The 25 Greatest TV Shows That Won Zero Emmys: ‘Better Call Saul,’ ‘The Leftovers,’ and More
[Editor’s note: this list was originally published in September 2022. It has since been updated with new entries. And check out our article on How to Watch the 2024 Emmy Awards, which air this Sunday September 15 at 8:00pm ET.]
The Emmy Awards are a fickle, fickle thing. The highest honor for television has gotten it right plenty of times, showering all-time classics — “The Sopranos,” “Breaking Bad,” and “Succession” all got their flowers and then some over the course of their runs — with plenty of trophies. But the awards body also loves to recognize the same shows over and over, leading to scenarios where worthy series are left out in the cold year after year.
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The most recent and infamous case of a series playing perpetual Emmys bridesmaid is that of “Better Call Saul,” the beloved prequel to “Breaking Bad.” Starring Bob Odenkirk as his breakout character Saul Goodman, “Better Call Saul” very well matched “Breaking Bad” in terms of quality across its run, and racked up plenty of nominations. But, aside from two wins for promotional episodic webseries, the show never managed to take home a single trophy, leaving Odenkirk and the talented ensemble (such as co-lead Rhea Seehorn), as well as the directing and writing teams, completely in the lurch.
It’s little consolation, but “Better Call Saul” is in good company when you consider the scads of notorious Television Academy snubs in past years. Over its 79 installments in the late 1960s, sci-fi juggernaut “Star Trek: The Original Series” failed to make it to the podium despite its 13 nominations. So too did beloved sitcoms such as Mike Schur’s “The Good Place” and Schur and Greg Daniels’ “Parks and Recreation,” earning 13 and 14 nominations over their runs respectively. Netflix’s animated masterpiece “BoJack Horseman,” HBO’s infamously underrated “The Wire,” and Fox’s “Empire” were similarly acknowledged — but never awarded — for the indelible marks their stories left on the small screen.
With the Emmys returning this Sunday, IndieWire is revisiting some of the stone cold classics that never quite broke through to claim the gold. Read on for a list of the 25 greatest TV shows that never won at the Primetime Emmy Awards. Titles are listed in increasing order by number of nominations, and sorted alphabetically in the case of a tie.
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