As more and more people watch “New Girl” on Netflix, they might wonder how neither Jake Johnson nor Lamorne Morris received Emmy noms for their roles.
“New Girl,” thanks to Netflix, has gotten a serious bump in viewership over the last two years as stressed people looked for something sweet and gut-bustingly funny to watch.
And while Max Greenfield and Zooey Deschanel were deservedly recognized by the Television Academy for their performances as Schmidt and Jessica Day, respectively, Johnson and Morris were snubbed for all seven seasons for their roles as Nick Miller and Winston Bishop.
Johnson is currently starring on the HBO Max series “Minx,” so a golden statue could be in his future soon.
Ellen Pompeo has been the heart and soul of “Grey’s Anatomy” for soon-to-be 19 seasons, but she has never been nominated for an Emmy.
Simply put, there is no “Grey’s Anatomy” without Meredith Grey, as played by Pompeo. Plenty of characters have come and gone over the years, with fans and critics alike claiming that the show couldn’t survive without them — but they were wrong. The show has endured, all narrated by Pompeo.
The fact that she hasn’t been nominated, not once, for her huge body of work is tough to swallow. But maybe season 19 will change that!
Charlie Hunnam was never nominated for his seven seasons of work on “Sons of Anarchy.”
Hunnam was tasked with playing Jax Teller, a leader of a motorcycle gang who tries to do the right thing while simultaneously committing murder, smuggling guns, and generally partaking in illegal activities, while still making audiences root for him.
It’s a testament to Hunnam’s acting ability and charm that they did, and he easily could have earned an Emmy for his work.
In 2022, Hunnam will return to TV for the first time since “Sons” with the Apple TV+ series “Shantaram.”
Hunnam’s on-screen mother, Katey Sagal, has never been nominated, either.
Sagal played Jax’s complicated mother, Gemma, on “Sons of Anarchy.” Gemma was both beloved and despised, and that’s due to her performance, in addition to great writing.
But “Sons of Anarchy” wasn’t the only show she starred in. Sagal played Peggy Bundy on “Married… with Children” for 11 seasons, and was one of the show’s most iconic characters. She also voiced Leela on “Futurama” for seven seasons and starred on “8 Simple Rules” — none of which garnered a nomination.
The fact that Wendell Pierce was never nominated for his work on “The Wire” seems egregious to us.
“The Wire” is heralded as one of the greatest shows of all time, period. But it never won an Emmy, and it was only nominated for two during its five-season run. Pierce played Det. William “Bunk” Moreland, whom Esquire called “the best-written character in the best-written show in the history of television.”
Like all of his co-stars, he didn’t receive an Emmy nod for “The Wire.” But some of them have been honored for their other work, like Idris Elba for “Luther” and the late Michael K. Williams for “When They See Us” and “Lovecraft Country.”
That Pierce, who has also starred in other prestige TV shows like “Treme,” has never been nominated is a travesty.
Peter Gallagher easily could have earned an Emmy nod for his time on “The O.C.”
Given that almost any teen soap of the 2000s owes “The O.C.” a great debt, and that it’s the reason we have “Laguna Beach” and “The Hills,” it’s hard to believe neither the show nor any of its actors received any Emmys recognition.
Gallagher played Cohen family patriarch Sandy, who rocked great eyebrows, refused to give into the materialistic surroundings of Newport, and had a great TV marriage with Kirsten, as played by Kelly Rowan.
He’s also had stand-out guest roles on shows like “New Girl” and “Grace and Frankie” that could be worthy of recognition — and he joined the cast of “Grey’s Anatomy” in season 18.
Jason Segel played the lovable Marshall Eriksen on “How I Met Your Mother” for nine years without getting any Emmy love.
Marshall is clearly the best male character from “How I Met Your Mother,” much better than problematic Barney or whiny Ted. Yet Segel never earned an Emmy nod for his portrayal of the lovable environmental lawyer with an unshakable belief in the supernatural.
He also starred in cult-classic TV show “Freaks and Geeks,” which is regularly cited as one of the greatest high school shows of all time, but didn’t earn any nominations for that, either. He also didn’t get any love for playing Paul Westhead in “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty” on HBO.
Charlie Day, Rob McElhenney, and Glenn Howerton have never been nominated once in the 15 seasons of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”
“It’s Always Sunny’s” lack of awards recognition is so well-known that a season nine episode called “The Gang Tries Desperately to Win an Award” remains as relevant in 2022 as it was in 2013.
The other two co-stars of the show, Danny DeVito and Kaitlin Olson, have each been recognized. In DeVito’s case, he won in 1981 for “Taxi,” along with nominations in 1979, 1982, and 1983 for the same role. He was also nominated in 2004 for his guest spot on “Friends.” Olson received a nomination in 2020 for her role in Quibi series “Flipped,” and another in 2022 for “Hacks.”
But the tree original dudes behind the show, McElhenney, Day, and Howerton have all been snubbed — not only for their truly iconic performances as Mac, Charlie, and Dennis, but for writing, directing, and producing the series, too.
Howerton starred on “AP Bio,” which he was not nominated for, while McElhenney created, writes, and stars in Apple TV+ series “Mythic Quest,” which was snubbed last year for its terrific second season. Day also produces “Mythic Quest.”
McElhenney is currently appearing on the FX docu-series “Welcome to Wrexham,” which he also executive-produces, so maybe that will earn him an Emmy nod.
Technically, Will Smith was nominated last year as a producer for “Cobra Kai,” but he was never nominated for “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”
Smith’s entire movie star career can be traced back to how charismatic he was on all 148 episodes of the show. He’s been nominated for Oscars, but not an Emmy for his acting, and it all started on the sitcom.
“The Fresh Prince” was, and is, a pop culture phenomenon, with characters like Will, Carlton, and Uncle Phil, remaining relevant to this day (just ask J. Cole or Joyner Lucas) due to the quality of the performances.
Smith won an Oscar for “King Richard” this year, so a return to the small screen could secure his E for a potential EGOT (as he now has an Oscar and a Grammy).
Courteney Cox has also never been nominated for an acting Emmy, despite her roles on “Friends” and “Cougar Town.”
In a downright rude turn of events, Cox is the only member of the six-person “Friends” ensemble who wasn’t nominated for an Emmy in its ten seasons: Jennifer Aniston has one win from five nominations; Lisa Kudrow has one win from six nominations; Matthew Perry was nominated once; Matt LeBlanc was nominated three times; and David Schwimmer was nominated once.
Cox went on to star in “Cougar Town” for six seasons, also without any Emmy recognition.
She was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for producing “Celebrity Name Game,” and received a nomination along with her “Friends” co-star for producing the HBO Max reunion, but Cox still doesn’t have an acting nom.
Perhaps her Starz comedy series “Shining Vale” will break that streak.