10 Biggest Snubs of the Emmy Award Nominations 2014

The nominations for the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards have finally been revealed, and with the nominations come some even bigger snubs. Given that this was a particularly wide open field, some snubs were to be expected. But, honestly, I wasn't expecting so many first-year shows to fail to break through in the major categories like Drama Series and Comedy Series. But I suppose this isn't that big of a shocker, since the Emmys are far more set in their ways than just about any major awards-voting body.

So which were the biggest snubs of the Emmy Award nominations for 2014? Well, this is a list that is in no way comprehensive. For example, I feel as though Peter Sarsgaard and Bex Taylor-Klaus deserved recognition for their outstanding work on The Killing, and I think Melissa McBride was perhaps The Walking Dead's best shot at an acting nomination in years. And, of course, there's the case of Hannibal, a show that deserves awards across the board. Yet I never really expected Hannibal would make the cut, despite its uniform excellence. It's just too dark for the TV Academy. No, this list is about nominations that were expected but never materialized. Some omissions were more glaring than others. But these are the most glaring, in my opinion.

Credit: BBC America

[In no particular order. Seriously, this is random]

THE GOOD WIFE

Categories: Outstanding Drama Series

The Good Wife had one of its most headline-grabbing seasons in years following the sudden departure of one of its longest-tenured actors. But even without that shocker of a death, the show was still having a remarkable comeback season, drawing all sorts of critical acclaim and resurgent popularity among viewers. Given that the show had been a hit with Emmy voters before, earning Outstanding Drama Series nods for its first two seasons and various acting nominations/wins ever since, it was pretty much expected that the show would be rewarded with an Outstanding Drama Series nomination here. But there was no such luck, illustrating that buzz doesn't always translate to an Emmy nomination.

BROOKLYN NINE-NINE

Categories: Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (Andy Samberg)

After its debut this past season, Brooklyn Nine-Nine took the comedy world by surprise. It became one of FOX's most successful live-action comedies, with Andy Samberg taking center stage as one of the biggest rising stars on any sitcom in recent years. The show received nominations from the GLAAD Media Awards, the Satellite Awards, and the NAACP Image Awards, and won honors at the American Comedy Awards, the Critics Television Awards, and at the Golden Globes, where the show won Best Television Series (Comedy) and Samberg won Best Actor in a Television Series (Musical/Comedy). In short, the show's fortunes were rising fast. However, very little of that fortune carried over to the Emmy nominations, as only Andre Braugher managed to score a nod, for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. The show also received nods for its Music Direction and Stunt Coordination, but while these are all tremendous honors in themselves, it seems awfully light for a show that seemed primed to sweep just a few short months ago.

THE BLACKLIST

Categories: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (James Spader)

The Blacklist was the fall's biggest hit for NBC, outpacing just about every other show on the network that wasn't either football or The Voice. But beyond all that, the show was also a minor critical success. I mean, sure, the show caught hell for some of its over-the-top storylines, and for the relative blandness of its supporting cast. But even the harshest critics had to give it up for James Spader, who brought tons of nuance and genuine feeling to a role that might not have been as effective otherwise. Since Spader has earned multiple Emmys in the past (for his role as Alan Shore on The Practice and Boston Legal), it wasn't unexpected that he'd turn up in this category, particularly given that he earned nominations for his role as Raymond "Red" Reddington at the Golden Globes. But I guess even the buzziest of performances have a hard time turning up in a field this crowded.

MASTERS OF SEX

Categories: Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series (Michael Sheen)

Not many prestige dramas end up making as big a splash as Masters of Sex. Normally, when a drama series is hyped as "brilliant television" to such a degree, it rarely ever pans out. Expectations are set too high, and a series often has trouble delivering on its promise. But Masters of Sex was a rare success, in that it managed to be every bit as good as we were told it would be, if not better. And a huge part of that was due to the performance of Michael Sheen as Dr. William Masters. This was a man tortured by his own perceived lack of virility, stemming from his low sperm count and his troubled home life, to say nothing of his frustrated sexual attraction to colleague Virigina Johnson (Lizzy Caplan). It was a wonderfully deep performance, and among some of Sheen's best work, which is really saying something when you consider his filmography (which includes performances in Oscar-nominated fare such as The Queen and Frost/Nixon). From a personal standpoint, this is the snub that shocks me the most, not just because Sheen is great in the role, but because he's everything that Emmy usually goes for: a name actor in a prestige drama that has burst onto the scene in its first year with tons of critical and commercial acclaim.

In fact, just about every major member of the cast was nominated but Sheen, as Caplan, Beau Bridges, and Allison Janney picked up nominations for their performances. The only thing more puzzling than Sheen's exclusion is the show's snub from the Drama Series category, and I can really only chalk these snubs up to HBO's decision to submit True Detective in the Drama categories as opposed to the less-crowded Miniseries categories. This led to True Detective being the likely culprit for several of the major Drama snubs, since making room for Woody Harrelson meant leaving out Sheen, while making room for True Detective itself meant leaving out Masters of Sex. Of course, I could be completely wrong in that assumption, but no matter the reason for the omissions, this was a rare year for drama series, as even presumptive nominees like Homeland, Boardwalk Empire, and The Newsroom failed to get in. So I suppose the fine folks at Masters of Sex shouldn't be too down on themselves. Emmy doesn't always get it right (hell, this entire list is geared towards proving as much).

