Best TV shows that never won an Emmy award
Emmys are the most coveted award for television professionals but there is only one winner a year in each category. Here are the shows that have never won.
The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences released the complete list of nominees for the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards in July. As always there were shows that fared well like ‘Shogun’ with 25 nominations and those that didn’t get any despite being noteworthy.
Emmys are the most coveted award for television professionals but there is only one winner a year in each category. That means every year some beloved TV shows and the people who worked on them, despite being honored with a nomination, go home emptyhanded.
However, there are some shows that stand out for never winning an Emmy despite developing a loyal following of viewers and receiving widespread acclaim.
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Best TV shows that never won an Emmy award
The show that had the worst dry spell at the Emmy Awards is hands down ‘Better Call Saul’ which ran for seven seasons between 2015 and 2022. The spin-off from Breaking Bad, which won 16 Primetime Emmy Awards, starred Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman/Jimmy McGill, a former con artist turned lawyer. It was nominated a total of 53 times but took home zero Emmys.
Other beloved TV shows that received multiple nominations but never secured an Emmy included ‘Parks and Recreation’ (2009-2015), which had 14 nominations, ‘The Good Place’ (2016-2020) and the original ‘Star Trek’ (1966-1969), which both received 13 nominations.
‘Empire’ (2015-2020), which was in the top five of the Nielsen ratings during its first two seasons, got eight nominations but never a trophy from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Another TV show that created a loyal fan base but was passed over is the teen drama ‘My So-Called Life’ (1994-1995), which got 4 nominations. The show, which ran for one season, starred Claire Danes who earned a nod for Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
‘Jane the Virgin’ (2014-2019) received two Emmy nominations but the rom-com telenovela loved by its fans got none from the Academy.
The highly acclaimed supernatural drama ‘The Leftovers’ (2014-2017) only got one nod from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for guest actress Ann Dowd.
And perhaps most criminally overlooked TV show for an Emmy Award was ‘The Wire’ (2002-2008) which is considered one of the greatest TV shows ever made. It did at least get two nominations for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series in 2005 and 2008.