The biggest snubs and surprises from the 2019 Emmy nominations

No Emmy nominations day would be complete without at least a few snubs and surprises. The 2019 list— announced by D’Arcy Carden and Ken Jeong on Tuesday — surprisingly includes “Schitt’s Creek” and a bounty of nominations for Ava DuVernay’s “When They See Us” and, yet again, ignores “The Good Fight.”

The Times breaks down all of those who surprisingly will, and shockingly won’t, be up for the top television awards at the Emmys, set to take place Sept. 22 at the Microsoft Theater:

Surprise: “Schitt’s Creek” (comedy series)
Until today, Dan and Eugene Levy’s CBC/Pop TV series has aired without acknowledgment by the Television Academy, despite delivering season after season of superb, farcical comedy. The show broke through in a big way this year, with mentions in the top comedy category as well as for lead actor (Eugene Levy) and lead actress (Catherine O’Hara).

Snub: “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” (comedy series)
Rachel Bloom concluded the fourth and final season of the musical comedy series with the same ending she and co-creator Aline Brosh McKenna pitched to The CW before the pilot aired. The last season of the show, about a young woman’s difficulties with love and mental health, nabbed nominations for its original song “Antidepressants Are So Not a Big Deal” and its new theme song but it was left out of the top comedy category.

Surprise: “When They See Us” (limited series)
Ava DuVernay’s limited series earned raves for unflinching telling of the events surrounding the Central Park Five, from their wrongful conviction in the 1989 assault and rape to their eventual exoneration. The Netflix docudrama nabbed 16 nominations overall, half of them coming in the acting categories for the work of Jharrel Jerome, Niecy Nash, Aunjanue Ellis, Asante Blackk, John Leguizamo, Michael K. Williams, Marsha Stephanie Blake and Vera Farmiga.

Snub: “The Good Fight” (drama series)
CBS All Access’ “Good Wife” spinoff had previously nabbed nominations only in music-related categories, despite its consistently sharp storylines and Christine Baranski’s leading performance. It turned out 2019 is another year that Emmy voters have opted not to get on board with “The Good Fight,” which is currently airing an encore run of its first season on CBS.

Surprise: “Game of Thrones” (drama series)
The HBO epic has always been an Emmys favorite, but its final season — which often stumbled in its storytelling, much to fans’ dismay — managed to get a whopping 32 nominations. That’s not only the most mentions the series has garnered from the Television Academy in its eight-season run but it’s also the highest number of nominations for a drama series in a single year ever.

Snub: Julia Roberts, “Homecoming” (lead actress, drama)
The movie star turned to television by starring in the Amazon Prime series from “Mr. Robot” creator Sam Esmail, which only got a mention for its cinematography. Roberts’ performance, as a caseworker tasked with helping soldiers ease back into civilian life at a government-sponsored facility, was squeezed out of the crowded lead category, despite the expansion to include seven nominees.

Surprise: Christina Applegate, “Dead to Me” (lead actress, comedy)
Netflix’s genre-bending comedy-drama-mystery won viewers over with its insights on grief and female friendships, as demonstrated onscreen by Christina Applegate’s curious widow. Applegate snuck into the competitive category 10 years after her last nomination for “Samantha Who?”

Snub: Pamela Adlon, “Better Things” (lead actress, comedy)

Creator and star Adlon was nominated for her performance in the first two seasons of the critically acclaimed FX comedy. However, voters failed to laud her turn in the series’ third season, which also happens to be the first set of episodes she’s done without show co-creator Louis C.K.

Surprise: “Barry” (comedy series)
HBO’s jet-black comedy about an assassin turned aspiring actor broke bigger in its sophomore season, nabbing nominations not only for comedy series, lead actor Bill Hader and returning champion Henry Winkler but also supporting cast members Sarah Goldberg, Anthony Carrigan and Stephen Root. Hopefully, North Hollywood will host a special celebration honoring Carrigan’s NoHo Hank sometime in the coming weeks.

