Better Call Saul set an Emmys record on Sunday, but not the good kind of record. More of a “Buffalo Bills lost four Super Bowls in a row” kind of record. The Breaking Bad prequel (and postquel) was nominated 53 times during its incredible six-season run, and lost every one of them. No other show has more nominations with zero wins. Justice for Rhea Seehorn. At least Saul is in good company: here are 10 other great shows that never won an Emmy.
BoJack Horseman
Number of nominations: 3
Only two animated shows have been up for Outstanding Comedy Series: The Flintstones and Family Guy. BoJack Horseman, which blended goofy comedy and deep sadness like few shows ever have, should have been the third (or, more accurately, the 12th after The Simpsons, Futurama, South Park, etc.), but it was kept in the animated categories, where it lost three times.
Chappelle’s Show
Number of nominations: 3
Chappelle, of course, was the co-creator and star of Chappelle’s Show, the most widely-quoted comedy of the early 2000s. The love for the sketch series didn’t extend to the Emmys, however, which only found room for three nominations (no wins). Other shut-out classic Comedy Central shows, like Nathan for You, Detroiters, and Review, can relate.
Good Times
Number of nominations: 0
Host Anthony Anderson sang the Good Times theme song during Sunday’s Emmys, but it was too little, too late: the show wasn’t nominated even once.
Halt and Catch Fire
Number of nominations: 1
Did Emmy voters stop watching Halt and Catch Fire after season one? I don’t blame them: it started as a mediocre Mad Men rip-off. But once the drama became more of an ensemble, it blossomed into one of the best shows of the 2010s. Season three, in particular, is essential viewing.
Hannibal
Number of nominations: 1
At least the one nomination it got was for visual effects? (It didn’t win.)
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Number of nominations: 0
It’s Always Sunny‘s lack of recognition from the Emmys is so notorious, there’s an entire episode of the show about it. The only time the Gang — Glenn Howerton, Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, Kaitlin Olson, and Danny DeVito — was even invited to the ceremony together was when McElhenney’s other show, Welcome to Wrexham, won a bunch of awards.
The Leftovers
Number of nominations: 1
Carrie Coon was the original Rhea Seehorn.
Parks and Recreation
Number of nominations: 14
I’m shocked, too, but the feel-good comedy of the Obama era was up for over a dozen Emmys, including Amy Poehler for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series four times (zero nominations for Nick Offerman, Chris Pratt, and Aubrey Plaza), with zero wins. Creator Michael Schur didn’t fare any better with his next show: The Good Place was zero for 13.
Star Trek
Number of nominations: 13
To give the Emmys some credit, Star Trek, which aired for three little-seen seasons and didn’t become a hit until it entered syndication, was nominated for Outstanding Dramatic Series twice. That’s very ahead of time for them. To take that credit away, Star Trek never won anything, not even for writing for “The City on the Edge of Forever.”
The Wire
Number of nominations: 2
Better Call Saul never winning an Emmy is one thing (that thing is bad). But it’s appalling that The Wire, a candidate for the greatest TV drama ever, only got two nominations (Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series twice) during its five-season run — and it didn’t even win those. An all-time terrible omission.
