Esraa Mahmoud
The Emmy 2023 Nominations were just announced, and we can’t contain our excitement/surprise for the nominees! Starting with the given, the mega streaming platform, aka HBO/HBO Max, is leading the race with definitely more than the lion’s share of the Emmy nominations.
HBO’s reigning over the Emmy 2023 nominations starts with its iconic Succession as the frontrunner with 27 Emmy nominations, 17 of which are for acting nominations alone! Not far behind is HBO’s other blast, The Last of Us, aka the show that gifted the world with the internet-daddy Pedro Pascal, which scored 24 Emmy nominations.
HBO‘s dominance is not over yet, as next on the list is the streaming platform’s The White Lotus season two, which scored 23 Emmy nominations this year as well!
As for the comedy section, Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso is back in the race this year with 21 Emmy nominations after winning the last year’s best comedy series. Along with Ted Lasso, the comedy section is full of surprises and some disappointments as well.
The 75th Emmy Awards are set to air on 18 September live from Peacock Theatre, Los Angeles—Well, or so it says so far! Rumour has it that with actors joining the film and TV writers on their strike that has been going on for months, #SAGAFTRAstrike, the Emmy 2023 ceremony might not be held on 18 September and get postponed to November or January.
While we wait to see what will happen on the big night, here are the surprise and snubs of the Emmy 2023 nominations list!
The Emmy 2023 Nominations Surprises
The Internet-daddy Pedro Pascal!
The force was certainly with The Mandalorian Pedro Pascal this year as he received three Emmy nominations. First one for lead actor in a drama for his role in HBO’s zombie hit The Last of Us, second one for guest actor in a comedy category for hosting SNL—which was absolutely delightful, if we may add. The third nomination Pedro received was for the CNN series Patagonia: Life on the Edge of the World which he narrated.
It is worth noting that Pedro is the first Latino to receive a nomination for the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series category since 1999!
The Fearless Wednesday, Jenna Ortega
Speaking of Latino representation at the Emmy 2023, Jenna Ortega is the first Latina to receive a nomination for the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series category since 2007. But that’s not all; she is also the second-youngest actress to be nominated in this category at only 20 years old!
The Force of Obi-Wan Kenobi!
Against all odds, and quite surprisingly, Obi-Wan Kenobi received an Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series nomination. The series was not a favourite of the critics or the audiences. In fact, the Star Wars miniseries starring Ewan McGregor was considered by many to be a disappointment, falling short of expectations, so to see it receive a nomination is truly unexpected.
In addition to being nominated for Best Miniseries, it has received four more Emmy nominations for Outstanding Picture Editing, Outstanding Sound Editing, Outstanding Sound Mixing, and Outstanding Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes.
The Beef Made it to the Emmy 2023!
Last spring, the series Beef came out, and everyone was raving about how amazing it was. However, later on, came a disturbing story from the past of one of its co-stars, David Choe, regarding an old unsettling incident he once narrated in his podcast.
The reaction online from the fans to this news was not kind as they expressed their anger that the actor was cast in a hit series like this. However, it seems like this incident didn’t sway the Television Academy’s mind as the series received 13 Emmy nominations, including one for Outstanding Casting for A Limited or Anthology Series or Movie!
Jury Duty is in Session!
It is safe to say that the newcomer series Jury Duty took us all by surprise; the series steadily kept on attracting more viewers and becoming a hit so much that it bet other successful series like Harrison Ford’s Shrinking for the best comedy series nomination!
Welcome to the Emmy, Chippendales!
When it comes to waiting for nominations to be revealed, there is always a possibility for works that aired a long time ago to be forgotten, so it is always a pleasant surprise to see those works, especially good ones like Welcome to Chippendales, to get the recognition it deserves.
The series, which had its premiere last fall, seems to have gotten stuck in the mind of the Television Academy as it did with many viewers, and it made it to the Emmy 2023 nominations list with five nominations, including one for lead actor for Kumail Nanjiani.
The Best Miniseries Nominations!
The Best Miniseries category has left us all open-mouthed with a few titles we didn’t expect to see there. First of all, Daisy Jones & the Six has become one of the revelations of the awards, with nine Emmy nominations in total, including Best Miniseries and Best Actress for Riley Keough. The Amazon series was well received, but it was not expected that the Academy would be so fond of it.
