce in 2011 and Mare of Easttown in 2021). But she got no love today for her role in The Regime. To be fair, The Regime was chaotic, and not in a good way, but her performance as a neurotic despot of a central European autocracy was brilliant.

Similarly, Nicole Kidman didn’t even get a look-in for her performance as a grieving mother whose young son goes missing in Hong Kong in the lusciously filmed miniseries Expats. Yes, the role had familiar shades to Kidman’s recent TV work but it was a beautifully calibrated, emotional turn.

But the most egregious snub of all today belongs to Emma Stone — as in, two-time Oscar winner Emma Stone — whose performance in Nathan Fielder’s The Curse may actually be the most masterful of the year. Fielder’s eccentric work is likely still too strange for the Emmys voting body, which veers mainstream, but you can’t deny that Stone is brilliant as one half of a cringy couple trying to build eco homes for a TV project.

The fact The Curse didn’t get a single nomination for its viscerally uncomfortable interrogation of white privilege shows the Emmys are not yet ready to look beyond the usual suspects, even when they’re anchored by legitimate movie stars.

Speaking of Expats, if anyone should have been nominated for that series besides Kidman, it should have been director Lulu Wang (The Farewell) who helmed every episode of the series. In particular, her work on episode five, a movie-length diversion away from the main characters to follow the stories of the peripheral players such as the Filipino maids and the Hong Kong students, was one of the best episodes of TV this past year.

Another surprise was no directing nomination for beloved Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook whose historical limited series The Sympathizer only managed one nomination, for Robert Downey Jr who played five roles in the show, and none of them particularly well.

THE BAD

No offence to Apple TV+, which actually has, arguably, one of the best curated slates on a streaming service, but 16 nominations for Morning Wars and 11 nominations for Palm Royale is cooked.

Palm Royale is watchable but it’s lightweight and tonally confused. There’s no beef with its technical nods in production design, costuming or make-up because the show’s 1960s setting looks fab, but that best comedy series nomination is bizarre. Especially when there are far worthier contenders, for example, The Curse.

And Morning Wars, which is called The Morning Show everywhere else in the world except in Australia and the Philippines, continues to be the Emmys head-shake it’s always been.

Emmy voters just can’t resist the glossiness of its behind-the-scenes TV melodrama as well as its impressive cast. But the show really is just not good.

Admittedly, it can be compelling watching but it’s a bit like Stockholm Syndrome, you feel like a hostage to its outlandish whims. It always overcooks every plot point and makes inconsistent character choices.

Almost all of its nominations are in the acting categories but it feels a lot like a box-ticking exercise of recognising talented actors who are better in other projects. And Reese Witherspoon continues to be miscast in this, something the series has never managed to correct with Bradley’s characterisation.

And, finally, The Crown’s 18 nominations. The Crown used to be a great series but it hasn’t been since season four. There is no argument with Elizabeth Debicki’s nod and even Imelda Staunton who spent most of her two seasons as a seat-warmer until eventually been given something to do in the finale. But neither Jonathan Pryce nor Dominic Cooper felt right in those roles.

Plus, The Crown’s sixth season committed the worst of all TV sins — it was so boring.