Top 5 Emmy 2026 Nomination Snubs That Shocked the Industry

The nominations for the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards have been announced, celebrating a triumphant day for some of television’s most lauded programs. Shows such as “The Pitt” and “Widow’s Bay” dominated with numerous nods, while streaming services like Apple TV and HBO also reaped a hefty share of nominations. For many in the industry, this lineup hints that certain series, especially “The Pitt,” might achieve significant victories during the upcoming ceremony in September. Nonetheless, with every announcement of nominations, there are inevitable disappointments and notable omissions that stir controversy.

Among the letdowns this year, a particularly glaring issue is the lack of representation for potential nominees of color at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards. For dedicated TV enthusiasts and casual viewers alike, certain exclusions in the 2026 nominations resonated more sharply. The top five unsatisfactory omissions point to broader trends than just specific productions being sidelined. They highlight shifts in the types of shows that Emmy voters are now favoring for the top accolades. Additionally, these snubs reveal the difficulties some programs face in niche categories where only a small number of nominees can make the cut.

Even amidst the excitement for those who soared with nominations, several egregious oversights at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards have prompted deep analysis. Let us delve into the snubs that left both fans and industry experts in disbelief.

It’s not always the artistic quality that leads to shocking snubs during award seasons. Consider the final season of “Stranger Things.” Its concluding episodes sparked a highly mixed reception. Rather than being captivated by the storylines, audiences frequently focused on the noticeable flaws in writing or the cumbersome exposition in Season 5. This criticism was further fueled by subsequent releases, like a documentary on the series, which only intensified the debate surrounding its finale. Without context, it wouldn’t be surprising that this season didn’t secure an Emmy nomination.

What makes this snub unexpected, however, is that every prior season of “Stranger Things” did receive a nomination for Outstanding Drama Series. Notably, both the third and fourth seasons were solely recognized in this category, unlike the first two, which also garnered acting and writing nominations. The affection for “Stranger Things” seemed to dwindle among Emmy voters this time around, deviating from previous patterns.

Between “The Boys,” “Euphoria,” and especially “Stranger Things,” the outstanding drama series category this year wasn’t interested in divisive final seasons of shows that stirred up lots of discourse. Netflix and the “Stranger Things” crew can console themselves with all the merchandising money the show made, but still, the Emmys ignoring “Stranger Things” after previously going nuts for it was a bit shocking, even given the final season’s quality.

As late as 2014, it sure looked like the TV miniseries was on its last legs. Then Peak TV kicked into overdrive and new streamers needed star-studded programming fast. Suddenly, this format was hot again and omnipresent. In the last two years, the miniseries has simmered down again in popularity as streamers return their focus to shows with longer, multiple seasons (like “The Pitt”). However, there are still enough of these shows that some great programs can get lost in the outstanding limited or anthology series Emmy category. Case in point: the exclusion this year of “Death by Lightning.”

This entertaining and well-crafted program spent four episodes chronicling James A. Garfield’s (Michael Shannon) unexpected ascendency to the U.S. Presidency as well as the scheming machinations of Charles J. Guiteau (Matthew Macfayden), who eventually assassinates Garfield. The show’s sharp writing (courtesy of Mike Makowsky) made sequences depicting events like voting at the Republican National Convention enthralling. All the performances were sublime too, including Shannon in one of his most empathetic on-screen roles as Garfield. Alas, these qualities weren’t enough to get the show a well-deserved nod for outstanding limited or anthology series.

Perhaps the program’s November 2025 airdate ensured it was out of people’s minds by the time summer 2026 Emmy voting rolled around. Whatever led to its exclusion, “Death by Lightning” getting snubbed is another insult to James A. Garfield.

Typically, a movie heading to a streaming platform indicates that it must be of inferior quality, but the snappy time travel comedy “Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice” was fun enough to make one lament that it was dumped on Hulu. This high-concept feature involving gangsters, two Vince Vaughns, and James Marsden’s comic timing was a solid outing from writer-director BenDavid Grabinski. Given how lackluster many TV movies are, one could imagine “Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice” easily scoring an outstanding television movie Emmy nomination.

Unfortunately, the film — complete with witty dialogue referencing questionable things we ignored in “Gilmore Girls” – was not on the wavelength of Emmy voters. Even more bafflingly, it got knocked out of this category by two worse-reviewed Amazon streaming films. One was the John Cena/Idris Elba actioner “Heads of State,” while the other was “Jack Ryan: Ghost War.” It’s so bizarre fathoming how these two even got in, regardless of whether they beat out “Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice” for a nomination or not.

Perhaps this outcome reinforces that “Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice” was always an odd fit for a TV movie. Perhaps the extension of pre-existing TV shows like “Shadow War” struck Emmy voters as natural TV movies. Meanwhile, this movie may have seemed so much like a theatrical release that it didn’t even cross the minds of Emmy voters for this category. 

Some of the best cartoons of all time have effortlessly scored Emmy nominations in the outstanding animated program category, including “The Simpsons,” “BoJack Horseman,” and “Scavengers Reign,” as well as some less-than-stellar productions like “Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness.” This year’s eclectic nominees for outstanding animated program were certainly a fascinating collection, with everything from surprise nominee “Smiling Friends” to “Star Wars: Visions” representing various genres and animation styles. The category has come a long way from the days of acclaimed “Simpsons” episodes sharing space with “Garfield” TV specials and programs based on the California Raisins.

Unfortunately, one major, acclaimed 2025 animated program got left out in the cold. Despite series creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg’s prior show, “BoJack Horseman,” getting nominated twice in this category, “Long Story Short” was snubbed for an outstanding animated program nod. This is despite the show garnering praise for its wit and audacious storytelling, including touching a subject no other cartoon (except “South Park”) dared to. Unfortunately, all the 2026 Emmy nominees for outstanding animated program were shows with multiple seasons under their respective belts. 

A newcomer like “Long Story Short,” despite getting some of Netflix’s best reviews for 2025 (for animated or live-action programming), couldn’t hope to compete with these heavyweights. Hopefully subsequent “Long Story Short” seasons will land some Emmy nods and maybe even the win that eluded “BoJack Horseman” in this category.

“Wonder Man” was not only Marvel’s least traditional show, but featured a beautiful bromance anchored by great performances from Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kingsley. Reprising his Marvel Cinematic Universe role of Trevor Slattery, first established in “Iron Man 3,” Kingsley wasn’t just funny (though his killer line deliveries cannot be under-praised) but also provided engaging moments of warmth and tremendously compelling chemistry with Abdul-Mateen II. The latter actually scored a welcome and richly deserved Emmy nomination for his “Wonder Man” performance in the outstanding lead actor in a comedy series category.

Unfortunately, Kingsley got no such Emmy nomination in the outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series category. What’s bizarre about this development is that (in addition to other awards feats like winning an Oscar) Kingsley’s already been nominated for four prior Emmy awards. This ceremony is clearly both aware of him and open to acknowledging his work. As late as 2016, Kingsley’s TV work was being recognized at ceremonies like the Screen Actors Guild Awards (for the miniseries “Tut”). 

His outstanding “Wonder Man” performance not getting similar recognition at the Emmys is dumbfounding. Perhaps the competition  in the outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series category was just too stiff this year. Whatever the reason, Kingsley’s incredible presence in “Wonder Man” was more than worthy of some Emmy consideration.