Why Obi-Wan Kenobi wasn't eligible for the Emmys this year

The Force will not be with Obi-Wan Kenobi at the Emmys this year.

When the Television Academy announces the nominees for this year's Emmy Awards today, one galactic series will be notably missing. Despite premiering in May, Obi-Wan Kenobi was not eligible during this year's window — which means that Ewan McGregor's return to a galaxy far, far away will have to wait until next year.

Television Academy rules dictate that in order for a series to be eligible, the show must air in the window of June 1, 2021, to May 31, 2022, and any subsequent episodes must be made available to Academy members before voting begins. Disney declined to make the final Obi-Wan episodes available early, so the series is ineligible this year but can compete in 2023.

McGregor starred in the six-episode series as the titular bearded Jedi, reuniting with Hayden Christensen's Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader and facing off against Moses Ingram's Reva. Deborah Chow directed all six episodes. Despite mixed reviews, critics particularly celebrated McGregor's performance and the return of Christensen, and the series was a massive hit among fans, becoming Disney+'s most-watched premiere of all time.

McGregor won his first Emmy in 2021 for starring in Halston. As for whether he'll snag a second statuette for Obi-Wan next year? We'll have to wait and see.

Listen to interviews with Obi-Wan Kenobi stars Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Kumail Nanjiani, Moses Ingram, Rupert Friend and more on EW's new Star Wars podcast, Dagobah Dispatch.

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• Obi-Wan Kenobi faces off against Darth Vader… and it doesn't go well