2022 Emmy Awards Biggest Snubs: ‘Yellowstone,’ ‘This Is Us’ and ‘Ghosts’ Among Others

The nominations for the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards were unveiled on Tuesday, and, as usual, there were plenty of snubs. It’s evidence that so much good television was produced across the networks and streaming platforms that so many good shows were left on the outside looking in. Two of those shows were Yellowstone and 1883. This Is Us was nearly shut out for its final season, while the hit freshman comedy Ghosts missed.

The 2022 Emmys honor the best television that was released between June 1, 2021 and May 31, 2021, meaning perennial awards magnets The Crown and The Handmaid’s Tale were nowhere to be found. This was thought to give enough space for cable juggernaut Yellowstone to finally break through, but instead, it just meant Succession won more open slots in the acting categories. Freshman dramas Severance, Squid Game, and Yellowjackets also pushed Yellowstone out of the Outstanding Drama category. The other top drama nominees are Better Call Saul, Euphoria, Ozark, Succession, and Stranger Things.

Over on the comedy side, Ted Lasso returned, and the only freshman shows to make the cut in the Outstanding Comedy Series field were Abbott Elementary and Only Murders in the Building. The other nominees for top comedy are What We Do in the Shadows, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Barry. Scroll on for a look at some of the most surprising snubs before the Emmys air on NBC Monday, Sept. 12.

Yellowstone (Paramount Network)

After Yellowstone finally got some prestigious awards attention with a nod for its cast at the 2022 Screen Actors Guild Awards earlier this year, it seemed like the Montana-set soap opera was poised to finally break out at the Emmys. This was not the case for the show, created by Taylor Sheridan and John Linson. The show, which draws a bigger audience than most broadcast dramas, even failed to get a below-the-line nod. Its only ever Emmy nomination is still for Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program (One Hour or More) in 2021.

1883 (Paramount+)

Sheridan’s Yellowstone prequel series 1883 was also shut out of the major nominations, despite praised performances from country stars Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. The only nominations for 1883 came in below-the-line categories. It scored two nods for Outstanding Cinematography For A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie and another for Outstanding Music Composition For A Limited Or Anthology Series, Movie Or Special (Original Dramatic Score).

Ghosts (CBS)

The CBS hit comedy Ghosts was the top-rated new comedy of the season, but it was missing at the Emmys. It just didn’t break through with the Television Academy voters in the same way ABC’s Abbott Elementary did. Ghosts will have another shot with its second season.

This Is Us (NBC)

During its first few seasons, This Is Us was the rare broadcast drama to win slots in major categories over cable and streaming shows. Surprisingly, This Is Us’ final season earned a single nomination, for “The Forever Now,” a song Mandy Moore’s husband Taylor Goldsmith wrote with Siddhartha Khosla. Moore missing out on a nomination herself was particularly shocking considering all the acclaim she received for her performance.

Black-Ish (ABC)

Black-Ish will end its run with a surprisingly disappointing record at the Emmys for a show almost always nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series. The show’s final season only earned nominations for Outstanding Contemporary Costumes and Outstanding Contemporary Hairstyling. Incredibly, Black-Ish‘s only Emmy win is for Outstanding Contemporary Hairstyling in 2020.

Selena Gomez

Sure, Only Murders in the Building earned six nominations, but Gomez’s omission from the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series field is disappointing. Her male co-stars, comedy legends Martin Short and Steve Martin, are competing against each other for Outstanding Lead Actor. The show is also up for Outstanding Comedy; Outstanding Directing (twice, for Jamie Babbit and Cherien Dabis); and Outstanding Writing. Gomez did score a nomination for Outstanding Comedy as an executive producer though.

Genre shows

While Stranger Things was included in the Outstanding Drama Series category, all other genre shows were relegated to the Oustanding Stunt Coordination categories. HBO Max’s critically acclaimed Peacemaker was ignored, despite John Cena’s incredible lead performance. The Disney+ Marvel shows Loki, Hawkeye, and Moon Knight only earned nods in the technical categories. Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett also fared worse than The Mandalorian, only earning nods for costumes, visual effects, stunt coordination, and sound editing.