Snub: Timothy Simons, “Veep” (supporting actor, comedy)
The HBO political comedy has always been an Emmys darling, but Simons’ standout performance as a reviled, expletive-generating White House staffer-turned-congressman had yet to receive a nomination. The supporting actor category was again too crowded (including Simons’ lauded co-star Tony Hale) to accommodate his final turn as Jonah Ryan in the series’ farewell season.

Surprise: Sian Clifford, “Fleabag” (supporting actress, comedy series)
What began as an Amazon Prime adaptation of a one-woman play has turned into a star-making vehicle for writer and actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Its long-awaited — yet final — second season earned 11 nominations, most surprisingly for the unheralded Clifford, who plays the uptight, protective Claire.

Snub: D’Arcy Carden, “The Good Place” (supporting actress, comedy)
A standout episode of NBC’s afterlife comedy saw the actress simultaneously playing all her fellow characters, those usually and very specifically portrayed by Kristen Bell, William Jackson Harper, Jameela Jamil and Manny Jacinto. Yet somehow, the human behind the beloved robot evaded the Emmy nominations she announced.

Surprise: Nick Offerman, “Making It” (host, reality or competition)
The actor reunited onscreen with his “Parks and Recreation” co-star Amy Poehler to emcee the heartwarming NBC craft competition, and nabbed an Emmy nomination. While it’s not surprising that he and Poehler were included, what is astounding is that it is actually his first Emmy nomination — in a reality category, no less. No doubt he’s celebrating with a tumbler of Lagavulin.

Snub: Jim Carrey, “Kidding” (lead actor, comedy)
The critically acclaimed Showtime series stars the seasoned actor as the host of an upbeat kids program who is struggling to heal after a loss behind the scenes. Not only was Carrey ignored but the show was shut out of the Emmys race.

Surprise: “PEN15” (writing, comedy)
Co-creators Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle, who also star in the Hulu series about ‘90s adolescence, nabbed a writing nomination for its “Anna Ishii-Peters” episode, illustrating how family dynamics can get complicated amid arguing parents. Competing against comedy heavyweights like “Veep,” “The Good Place” and “Barry” — and alongside the omission of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” — the nomination marks an impressive Emmy debut for the new show, which has already been renewed for a second season.

Snub: Penn Badgley, “You” (lead actor, drama)
The “Gossip Girl” alum conquered the water-cooler conversation by playing a lethal bookstore manager in the psychological thriller series, first on Lifetime and now on Netflix. His skin-crawling transformation in the show, which was packed with insights about the social media age, went unnoticed by Emmy voters.

Snub: Chuck Lorre (comedy series)
Dubbed the “King of Sitcoms” for his fleet of successful comedies, the producer’s slate fared more poorly than usual this year. Allison Janney, who has been nominated for her supporting role in “Mom” five times and won twice, was left out of the race. “The Big Bang Theory” nabbed three nominations but was shut out of the major categories for its farewell season. And Netflix’s “The Kominsky Method” failed to get a series nomination, even though Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin were included in the acting categories.

Surprise: “Nailed It!” (competition)
The comedic Netflix challenge spotlights, of all things, failed baking attempts, as it sees amateur bakers trying to replicate complicated confections originally made by professionals. It snuck into the usually ironclad category alongside perennial nominees “The Amazing Race,” “American Ninja Warrior,” “Top Chef,” “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and “The Voice.”

Snub: Richard Madden, “Bodyguard” (lead actor, drama)
The actor seemed to be a shoo-in for an Emmy nomination, after winning the Golden Globe in the category earlier this year. Though the Netflix series found its way into the drama category and also was recognized for its writing, Madden was left out for his intense lead turn.

Snub: The cast of “Saturday Night Live” (variety sketch show)
Eighteen nominations is relatively low for the NBC series, and Kate McKinnon is the only series regular acknowledged. Fellow cast members Aidy Bryant, Leslie Jones, Cecily Strong and stalwart Kenan Thompson all were left out. The nominated variety sketch show did, however, earn six guest actor mentions for its crop of hosts: Adam Sandler, Sandra Oh, John Mulaney, Emma Thompson, Matt Damon and Robert De Niro, some of whom were more deserving (Mulaney) than others (we’re talking to you, De Niro).