The 2022 Emmy Nominations: The Biggest Surprises (and Snubs)

Whatever your opinion of the Emmys, there isn’t another award show where the nominees include everyone from Chadwick Boseman to Adele, from Jennifer Coolidge to Barack Obama, and from Zendaya to Stanley Tucci. View the most significant talking points from the 2022 nominations before the event on September 12.

The Key Points

This year’s Emmy nominees made history.

With a second season and a reality show spin-off on the horizon, Netflix’s most popular series of all time, Squid Game, got 14 nominations, including one for outstanding drama series. It is now the first wholly non-English speaking program made outside of the West to receive a nomination in a significant category.

Then, there’s ABC’s Abbott Elementary, whose creator and star, Quinta Brunson, has been nominated for outstanding actress in a comedy series at just thirty-one. Additionally, NBC’s Saturday Night Live maintained its lead as the program with the most Emmy nominations (306 nods across six decades), while HBO’s succession broke the record for the drama series with the most actor nominations in a calendar year (14).

After being the youngest winner of the outstanding actress in a drama series Emmy in 2020, Zendaya made history once more. At 25, she is now the youngest person to be nominated twice for lead acting and the youngest person ever to be nominated for producing.

Rising stars and legends were first-time nominees.

There are 50 first-time Emmy nominees this year. Chadwick Bosemans’s voiceover work as Black Panther’s T’Challa in Disney+’s What If…? was recognized posthumously, and Jennifer Coolidge was nominated for outstanding supporting actress in a limited or anthology series or movie for The White Lotus. What other notables are currently enjoying the spotlight of their initial nominations? Amanda Seyfried for The Dropout, Lily James for Pam & Tommy, Elle Fanning for The Great, Kaitlyn Dever for Dopesick, Melanie Lynskey for Yellowjackets, Andrew Garfield for Under the Banner of Heaven, Oscar Isaac for Scenes from a Marriage, Amanda Sweeney for both Euphoria and The White Lotus.

The snubbed.

While Atlanta only scored three nominations following its lengthy sabbatical, neither Black-ish nor This Is Us received the number of nominations anticipated for their last seasons. Yellowstone, a favorite of the critics, and the newcomers, Pachinko, Reservoir Dogs, and Maid were also passed over. Mother Andie MacDowell was left off the list of nominees for finest supporting actress. However, Margaret Qualley did win the award for outstanding lead actress in a limited or anthology series or film.

Even though Only Murders in the Building received 17 nominations, Selena Gomez was not nominated for an acting award. Fans of Stranger Things believe Sadie Sink was wrongfully denied the best-supporting actress nomination. Also noteworthy? The exclusion of several Hollywood A-listers from the Television Academy despite the enthusiasm surrounding their particular shows, such as Nicole Kidman for Roar, Anne Hataway and Jared Leto for WeCrashed, Gary Oldman for Slow Horses, Julia Roberts and Sean Penn for Gaslit, or Jessica Chastain for Scenes from a Marriage. And, Just Like That… received almost no love, in stark contrast to Sex and the City, which was popular during its initial six-season run.

Some more surprises.

The response to Emily in Paris’ nomination for outstanding comedy series this year? Anna’s inclusion in the category for excellent limited or anthology series. Another surprise was Dave Chappelle’s The Closer getting the spot for best-pre-recorded variety program despite receiving harsh criticism for its transphobic humor.

Reese Witherspoon received praise for her performance in The Morning Show, even though her role was significantly diminished in the most recent episode of the Apple TV+ sensation.

The ceremony will involve funny showdowns.

The nominees for this year ensure some fantastic (and unintentionally hilarious) competition on September 12. The competition for outstanding lead actor in a drama series is between Logan (Brian Cox) and Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong), while the competition for outstanding supporting actress is between Gerri Kellman (J. Smith-Cameron) and Shiv Roy (Sarah Snook). Following the release of Big Grrrls, Lizzo and RuPaul will face off for outstanding competition program, Julie Andrews (Lady Whistledown in Bridgerton) and Stanley Tucci (Bitsy in Central Park) will compete for outstanding character voice-over performance, and David Attenborough and Barrack Obama will compete for best narrator after the debuts of the Mating Game and Our Great National Parks respectively.

HBO topped Netflix in Emmy nominations – again.

If you’re interested in the streaming competition, you should know that Netflix only garnered 105 nominations this year, while HBO and HBO Max received 140. With 58 nominations, Hulu more than doubled its total for 2021, while Apple TV+ received 52. With 34 nominations, Disney+ placed fourth, followed by Amazon in fifth with 30.

A Look At The Numbers of 2022 Emmy Nominees

The Most Prominent Contenders:

• Succession, 25 Emmy nominations
• Ted Lasso, 20 Emmy nominations
• The White Lotus, 20 Emmy nominations
• Hacks, 17 Emmy nominations
• Only Murders In The Building, 17 Emmy nominations
• Euphoria, 16 Emmy nominations
• Barry, 14 Emmy nominations
• Dopesick, 14 Emmy nominations
• Severance, 14 Emmy nominations
• Squid Game, 14 Emmy nominations
• Ozark, 13 Emmy nominations
• Stranger Things, 13 Emmy nominations
• The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel, 12 Emmy nominations

The runners-up:

• Pam & Tommy, 10 Emmy nominations
• Saturday Night Live, 9 Emmy nominations
• RuPaul’s Drag Race, 8 Emmy nominations
• Moon Knight, 8 Emmy nominations
• Yellowjackets, 7 Emmy nominations
• What We Do In The Shadows, 7 Emmy nominations
• Abbott Elementary, 7 Emmy nominations
• Station Eleven, 7 Emmy nominations
• Better Call Saul, 7 Emmy nominations
• Lizzo’s Watch Out For The Big Grrrls, 6 Emmy nominations
• The Dropout, 6 Emmy nominations
• Loki, 6 Emmy nominations
• Lucy And Desi, 6 Emmy nominations
• Queer Eye, 6 Emmy nominations
• Stanley Tucci: Searching For Italy, 5 Emmy nominations
• The Tinder Swindler, 5 Emmy nominations
• Top Chef, 5 Emmy nominations
• Adele: One Night Only, 5 Emmy nominations
• The Beatles: Get Back, 5 Emmy nominations
• Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, 5 Emmy nominations
• The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, 5 Emmy nominations
• A Black Lady Sketch Show, 5 Emmy nominations
• George Carlin’s American Dream, 5 Emmy nominations
• The 64th Annual Grammy Awards, 5 Emmy nominations
• Impeachment: American Crime Story, 5 Emmy nominations
• The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, and 50 Cent, 5 Emmy nominations

The Emmy Awards will be shown live and on demand on Peacock on Monday, September 12 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

For the complete list of Emmy nominations:

Outstanding Drama Series

Better Call Saul
Euphoria
Ozark
Severance
Squid Game
Stranger Things
Succession
Yellowjackets

Outstanding Comedy Series