Well, the 2024 Emmy Award nominations were announced this morning, and as usual, there were some pleasant surprises (yay for Selena Gomez!) and some upsetting snubs (nothing for The Curse?!).
Despite strike-shortened seasons for many shows, it was an excellent year for TV, and the Academy had a wealth of options from which to choose.
So there’s really no reason to complain about this year’s crop of nominees, especially with top-tier shows like The Bear and Shogun getting their due.
But hey — complaining is fun, so join as we kvetch about this year’s most unexpected decisions!
Snub: Kelsey Grammer for Frasier
If there’s one star the voters usually can’t wait to heap with plaudits, it’s Kelsey Grammer.
The man who brought Frasier Crane to life has won six Emmys over the course of his career, and he’s been nominated an astonishing 18 times.
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So the fact that he was shut out of this year’s contest comes as a major surprise.
Maybe reboot fever is finally beginning to subside, or maybe Grammer is less of an Academy darling now that he’s become more outspoken with his conservative political views.
Either way, there will be no seventh statue for the good doctor this year.
Surprise: Selena Gomez for Only Murders In the Building
But on the flip side of the coin is an A-list star who just received her very first Emmy nomination for acting!
Only Murders in the Building has been a hit for Hulu for several seasons, but last year, Steve Martin was the only cast member to receive a nod from the Academy.
This year, he’s joined by costars Martin Short and Gomez.
Selena has been nominated in the past as one of the show’s executive producers, but this is the first time that her wry performance as Mabel Mora has been acknowledged, making her only the fourth Latina to be nominated in the Outstanding Supporting Actress category.
She’ll have some stiff competition in the form of Quinta Brunson, Ayo Edebiri, Jean Smart, Maya Rudolph, and Kristen Wiig, but as they say, it’s an honor just to be nominated!
Snub: Emma Stone for The Curse
Now, Showtime’s The Curse was hardly your typical award bait.
But coming off her Best Actress Academy Award win for Poor Things, Stone seemed like an odds-on favorite to at least get nominated for her hilarious performance opposite Nathan Fielder.
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Alas, Stone was shut out of this year’s Emmys.
But with two Oscar statuettes at home, she probably won’t be crying herself to sleep over this one.
Double-Snub: John Mulaney for Everybody’s in LA and The Bear
Beloved comedian John Mulaney was shut out in two possible categories this year:
He was widely expected to receive a nod for his Netflix variety series Everybody’s In LA.
Many also predicted that the comic would earn an acting nod for his work on “Fishes,” a memorable episode from the second season of The Bear.
Like Stone, Mulaney isn’t exactly hurting for acclaim these days, but the double-snub must still come as a bit of a disappointment.
And speaking of The Bear, that’s one show that’s not exactly suffering in the nominations department.
Surprise: The Bear Sets a New Record
The Bear Season 3 may have met with mixed reviews, but the show’s second season was almost universally acclaimed.
Even after a full year of rave reviews, however, the series’ unprecedented success at the Emmys comes as the best kind of surprise.
Folks, Carmy and company just set a new record with 23 nominations, the most ever for a comedy!
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Now, there’s been some debate as to whether the Chicago restaurant series — which tends to go to some very dark places — can be properly categorized as a comedy.
But most of its episodes are in the 30-minute range, and its got plenty of humorous moments courtesy of Cousin Richie and the Fak brothers — so for now, at least, that’s where it falls.
No great surprise there, as the FX period piece was the most lauded series of the year, and it benefitted from the absence of last year’s dominant dramas, Succession, The White Lotus, and The Last of Us.
But that’s not to take anything away from Shogun, which is a truly impressive series in every aspect and richly deserving of every award it wins.
What do you think, TV fanatics?
Are you happy with this year’s nominees, or are you more upset about the high-profile snubs?
Hit the comments section below to share your thoughts, and don’t forget to tune in to the 2024 Emmy Awards, September 15 on ABC.
