The 15 Biggest Emmys Snubs of 2025

Look, it’s not fun to argue for a show that got a lot of Emmys love—and rightfully so. But what made The Pitt so great wasn’t just the acting from Noah Wyle, Katherine LaNasa, and Shawn Hatosy (all three of whom got well-deserved nominations)—it was the whole ensemble. We could make the case for just about anyone in the cast, but we wanted to single out Patrick Ball’s performance as Dr. Langdon, because he’s just got so many layers to him. This is a guy who is clearly troubled, clearly good at his job, and clearly capable of being kind sometimes and a huge dick other times. It’s a complex character played to perfection—and isn’t that why we love watching good TV in the first place?

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Before we get too deep into this, let’s get one thing straight: it’s an absolute farce that while Andor season 2 got quite a few Primetime Emmy nominations, its exceptional acting ensemble got almost entirely ignored (the lone exception being a nomination in the Best Guest Actor, Drama, category for Forest Whitaker). In a just world, Diego Luna, Kyle Soller, Denise Gough, Stellan Skarsgård would all have earned nominations—and that’s just to start. Elizabeth Dulau’s very first role was as Kleya in Andor. That is absurd, and this show deserved much more love than what it got.

But in our book the biggest of those snubs was Ben Mendelsohn, reprising his role as the villainous bureaucrat Orson Krennic from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Mendelsohn has described his turn in Andor as “fruitier,” and he’s not wrong—he eats up every scene he’s in, making the right choices constantly. His final scene with Gough—where Krennic chews Dedra out for her bad decisions, complete with an absolutely epic bop on the head—is one of the best moments in the history of Star Wars villainy (and all of recent television).

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Sometimes—like, as we said in the case of The Wire—a show just, for whatever reason, cannot break through into the Emmys circuit. This has been the case for The Righteous Gemstones, and, now, it seems to also be the case for Industry. Nonetheless—HBO’s most underrated show is intense, smart, and one of the most compelling things on TV. We could make the case for a number of standout players in the show’s excellent third season, including Kit Harington, Sagar Radia (who had an absolute breakout, Uncut Gems-esque season), and the always-fantastic Ken Leung, but our pick from Industry would go to the wonderful Marisa Abela, who owned the season with an unforgettable storyline and some of her best material yet. Between Industry and Steven Soderbergh’s Black Bag, it’s been a fantastic run for one of the best upcoming actresses out there.

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Look—again, we don’t want to be the people banging the table fora show that’s already gotten a ton of love. But as Gemma, Dichen Lachman is the beating heart of Severance—and represents the most vital part of the whole show. Just like with The Bear—where you see Jon Bernthal’s Mikey Berzatto and immediately understand why everyone is so broken that he’s gone—we meet the real Gemma in Severance season 2, and Lachman instantly makes her into someone who we love, respect, and empathize with. It’s not just a character in a sci-fi show, but feels like a real person. There’s no mystery as to why Mark S. (Adam Scott) feels the way he does.

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The Righteous Gemstones came to a satisfying and bittersweet conclusion with its fourth season, and it’s a shame that the show never got the love it deserved in the acting, writing, or series categories. We could bang the table for any of the show’s key players—including Danny McBride, Edi Patterson, John Goodman, and guest stars Seann William Scott and Megan Mullally. But Walton Goggins’s turn as Baby Billy Freeman was without question one of the funniest performances in television history, and it’s a shame that he never got his flowers for it from the Emmys. You’d think in a moment where Goggins’s star has been absolutely blowing up (he did receive a nomination for his role on The White Lotus) that he could’ve earned an elusive double-nom. But, alas, he’ll now have to settle for being shouted out in a Men’s Health article.

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In the fast-paced world of modern event television—particularly when released in the binge model—sometimes a show that’s big in one moment can be almost entirely forgotten in the next. That’s kind of the case with Netflix’s The Perfect Couple, which was one of the biggest things on TV for a couple weeks and now has seemingly disappeared off the face of the planet (in terms of discourse and conversation). And while the show was ultimately a campy, silly, fun murder mystery, Liev Schreiber was a standout (as he tends to be) as the wealthy, unbothered, sleazy patriarch of the show’s central family.