ORPHAN BLACK

Categories: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Tatiana Maslany)

This is the snub that really has the internet up in arms, and I can't say I blame them. Tatiana Maslany has the thankless task of inhabiting 12 separate, distinctive roles on the BBC America drama, and the fact that she continually fails to receive recognition for this accomplishment is profoundly baffling. But even if Orphan Black were on an easier-to-find channel than BBC America, I still don't think voters would go for it. It's too far afield from the type of series they normally like. It's unfair that the craft of it should be ignored, but those are often the breaks when it comes to the Emmys. Still, this is one of the most egregious omissions of the year, as Maslany's talent is absolutely undeniable, and her performance is among the best on TV -- on any network, in any show, in any year. For her to continue to be overlooked is a stunning oversight that calls the credibility of the process into question. The one consolation is that the choices of the Emmy voting body is in no way a definitive listing of TV's best. It's just the opinions of one group of people, who are as likely to make mistakes as any of us.

SHAMELESS

Categories: Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Emmy Rossum)

There's a certain wryly comic aspect to Shameless submitting itself as a comedy for the first time, for what is arguably its darkest, most dramatic season. It's even crazier (in a good way) that it managed to get in, despite a stacked comedy field. Yet here we are, as William H. Macy scored a nomination, confirming that, yes, Emmy voters have, in fact, seen this show before. However, they apparently haven't seen enough of it to be convinced of its merit as a Comedy series itself. Nor have they seen enough of Emmy Rossum to recognize how worthy she is of a nomination in her own right. That's the only explanation I've got for these two snubs, other than the Academy just being boneheaded (which is certainly a possibility). Rossum is tremendous as Fiona Gallagher, and her work elevates the show beyond what it might have been without her. At the very least, she's doing better work than some of the other nominees (sorry, Melissa McCarthy). I get why the show didn't get in, but Rossum's exclusion just puzzles me.

BREAKING BAD

Categories: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Dean Norris)

This was the last chance for Dean Norris to be recognized for his outstanding work as Hank Schraeder on Breaking Bad, and I'd argue he deserved it. The showdown between Walter and Hank was always going to be momentous, but Norris made it so much more than that. It took on the gravitas of a Shakespearean tragedy, as brother-in-law was pitted against brother-in-law in a battle of iron wills. And both Norris and Bryan Cranston were remarkable in their scenes together, illustrating just how formidable an actor Norris has been over the past six years on the show. If ever an actor on Breaking Bad deserved a nomination without getting it, it's Norris (although Betsy Brandt is an honorable mention, to be sure).

BOARDWALK EMPIRE

Categories: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Jeffrey Wright)

After Bobby Canavale won in this category last year for his role as Gyp Rosetti, the main villain of Season 3, it seemed clear that Boardwalk Empire still had some cache among the TV Academy, at least in the acting categories. So it seemed close to a certainty that Jeffrey Wright, the season's showy, charismatic villain, would be nominated in this category. Dr. Valentin Narcisse was among the most memorable characters in the entire run of Boardwalk Empire, and Wright played him with all the diabolical nuance of a great Shakespearean actor. It was such a three-dimensional, lived-in portrayal that it seemed like pure Emmy bait, in a lot of ways. Yet the nomination never materialized, which just seems like a giant miss on the part of the TV Academy.

THE AMERICANS

Categories: Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (Matthew Rhys), Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Keri Russell)

If any show made a point of reaching for the brass ring in the past year, it was The Americans. The show was always good, but this was the year it became appointment television. And a large reason for that was the two performances at its center, as both Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell made indelible impressions as Phillip and Elizabeth Jennings (or Mischa and Nadezhda, depending on how you wanna play this). While the show managed to nab a Guest Actress nomination for Margo Martindale, the series itself seemed prime to break through across the board in a more substantial way. And it's a shame that didn't happen, because this is among the best dramas on cable TV right now. In fact, it's doing Homeland much better than Homeland is doing Homeland right now. It's also arguably a better political drama than House of Cards, which earned a nod for Outstanding Drama Series. I'm not sure what it's going to take for The Americans to get recognized, but this season just seemed like such a surefire opportunity, which leaves me even more flummoxed at its exclusion.

BATES MOTEL

Categories: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Vera Farmiga)

Vera Farmiga came to the attention of many through her Oscar-nominated turn opposite George Clooney in Up in the Air, but she's easily surpassed that performance with her work as Norma Bates on A&E's Bates Motel. This is not to say that she wasn't outstanding in Up in the Air, but her role as Norma Bates is something very different than just about anything she's done in the past. This is a dark, tortured character who projects an air about herself that is often as difficult for viewers to penetrate as the characters around her. It's a layered performance that ranks among the best on TV, and her interactions with Freddie Highmore's Norman Bates anchor the show and give it a weightier feel than many family dramas of a similar ilk. It's a shame she missed out, but I wouldn't rule out a possible nomination next year, if Season 3 rises to the heights of Season 2, which was a remarkable season of television.

So what do you think were the most egregious snubs? Who deserved an Emmy nomination but didn't get it? Sound off in the comments!