In a year that included more standout freshman series than usual, the Emmys opted for change. (See full list of nominations here.)
But new additions inevitably mean new omissions. This year much of the old guard was replaced, and many expected favorites were left out of the running.
Photo Gallery: 12 most shocking snubs by Emmy nominations
The inclusion of HBO’s new series “Girls” and “Veep” in the Best Comedy Series race meant the elimination of “Parks and Recreation,” which had just broken through in that category last year. The acclaimed but low-rated NBC comedy nevertheless earned bids for Comedy Actress (Amy Poehler) and Comedy Writing.
Though expected to give returning champion Bryan Cranston a run for his money in Best Drama Actor, “Boss” star Kelsey Grammer was left out in favor of Damian Lewis (“Homeland“) and, to the surprise of most, Hugh Bonneville (“Downton Abbey“). Michael C. Hall (“Dexter“) was not expected to return in that race, but he did, at the expense of Hugh Laurie, who had one last chance to compete for “House” but will leave that series Emmy-less.
With the introduction of “Downton Abbey” and “Homeland” in the race for Best Drama, two-time nominee “The Good Wife” was left off the ballot, making this the first year in Emmy history when no shows from the Big Four broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC) are nominated in that category.
One of the biggest shocks was in Best Reality Host: Jeff Probst (“Survivor”) has won this race every year since it was introduced in 2008 but was left off the list.
See below for our lists of this year’s notable Emmy snubs:
NOT BEST DRAMA SERIES
“Boss”
“Damages”
“Dexter”
“The Good Wife”
“House”
“Justified”
“The Killing”
“Once Upon a Time”
“Smash”
NOT BEST DRAMA ACTOR
Patrick J. Adams, “Suits”
Kelsey Grammer, “Boss”
Dustin Hoffman, “Luck”
Jeremy Irons, “The Borgias”
Hugh Laurie, “House”
Denis Leary, “Rescue Me”
Timothy Olyphant, “Justified”
Dan Stevens, “Downton Abbey”
Kiefer Sutherland, “Touch”
NOT BEST DRAMA ACTRESS
Mireille Enos, “The Killing”
Mariska Hargitay, “Law & Order: SVU”
Elizabeth McGovern, “Downton Abbey”
Debra Messing, “Smash”
Jessica Pare, “Mad Men”
Piper Perabo, “Covert Affairs”
Emmy Rossum, “Shameless”
Katey Sagal, “Sons of Anarchy”
Kyra Sedgwick, “The Closer”
NOT BEST DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTOR
Andre Braugher, “Men of a Certain Age”
Josh Charles, “The Good Wife”
Alan Cumming, “The Good Wife”
Walton Goggins, “Justified”
Vincent Kartheiser, “Mad Men”
Neal McDonough, “Justified”
Nick Nolte, “Luck”
Mandy Patinkin, “Homeland”
Michael Pitt, “Boardwalk Empire”
John Slattery, “Mad Men”
NOT BEST DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Morena Baccarin, “Homeland”
Rose Byrne, “Damages”
Emilia Clarke, “Game of Thrones”
Michelle Forbes, “The Killing”
Lena Headey, “Game of Thrones”
Megan Hilty, “Smash”
Anjelica Huston, “Smash”
January Jones, “Mad Men”
Regina King, “Southland”
Kelly Macdonald, “Boardwalk Empire”
NOT BEST COMEDY SERIES
“Community”
“Family Guy”
“Glee”
“Happy Endings”
“How I Met Your Mother”
“Louie”
“The Middle”
“New Girl”
“The Office”
“Parks and Recreation”
NOT BEST COMEDY ACTOR
Tim Allen, “Last Man Standing”
Will Arnett, “Up All Night”
Garret Dillahunt, “Raising Hope”
Johnny Galecki, “The Big Bang Theory”
Ed Helms, “The Office”
Ashton Kutcher, “Two and a Half Men”
Rob Lowe, “Parks and Recreation”
Joel McHale, “Community”
Matthew Morrison, “Glee”
Adam Scott, “Parks and Recreation”
NOT BEST COMEDY ACTRESS
Christina Applegate, “Up All Night”
Courteney Cox, “Cougar Town”
