Credit: Inside the MagicThe Television Academy has officially announced their picks for the 75th annual Primetime Emmy Awards, with shows like HBO’s esteemed drama Succession and Apple TV+’s hit comedy Ted Lasso leading the nominations, among others. But as with every awards season, the Emmys are already receiving backlash from disgruntled Star Wars fans after critics skipped over one acclaimed series in the acting categories.
TV’s best and brightest will be honored at the upcoming Primetime Emmy Awards, which will air live on NBC on September 18, 2023. Ahead of the event, Community star Yvette Nicole Brown and Television Academy chair Frank Scherma announced this year’s nominees Wednesday morning, which featured plenty of snubs and surprises.
As expected, repeat nominees fared well, including Succession, Yellowjackets, The Bear, Ted Lasso, Barry, Abbott Elementary, and The White Lotus. Newcomers like HBO’s hit the Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon, and Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann’s TV adaptation of Naughty Dog’s ultra-popular video game The Last of Us also picked up several nods.
The Last of Us became an instant phenomenon when it began airing on Warner Bros.’ streamer in January 2023, with its leading man, Pedro Pascal, earning widespread critical acclaim for his portrayal of gruff zombie apocalypse survivor Joel Miller. His co-star, Bella Ramsey, also received praise for their performance in the show, with both actors picking up Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress nominations—to no one’s surprise.
Before achieving new heights of global fame thanks to The Last of Us, Pascal, who’s been an integral part of the TV landscape for the past decade, was perhaps best known for his role as Din Djarin in Disney+’s hit Star Wars spinoff, The Mandalorian. The series just snagged several Emmy nominations of its own, on top of two other projects set in the galaxy far, far away: Andor and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
It’s shaping up to be a good awards season for Lucasfilm, with Andor even landing an Outstanding Drama Series nomination—an impressive feat considering it started as the critically-acclaimed underdog of the Disney-owned franchise. It feels like a hard-fought battle for Andor, which didn’t earn half the viewership of its fellow Emmy nominee, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Nonetheless, critics and fans raved over the series, which unquestionably featured some of the best acting, writing, and direction in any Star Wars show to date, earning it a prestigious Peabody Award back in May.
On top of its masterful writing and awe-inspiring set design, Andor‘s success also has to partially be credited to its actors, especially Diego Luna, who reprised his role as the titular Rebel spy for the new series after starring in 2016’s Rogue One. Luna has always been a powerhouse performer, and his performance in the show is only helped by its stellar cast, which includes Adria Arjona, Andy Serkis, Fiona Shaw, Stellan Skarsgård, Genevieve O’Reilly, and others.
Particularly, Skarsgård’s bone-chilling monologue in Season 1, Episode 10, as well as Serkis’ portrayal of inmate Kino Loy in the Narkina-5 prison arc, became highlights of the season, with many suspecting that both of these actors, at the minimum, would receive an Emmy nod for their Andor roles. But sadly, that wasn’t the case.
As a matter of fact, the Emmys breezed over Andor‘s cast altogether when selecting nominees for their coveted acting categories, sparking immediate outrage from fans of the show. Despite landing multiple Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Cinematography, Outstanding Directing, and Outstanding Visual Effects, among others, many were shocked—and disappointed—that its actors didn’t get a nod, considering the excellent set of performances throughout the series’ first season.
Diego Luna has been a hands-on contributor to Andor since the series’ early conception, and his dedication to the role—and the universe altogether—is palpable whenever he appears onscreen as Cassian Andor. Listening to the veteran actor speak about his Disney+ show, it’s evident that he has a limitless passion for this character and his story, even taking on producing duties for Andor Season 1 and, presumably, Season 2. Because of this, it’s disheartening to hear that his efforts have gone seemingly unnoticed by the Television Academy.
Andor aside, Ewan McGregor’s return to the galaxy far, far away also failed to snatch up any Outstanding Lead Actor nominations, which came as a surprise to some considering his performance at the eponymous Jedi Master was, arguably, one of the show’s only bright spots.
Ultimately, everything is subjective when it comes to awards season, and it’s important to remember that the caliber of an actor isn’t always measured by how many awards line their shelves. Plus, Andor will thankfully get another chance to win big in the near future, with its sophomore season currently slated to arrive sometime in August 2024. And hey—at least Pedro Pascal is finally getting his time to shine.
What do you think of Andor not getting any Emmy nominations in the acting categories? Is the longstanding awards show rigged? Share your thoughts in the comments below.