Emmys 2020: Reese Witherspoon, ‘The Mandalorian,’ Zendaya, and More of the Biggest Snubs and Surprises

Nominations for the 2020 Emmy Awards were announced today and, as always, there were some major snubs and delightful surprises. While the full Emmys nominations list included favorites like Watchmen and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, it was also full of surprises. Disney+’s The Mandalorian nabbed 15 nominations, including one for Best Drama Series, and while major star Reese Witherspoon was roundly snubbed out of acting nominations for Big Little Lies, Little Fires Everywhere, and The Morning Show. In fact, many of the acting categories seemed to honor fresh faces over stalwart awards favorites.

Former Saturday Night Live and future Supermarket Sweep host Leslie Jones hosted the nominations for the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards this morning with some socially distant help from Laverne Cox, Josh Gad, and Tatiana Maslany. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel leads the comedy categories with 20 nominations, while Succession and Ozark look poised for a showdown in the Drama categories. Elsewhere, HBO Limited Series Watchmen took home 26 nods, the most nominations of any show this year.

That’s the good news, but what failed to attract the attention of Emmy voters this year? Past Emmy favorites Pose and Big Little Lies were locked out of the Best Drama category. Elisabeth Moss didn’t get a nomination for The Handmaid’s Tale — instead making room for the likes of Euphoria star Zendaya — and Better Call Saul stars Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn were both denied nominations.

So what were the biggest snubs and surprises of the 2020 Emmy nominations? Here’s what you should be mad about and what’s worth celebrating.

BIGGEST SNUBS OF THE 2020 EMMYS

While there’s no such thing as a 100% “sure thing” when it comes to awards nominations, several omissions this year are sure to raise eyebrows — especially in the acting categories.

For years, Better Call Saul star Bob Odenkirk has been a favorite of Emmy voters, making his absence from the Best Drama Actor category rather stunning. Perhaps more gutting to BCS fans, though, is the fact that the sterling Rhea Seehorn failed to make the Best Supporting Actress list. This last season was a big one for her character, Kim Wexler, and voters only have one season left of the series to throw nominations her way.

While it doesn’t come as too much of a shocker that Apple TV+’s The Morning Show roped in a number of nominations for its superstar cast, one big name was shunned by the Academy: Reese Witherspoon. Not only did Witherspoon fail to earn a nomination for The Morning Show, but she was also shut out for both Big Little Lies and Little Fires Everywhere. (Though as an executive producer, Witherspoon should be happy. All three shows earned nominations.)

Speaking of Big Little Lies… The HBO show was an Emmys darling when it was a limited series, but only earned five nods in its second season. Two of those were for Laura Dern and Meryl Streep in the Best Supporting Actress race. The fact that Emmy voters cooled on the hit show when it made its leap to an on-going series might give Witherspoon and other big name producers pause next time they want to push a popular limited series further. The problem is two-fold. A near-perfect season of TV is hard to follow and it’s becoming increasingly popular for big name stars to dip into a prestige limited series…meaning it’s harder to impress with just star power alone.

Two of the biggest snubs have got to be The Handmaid’s Tale‘s Elisabeth Moss and Netflix’s Unbelievable. While Unbelievable earned an honor for Best Limited Series, its stars Kaitlyn Dever and Merritt Wever were both expected to earn nominations in the Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie category. They were seemingly edged out by two other Netflix stars, Octavia Spencer and Shira Haas.

As for Elisabeth Moss? Considered one of the most talented actresses in the history of television, Moss has just about owned real estate in the Best Drama Actress category since the inception of The Handmaid’s Tale. However, her absence from the category gave room for some younger stars to shine…

BIGGEST SURPRISES OF THE 2020 EMMYS

We all loved “Baby Yoda,” but it turns out Emmy voters really loved The Mandalorian. Disney+’s first major television show racked up 15 nominations, including one for Best Drama Series. Though the majority of those were in technical categories — and deservedly so — The Mandalorian’s very appearance in the Best Drama category might have been a shock to some. (Especially Pose fans.)

Other shows that edged into major categories include FX’s What We Do in the Shadows, which has been something of a cult hit and critics darling, and the aforementioned Unorthodox. Netflix’s limited series took a spot in the Limited Series race many prognosticators thought might go to Normal People, I Know This Much is True, Hollywood, or The Plot Against America. That, coupled with Haas’s nomination, suggest voters might be more bullish on the series than experts assumed.

But the biggest and most welcome surprises came in the major acting categories. Euphoria star Zendaya earned her first nomination for Best Actress in a Drama while Hollywood standout Jeremy Pope and Normal People heartthrob Paul Mescal both wound up in the Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie race, against titans like Mark Ruffalo, Hugh Jackman, and Jeremy Irons.

Maybe the best surprise of the day was seeing a marked amount of diversity in the nominations. This year, BPOC performers were represented in every single acting category. As Frank Sherma, the Chairman and CEO of the Television Academy, touched upon in his opening remarks, 2020 has been a year of massive cultural change. The pandemic aside, there has been an urgent call to address systemic racism on a mass scale… It’s something that looks to be reflected in the nominees for this year’s Emmys.

The 72nd Emmy Awards will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel on Sunday, September 20 on ABC. There’s still no word on whether or not this year’s ceremony will air virtually or live.