Kat Dennings, “2 Broke Girls”
Laura Dern, “Enlightened”
Patricia Heaton, “The Middle”
Laura Linney, “The Big C”
Lea Michele, “Glee”
Mary-Louise Parker, “Weeds”
Martha Plimpton, “Raising Hope”
NOT BEST COMEDY SUPPORTING ACTOR
Chris Colfer, “Glee”
Donald Glover, “Community”
Neil Patrick Harris, “How I Met Your Mother”
Simon Helberg, “The Big Bang Theory”
Jake Johnson, “New Girl”
Nick Offerman, “Parks and Recreation”
Danny Pudi, “Community”
Jim Rash, “Community”
James Spader, “The Office”
Jason Sudeikis, “Saturday Night Live”
NOT BEST COMEDY SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Kristen Bell, “House of Lies”
Alison Brie, “Community”
Kaley Cuoco, “The Big Bang Theory”
Rashida Jones, “Parks and Recreation”
Jane Krakowski, “30 Rock”
Diane Ladd, “Enlightened”
Cloris Leachman, “Raising Hope”
Jane Lynch, “Glee”
Maya Rudolph, “Up All Night”
Eden Sher, “The Middle”
NOT BEST TV MOVIE/MINISERIES
“Five”
“Great Expectations”
“The Hour”
“Missing”
“Page Eight”
“The River”
“Titanic”
NOT BEST TV MOVIE/MINISERIES LEAD ACTOR
Douglas Booth, “Great Expectations”
Laurence Fishburne, “Have a Little Faith”
Martin Landau, “Have a Little Faith”
Dylan McDermott, “American Horror Story”
Bill Nighy, “Page Eight”
Alan Rickman, “The Song of Lunch”
Tom Selleck, “Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt”
Dominic West, “Appropriate Adult”
Dominic West, “The Hour”
Ben Whishaw, “THe Hour”
NOT BEST TV MOVIE/MINISERIES LEAD ACTRESS
Patricia Clarkson, “Five”
Romola Garai, “The Hour”
Marcia Gay Harden, “Innocent”
Melissa Leo, “The Space Between”
Jeanne Tripplehorn, “Five”
Emily Watson, “Appropriate Adult”
Rachel Weisz, “Page Eight”
NOT BEST TV MOVIE/MINISERIES SUPPORTING ACTOR
Powers Boothe, “Hatfields & McCoys”
William Devane, “Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt”
Ralph Fiennes, “Page Eight”
Michael Gambon, “Page Eight”
Evan Peters, “American Horror Story”
Zachary Quinto, “American Horror Story”
Tony Shalhoub, “Hemingway & Gellhorn”
Jeffrey Tambor, “Five”
Mykelti Williamson, “Have a Little Faith”
Ray Winstone, “Great Expectations”
NOT BEST TV MOVIE/MINISERIES SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Gillian Anderson, “Great Expectations”
Tammy Blanchard, “Of Two Minds”
Rosario Dawson, “Five”
Ginnifer Goodwin, “Five”
Jenna Malone, “Hatfields & McCoys”
Molly Parker, “Hemingway & Gellhorn”
Lara Pulver, “Sherlock: Scandal in Belgravia”
Anika Noni Rose, “Have a Little Faith”
Ruth Wilson, “Luther”
NOT BEST REALITY/COMPETITION PROGRAM
“America’s Got Talent”
“American Idol”
“The Biggest Loser”
“Hell’s Kitchen”
“Iron Chef America”
“RuPaul’s Drag Race”
“Survivor”
“The X Factor”
NOT BEST REALITY SERIES
“Ace of Cakes”
“Deadliest Catch”
“Dirty Jobs”
“Dog the Bounty Hunter”
“Dog Whisperer With Cesar Millan”
“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”
“Intervention”
“Penn & Teller: Bullshit!”
“Secret Millionaire”
“Top Gear”
NOT BEST REALITY HOST
RuPaul Charles, “RuPaul’s Drag Race”
Carson Daly, “The Voice”
Adam Ferrara, Tanner Foust & Rutledge Wood, “Top Gear”
Jamie Hyneman & Adam Savage, “MythBusters”
Heidi Klum, “Project Runway”
Padma Lakshmi, “Top Chef”
Cesar Millan, “Dog Whisperer With Cesar Millan”
Ty Pennington, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”
Jeff Probst, “Survivor”
Mike Rowe, “Dirty Jobs”
NOT BEST VARIETY SERIES
“Chelsea Lately”
“Conan”
“The Green Room With Paul Provenza”
“Inside Comedy”
“Kathy”
“Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson”
“Late Show With David Letterman”
“Portlandia”
“The Soup”
“The Tonight Show With Jay Leno”