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Sirens, meanwhile, in a lot of ways was the anti-Perfect Couple—it was a show that played on your expecations for those kind of beach read murder mystery thriller stories, and instead gave a much more thoughtful, character-focused story about trauma, self, and identity. Meghann Fahy got a much-deserved nomination in the lead category, but we would’ve liked to see her on-screen sister (as played by House of the Dragon star and new DCU Supergirl Milly Alcock) get a nomination as well for playing such a malleable, shifty, and always-convincing character alongside her. (Julianne Moore, also, was obviously awards-worthy. As always.)

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The category thing makes anything for Agatha All Along a little tricky. It would probably do best in the comedy category, but The Studio and The Bear are likely to dominate. Officially, it was probably listed under Limited Series—which is even tougher. So any nomination for Agatha was probably a longshot.

But for being Marvel’s best show in the last few years (by a lot), we’d be remiss to not wish it got some above-the-line love. Kathryn Hahn was Emmy-nominated for playing the character in WandaVision, but she added even more layers and depth to her magical villain in Agatha—and it was a joy to watch each week. Let’s just agree to look at her nomination for The Studio (much-deserved!) as a combination for both shows and performances.

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If Nobody Wants This is a modern version of the kind of ’90s and 2000s romcoms that we all loved and continue to want more of, Timothy Simons and Justine Lupe play the modern version of the loyal best friends in those movies who always make us laugh and earn our love. But these two have bonuses—they aren’t just there for the main characters to bounce ideas and thoughts off of; they have their own stories, their own personalities, and their own goals in life. But most importantly? They have chemistry. Whether or not it becomes a romantic thing in the future, it’s just a delight to watch these two on screen together.

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I’m kind of always going to be a sucker for a big, major movie star making their way onto TV. Think Kate Winslet in Mare of Easttown or Cate Blanchett in Disclaimer (the latter of which earned an Emmy nomination this year). Michael Fassbender is certainly someone who fits that mold, and he brought his considerable talents to the screen as a master spy called Martian in Showtime’s The Agency. Fassbender balanced action, spycraft, and romance to ground the TV portion of his recent excellent run (which also includes Black Bag and The Killer). We could also nominate John Magaro, Jodie Turner-Smith, or Jeffrey Wright for their respective roles in The Agency, but at least the latter got a nomination for his captivating role in The Last of Us.

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We love Big Stars in Spy Shows don’t we, folks? Just like it was a delight to see Fassbender in The Agency, it was also a delight to see Knightley anchor Netflix’s own take on the hot spy genre, Black Doves. Not too much more we need to say—Knightley and her co-lead Ben Whishaw were both phenomenal and a joy to watch in this show. It took the Emmys a few years to come around on Slow Horses, so maybe that’ll be the case with Black Doves too.

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As the de facto lead (opposite Cate Blanchett) in Disclaimer, Kline gives one of his best performances in years. It’s really something to watch his character go from a grieving father to a scheming goblin over the course of the series, and Kline sells it all with the same bravado that’s made him a major star for all these decades.

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A Man on the Inside is a lot of things, but most importantly, it’s just nice. A low-stakes mystery with kind characters, this is the kind of show that you’ll feel really nice watching. And Ted Danson is the perfect lead for that kind of show: He’s someone you just can’t help but watch and really appreciate, and enjoy, and want to be friends with.

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American Primeval came out in early January, but remains the grittiest, most violent, and most savage show of the year. And something like that is never going to be for everyone. But the show’s acting standout comes from modern legendary character actor Shea Whigham, who adds the real-life mountain man Jim Bridger to his list of fantastic recent roles. Whigham’s Bridger is a total badass, commanding the scene every time he’s in it. And it’s a joy to watch.

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There are three standouts in Apple TV+’s Your Friends & Neighbors: Jon Hamm, Amanda Peet, and Olivia Munn. Hamm is obviously the show’s anchor—and, as always, delivers—but we’re going to go with Olivia Munn as our snub. Her character, Sam, is introduced as Coop’s (Hamm) mistress, but turns out to be so much more—including her own Gone Girl-esque monologue later in the season. Munn has done plenty of good work over the course of her career, but Your Friends & Neighbors may just be the best.

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