Something similar has happened to Fleishman Is in Trouble, which has sneaked into this edition with seven nominations, including two for its actresses, Lizzy Caplan and Claire Danes.
The Succession Hat-trick!
While there is no surprise in the Roy clan’s predomination over the Emmy 2023 with 27 nominations, the real surprise is that for the first time in the history of the Emmy Awards, three actors, Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong and Kieran Culkin, from the same series compete for the lead actor category at the same time! Well, if anyone can do it, it definitely would be the Roys!
Correcting Some of the Emmy’s Past Wrongs!
The Emmys Awards has a history of not giving new talents the recognition they are worthy of right away. Nevertheless, this year the Television Academy is starting a new slate by nominating 38 first-time performers in different categories!
The Emmy 2023 Nominations Snubs
Poker Face!
We are so happy to see that Poker Face’s star Natasha Lyonne received a well-earned Emmy 2023 nomination for Best Actress, and the series got three other nominations, but it is still baffling why the series didn’t make it to the Best Comedy list! It seems a bit unfair not to give one of the best comedy series right now the nod it deserves!
Only ONE Murder in the Emmy Building: Martin Short!
Only Murders in the Building has been a treat that’s been hard to beat since its premiere in 2021, and while the series received 11 Emmy 2023 nominations, it is truly disappointing that only Martin Short received an acting nomination; what about Steve Martin and Selena Gomez?! What happened to those?!
No Yellowstone Nominations This Year Too!
With the popular Yellowstone series finale just around the corner, fans were hoping to have their favourite show receive some shoutouts from the Emmy 2023. However, the Television Academy appears to have a different opinion, and the series was left out entirely, along with its spin-off 1923.
In fact, the only Emmy nomination the series received since its premiere in 2018 was in 2021 for Outstanding Production Design for A Narrative Contemporary Program, which it didn’t even win!
Harrison Ford!
When you have a household name like Harrison Ford starring in two different series, you instantly think that the chances are that he would get at least one Emmy nomination, if not two! However, the Television Academy didn’t think so, and despite Ford’s brilliant comic role in the series Shrinking and moving performance in the drama series 1923, Harrison Ford’s name was nowhere to be found in the Emmy 2023 nominations!
No Puppy Love for Reservation Dogs!
For the second year in a row, the Emmy didn’t show any kind of love for the amazing acting, writing, or directing done in the brilliant series Reservation Dogs. The only Emmy nomination the poignant series received this year was for sound editing!
Where Is Sarah Goldberg’s Nomination?!
Since 2018, Sarah Goldberg has been delivering a show-stopping performance in the series Barry, and with the series coming to an end this year, it was an unpleasant surprise to many fans not to have Sarah Goldberg make the Emmy 2023 nominations list!
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Shall Not Pass!
One of the biggest snubs of this year’s Emmy nominations is definitely the absence of any nomination in the major categories for the most-expensive TV series that was ever shot! However, while The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power was left out of the acting, writing, and directing categories, it still received six technical nominations; Outstanding Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes, Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music, Outstanding Main Title Design, Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup, Outstanding Sound Editing, and Outstanding Special Visual Effects.
Dead Ringers, Dead Emmys!
Ever since the Emmy 2023 nominations were announced and many have been wondering how series like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Daisy Jones and the Six be picked over a cult gem like Dead Ringers! The horror thriller is, without a doubt, one of the best of the genre in recent years, and it is just sad not to see it make the cut!
Also, the Oscar-winner Rachel Weisz presented a superb performance, or shall we say performances, for she played the twins’ roles as two completely different characters bringing depth and individuality to each one of them that this should be counted as two roles for her and not—that’s how great she was, and yet she wasn’t nominated for a leading role!
Steve Carell!
In case you haven’t seen it, please do now; The Patient series was one of the best thrillers that came out last year, for sure! In the series, Steve Carell genuinely presented one of the best performances of his career. So, it is hard to believe that he didn’t receive a nod for acting this year and that the whole series was left out of the Emmy 2023!
