The Biggest Surprises And Snubs Of The 2020 Emmy Nominations

Ah, yes. Another major awards show, another chance to pick apart the nominations! The 2020 Emmy Nominations were announced this morning and, as usual, there were a number of surprises (some positive, some negative). And of course, there were plenty of folks who were left out of the party.

So let's dispense with the pleasantries and wade into the muck of it all. Let's break down the biggest 2020 Emmy surprises and snubs, from The Mandalorian to Watchmen to What We Do in the Shadows to Reese Witherspoon and more.

At this point, Rhea Seehorn should sue for being overlooked every year by the Emmys for her consistently stellar performance in Better Call Saul. The breakout star of AMC's Breaking Bad spin-off series, Seehorn is constantly praised by critics for her powerhouse performance as the principled and complex attorney Kim Wexler, the love interest and confidant of Bob Odenkirk's Jimmy McGill, and is often the character through which the show explores its most interesting moral quandaries. Seehorn has long been considered one of the most overdue for a nomination for best actress in a drama series, but it has unjustly evaded her once again. (Hoai-Tran Bui)

Modern Family and Silicon Valley have earned plenty of Emmy nominations over the years. In fact, Modern Family was an Emmy darling, getting nominated eight times for Best Comedy Series, and winning five times, not to mention several other nominations and wins in other categories. But even though each of these shows just ended their final seasons, they didn't walk away with a nomination in the Best Comedy Series category. For Modern Family, it's mostly because of a drop in quality over the years, and the same could be said for Silicon Valley, which started to overstay its welcome. Perhaps the more important factor is the steep comedy competition there was this year, as evidenced by the shows nominated. (Ethan Anderton)

Even though What We Do in the Shadows received plenty of Emmys love, it's hard to forget that its incredible cast was completely shutout. Kayvan Novak, Matt Berry, Natasia Demetriou, Harvey Guillén, and Mark Proksch turn in incredible performances, presenting outrageous characters who feel so real that they complement the show's faux documentary style with every step. But maybe that's why they were snubbed. In a high concept series like this, it's easy to heap praise on the writing and directing, thinking that the actors are just pieces to be shuffled from one outrageous set piece to another when they are a vital component of making every oddball choice sing. (Jacob Hall)

Aside from Jeffrey Wright and Thandie Newton's nods in the supporting acting categories, the Emmys had no love for HBO's Westworld this year in the main categories. Series star Evan Rachel Wood has been nominated multiple times in the past but was shut out this year, and since it didn't get a Best Drama nomination this year, maybe the voters are growing a little wary of the show's mystery box approach. (Ben Pearson)

Big Little Lies will not not be forgotten as a pop culture phenomenon, but it seems the Emmy's have. The second season of the acclaimed HBO drama was almost completely shut out of major categories, failing to get a Best Drama nomination and only earning two supporting acting nominations for stars Laura Dern and Meryl Streep. It's a far cry from 2017, when the limited series swept the Emmys with nine nominations and six wins. But perhaps it's not totally surprise, considering the second season's middling reception from critics and behind-the-scenes troubles. (Hoai-Tran Bui)

Not only was her work on Big Little Lies almost completely shut out of the Emmys, Reese Witherspoon is going home empty-handed for her roles in The Morning Show and Little Fires Everywhere, the latter of which featured one of the Oscar winner's most monstrous performances she's delivered to date. This despite her costars in The Morning Show, Jennifer Aniston and Steve Carell earning nominations for their turns in the Apple TV+ series, and Kerry Washington getting a nod for Little Fires Everywhere. It's a shame that Witherspoon is getting overlooked when she's delivering some of her most layered, and interesting work in her career. (Hoai-Tran Bui)

Like his Better Call Saul co-star Rhea Seehorn, series lead Bob Odenkirk is sitting on the sidelines again this year when it comes to an acting nomination. I haven't caught up with the latest few seasons, but plenty of people I know are saying Odenkirk has been doing career-best work for years now, so this lack of recognition stings. And a few years ago, it would have been a slam dunk that Al Pacino, formerly considered one of America's finest actors, would have gotten a token nomination just for showing up on the Amazon Prime Video series Hunters. But the fact that he was left in the dust speaks to how much the bar has been raised in the past decade, and to how stacked these particular categories were this year. (Ben Pearson)