The 23 Biggest Surprises And Snubs Of The 2022 Emmy Nominations

The 74th annual Emmy Award nominations were announced this morning, and as usual, the list included some disheartening snubs, some wonderful surprises, some obvious but well-deserved picks (hi "Succession"), and a few choices that simply make a person ask "Why?!" With a year that brought countless great comedies, a wide array of limited series, and a few dramas that towered above the rest, Emmy voters had more TV than ever to choose from. So how did they do? 

Ahead of the award ceremony on September 12, here's our guide to the best, worst, and weirdest choices on this year's ballot.

The elaborate and enigmatic Apple TV+ series "Severance" may be the best show on TV right now, but with its trippy sci-fi elements and slow-burn mysteries, I expected it to fall outside the Emmys' taste range. Thankfully, I was wrong. 

"Severance" earned a mind-blowing 14 Emmy nominations today, including for Adam Scott, John Turturro, Christopher Walken, and Patricia Arquette. The deeply freaky series follows a group of employees at a shady, massive company who undergo a procedure to sever their workplace memories from their off-hours memories, effectively creating two versions of themselves. I know award show sweeps are boring, but if anything deserves a sweep, it's "Severance."

The all-around Emmys love for "Inventing Anna," a mediocre and morally ugly Netflix show about a real-life scammer who pretended to be an heiress, is baffling. While Julia Garner is talented enough to make a performance as the annoying, mysteriously-accented Anna Delvey work, pretty much nothing else about the show does. Somehow, though, it still earned three nominations, including for Best Limited Series and Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie. In a year with fewer deserving limited series options, this would be moderately vexing, but in a year that brought us powerful, vital shows like "Maid," "Midnight Mass," "Station Eleven," and more, it's downright depressing.

It should be no surprise that ABC's "Abbott Elementary" scored big with today's announcements, given that the mockumentary sitcom about Philadelphia teachers is a total blast. Yet the Emmys don't always reward shows in their first season, and like most award shows, don't have a great track record when it comes to giving talented Black artists the kudos they deserve. 

Quinta Brunson, who created and stars in the series, is changing the game. With today's announcement, she becomes the first Black woman to receive three comedy Emmy nominations. Tyler James Williams, Janelle James, and Sheryl Lee Ralph also earned noms for laugh-out-loud funny performances.

"Euphoria" star and frequent meme subject Sydney Sweeney earned not one but two nominations today, with her second being for her turn as mean teen Olivia on "The White Lotus." While Sweeney does a great job in both HBO series, it's the "Euphoria" nod that will surely be divisive. 

Sweeney plays beautiful, easily manipulated teen Cassie, who went through a whole dark night of the soul this season when she ended up embroiled in an intense relationship with psychopath-in-the-making Nate (Jacob Elordi). Personally, I think Sweeney put in fantastic and difficult work this season, playing a character who seemed permanently on the edge of breakdown or destruction.

While "Killing Eve" has given us a lot to celebrate since its 2018 debut, including breakout star Jodie Comer and a resurgence of recognition for the always-excellent Sandra Oh, the show's fourth and final season is pretty universally acknowledged as a dud. 

This has been an admittedly weak year for the drama category offerings compared to comedy and limited series, but it's still surprising to see Oh and Comer earning nods for the lackluster final season. I would've rather seen Oh recognized for her work in the academic comedy "The Chair," while Comer was also mostly overlooked last award season for her turn in the film "The Last Duel."

If the /Film team as a whole could have only one Emmys wish this year, it would probably be to see Rhea Seehorn finally recognized for her nuanced, powerful performance as Kim Wexler on "Better Call Saul." Apparently, sometimes, wishes come true as the criminally underrated actor finally got a spot on this year's nominees list. After last night's midseason premiere showcased exactly what Seehorn is capable of — which is basically making audiences hold their breath in fear for a full hour — her nomination couldn't come at a better time. 

Long live Kim Wexler, and if she doesn't, well, we at least hope Seehorn gets an Emmy.

Since time immemorial, award season pundits have pointed out that voting bodies don't tend to reward fantasy and sci-fi storytelling nearly as much as they should. This year's Emmy ballot might finally put that theory to bed. In addition to the love for "Squid Game" and "Severance," Showtime's sleeper hit survival thriller "Yellowjackets" also made a splash at today's award announcements. Melanie Lynskey, who has already won two Critics Choice awards for her turn as housewife and possible reformed cannibal Shauna in the series, earned her first Emmy nod for the role today. Christina Ricci and director Karyn Kusama also scored nods, while the series itself earned a coveted Outstanding Drama Series nomination.

Since "Squid Game" is by most metrics the biggest show on earth, you'd think none of its nominations would be a surprise. Yet it's all-too-rare for non-English language series to break through at the Emmys, so seeing Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo, Oh Yeong-su, and Jung Ho-yeon all make the major acting categories (plus Lee You-mi as a guest star) is a wonderful surprise. 

The actors who play four of the major competitors in a high-risk, high-reward game show all give stellar performances as each character is pushed to the brink in a different way. While each nominee is more than deserving, Oh Yeong-su's turn as elderly teammate 001 won't soon be forgotten, and it's great to see him recognized.

Patrick Somerville's beautiful, humane post-apocalyptic series "Station Eleven" almost seems too personal to get Emmy nominations. As masterful as the show is, it creates a sort of profound intimacy with each viewer, so that by the time you're done watching, it feels like maybe it was made for you and you alone. This is why it feels like a minor miracle that the show earned several Emmy nominations today, including one for an indelible performance by Himesh Patel. 

As an unassuming man who's thrust into a position of leadership when the world falls apart, Patel's Jeevan Chaudhary is a brilliantly built character whose layers unfold throughout the series. While it's a shame Patel's equally brilliant scene partner, Matilda Lawler, didn't get a nomination of her own, his nomination is one of the best things the Emmys did this year.

"Ozark" has had plenty of highs and lows across its four-season run, but the Netflix series about a money-laundering family has one performance that towers above the rest. In the show's third season, Wendy's (Laura Linney) bipolar brother Ben (Tom Pelphrey) appears on the scene and quickly becomes tied up in the Byrde family's shady dealings. Pelphrey delivers a gut-check of a performance, particularly in a scene in which Ben emotionally unravels at length in the back of a taxi, yet his initial run was somehow overlooked by the Emmys. 

Luckily, the final season of "Ozark" brought Pelphrey back just long enough to remind us how phenomenal he was and secure him a well-earned Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series slot.

At this point, the presence of "Ted Lasso" on an award season ballot is anything but surprising. The cheery Apple TV+ comedy series about a clueless but kind American football coach (Jason Sudeikis) who takes over a U.K. soccer team has been racking up trophies for well over a year now. But still, the extent to which the Emmys honors the show is pretty impressive. Not only do all the previously-rewarded stars get spots on the shortlist, but so do a ton of supporting cast members and even guest stars. The show earned a whopping 20 Emmy noms, including for Toheeb Jimoh who plays Sam, Sarah Niles who plays Dr. Fieldstone, and even James Lance, AKA Trent Crimm from The Independent.