And the Emmy 2023 Major Categories Nominees Are:
Outstanding Drama Series
- Andor
- Better Call Saul
- The Crown
- House Of The Dragon
- The Last Of Us
- Succession
- The White Lotus
- Yellowjackets
Outstanding Limited Or Anthology Series
- Beef
- Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
- Daisy Jones & The Six
- Fleishman Is In Trouble
- Obi-Wan Kenobi
Outstanding Comedy Series
- Abbott Elementary
- Barry
- The Bear
- Jury Duty
- The Marvelous Mrs Maisel
- Only Murders In The Building
- Ted Lasso
- Wednesday
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
- Jeff Bridges – The Old Man
- Brian Cox – Succession
- Kieran Culkin – Succession
- Bob Odenkirk – Better Call Saul
- Pedro Pascal – The Last Of Us
- Jeremy Strong – Succession
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
- Sharon Horgan – Bad Sisters
- Melanie Lynskey – Yellowjackets
- Elisabeth Moss – The Handmaid’s Tale
- Bella Ramsey – The Last Of Us
- Keri Russell – The Diplomat
- Sarah Snook – Succession
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
- Bill Hader – Barry
- Jason Segel – Shrinking
- Martin Short – Only Murders In The Building
- Jason Sudeikis – Ted Lasso
- Jeremy Allen White – The Bear
Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
- Christina Applegate – Dead To Me
- Rachel Brosnahan – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
- Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary
- Natasha Lyonne – Poker Face
- Jenna Ortega – Wednesday
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
- Taron Egerton – Black Bird
- Kumail Nanjiani – Welcome To Chippendales
- Evan Peters – Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
- Daniel Radcliffe – Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
- Michael Shannon – George & Tammy
- Steven Yeun – Beef
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
- Lizzy Caplan – Fleishman Is In Trouble
- Jessica Chastain – George & Tammy
- Dominique Fishback – Swarm
- Kathryn Hahn – Tiny Beautiful Things
- Riley Keough – Daisy Jones & The Six
- Ali Wong – Beef
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
- F Murray Abraham – The White Lotus
- Nicholas Braun – Succession
- Michael Imperioli – The White Lotus
- Theo James – The White Lotus
- Matthew Macfadyen – Succession
- Alan Ruck – Succession
- Will Sharp – The White Lotus
- Alexander Skarsgård – Succession
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
- Jennifer Coolidge – The White Lotus
- Elizabeth Debicki – The Crown
- Meghann Fahy – The White Lotus
- Sabrina Impacciatore – The White Lotus
- Aubrey Plaza – The White Lotus
- Rhea Seehorn – Better Call Saul
- J Smith-Cameron – Succession
- Simona Tabasco – The White Lotus
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
- Anthony Carrigan – Barry
- Phil Dunster – Ted Lasso
- Brett Goldstein – Ted Lasso
- James Marsden – Jury Duty
- Ebon Moss-Bachrach – The Bear
- Tyler James Williams – Abbott Elementary
- Henry Winkler – Barry
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
- Alex Borstein – The Marvelous Mrs Maisel
- Ayo Edebiri – The Bear
- Janelle James – Abbott Elementary
- Sheryl Lee Ralph – Abbott Elementary
- Juno Temple – Ted Lasso
- Hannah Waddingham – Ted Lasso
- Jessica Williams – Shrinking
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
- Murray Bartlett – Welcome to Chippendales
- Paul Walter Hauser – Black Bird
- Richard Jenkins – Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
- Joseph Lee – Beef
- Ray Liotta – Black Bird
- Young Mazino – Beef
- Jesse Plemons – Love & Death
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
- Annaleigh Ashford – Welcome to Chippendales
- Maria Bello – Beef
- Claire Danes- Fleishman Is in Trouble
- Juliette Lewis – Welcome to Chippendales
- Camila Morrone – Daisy Jones & the Six
- Niecy Nash-Betts- Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
- Merritt Wever – Tiny Beautiful Things
For the complete list of the Emmy nominations, check here.
As every year, the Emmy nominations came with many joys but also with surprises and oversights that left series fans open-mouthed and gave rise to intense debates on social media. However, there is currently a more pressing matter at hand, as with the actors and writers strike, the fate of the Emmy 2023 ceremony remains unclear. Therefore, instead of wondering if our favourite stars would go home with the Emmy 2023 or not, we are now wondering whether there would be a ceremony in the first place!