Jeremy Allen White, Selena Gomez, Netflix show and 2026 Emmy Awards contempt
Here are some of the actors and shows named to USA TODAY TV critic Kelly Lawler’s despised list of 2026 Emmy nominations, including Jeremy Allen White.
It’s an honor just to be nominated, but it’s a real pain to miss out completely.
The 2026 Emmy nominations were announced on Wednesday, July 8, and while favorites like “The Pit” and “The Hux” earned promising results with 25 and 24 nominations, respectively, fan favorites like “Stranger Things” and “Landman” were left out, especially when it comes to the top categories.
This year’s Emmy Awards will honor shows that aired or streamed between June 1, 2024 and May 31, 2025 (so the nominations for “The Bear” are for last year’s fourth season, not the recently released fifth and final season). This also means that recent hits such as HBO’s “House of the Dragon” Season 3, Prime Video’s “Every Year After” and Paramount+’s “Dutton Ranch,” which didn’t air episodes or had insufficient episodes by deadline, will be considered for the 2027 ceremony, even though they didn’t make this year’s list.
Emmy rules also require that a show be produced at least in part by a U.S. partner, so queer hockey romance and cultural phenomenon Heat Rivalry is entirely ineligible, as it is produced and distributed by Canadian streamer Crave and only licensed by HBO Max.
But while there were plenty of actors and shows that were well-qualified to be nominated for an Emmy, this year they simply didn’t get nominated and stayed home when the ceremony aired on NBC on Monday, September 14 (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT), hosted by “Law & Order: SVU” star Mariska Hargitay.
Here are the biggest detractors of the 2026 Emmy nominations.
Jeremy Allen White “The Bear”
No, chef! Jeremy Allen White is the star of FX and Hulu’s perennial Emmy favorite “The Bear,” earning three nominations for his role as Carmie Belzato, the anxious head chef at the show’s signature restaurant. He previously won the Best Actor in a Comedy Series award twice, in 2023 and 2024. So being completely removed from the 2026 list was a bigger shock than dropping a plate of lamb on the floor. However, her co-star in “Bear”, Ayo Edebiri, received a nomination.
Steve Martin and Selena Gomez “Only Murders in the Building”
What have Steve Martin and Selena Gomez ever done for the Television Academy? Co-star Martin Short has been nominated for lead actor in a comedy series every year since this cozy mystery comedy debuted in 2021, but Martin and Gomez have only earned one nomination each over the show’s long run. In 2026, they were removed from the roles of Comedy Lead Actor and Comedy Lead Actress, respectively.
Paul Anthony Kelly “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette”
Sarah Pidgeon, who played Carolyn Bessette on the FX/Hulu drama about the storied love story of an American icon and a fashion publicist, has been nominated for her role in an anthology series. However, Paul Anthony Kelly, who received positive reviews for his role as JFK Jr., was not selected for Best Actor in the same category.
Comedy series “Comeback”
Lisa Kudrow has made a successful return to lead actress in a comedy series with the on-and-off HBO series about a fading actress and her attempts to regain fame and recognition. However, the show itself failed to make it into the packed category of best comedy series, with nominations instead going to ABC’s “Abbott Elementary,” HBO Max’s “Hacks,” Apple TV’s “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” Netflix’s “Nobody Wants This,” Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building,” Apple TV’s “Shrinking” and Apple TV’s “Widow’s Bay.”
Drama series “Stranger Things” and “Euphoria”
Netflix’s “Stranger Things” and HBO’s “Euphoria” both returned for long-awaited final seasons last year, but neither crowd-pleaser made it into the Emmy Awards’ top award, the Outstanding Drama Series category. The two received seven nominations overall, including Zendaya, who won Best Actress for her role in the drama “Euphoria.”
Kathy Bates wins Best Drama Actress
What kind of “misery” is this? Despite being nominated in 2025 for her critically acclaimed role in the CBS reboot of “Matlock,” the legendary Kathy Bates was left out of the nominations entirely for her role in the show’s second season.
Limited series “Death by Lightning” for actors
Netflix’s gritty historical drama about President James Garfield (Michael Shannon) and his assassin (Matthew Macfadyen) was on USA TODAY’s list of the best shows of 2025, but Emmy voters weren’t so convinced. The show received four nominations, including Best Supporting Actor for Nick Offerman (as Vice President Chester A. Arthur), but missed out on Best Limited Series and nominations for Shannon and Macfadyen.
‘Landman’ and Sheridan’s show left in the dust
While fans flock to the show from Taylor Sheridan, the power producer behind “Yellowstone” and its many spinoffs, “Tulsa King,” “The Landman” and “Lioness,” the series was never a hit with Emmy voters. Sheridan starred in a number of Emmy-nominated shows last year, including Paramount+’s ratings hits “Landman,” “Tulsa King,” “Madison” and CBS’ “Marshalls,” but “Tulsa” was the only one of his shows to earn a nomination in the comedy stunt coordination category.
