4 Heartbreaking Emmy Snubs

Much to my joy and overwhelming sadness are literally thousands of televisions shows to watch, binge-watch or, if you appreciate fantastic actors playing despicable people, hate-watch. 

So with a varied and wonderful ocean of television, it’s nearly impossible for even the esteemed Television Academy to recognize all of the industry’s most talented for this year's Emmy nominations.  Snubs are bound to happen, and as devastating as it is, we just have remember that it really is an honor to be nominated. 

Here are 4 heartbreaking Emmy snubs...

Pompeo’s problem.  I’m about to blow your mind, and not in a good way: Ellen Pompeo has never even been nominated for an individual acting award, not in 12 seasons of the soapy, sappy, sublime medical drama, Grey’s Anatomy.  Newly ordained kitty litter peddler Katherine Heigl won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2007.  Sandra Oh has been nominated for the same award 5 times, and won a Golden Globe in 2006.  

I, and probably the Goddess Shonda Rhimes, thought season 12’s “The Sound Of Silence” was her golden episode.  Directed by none other than Oscar winner Denzel Washington, the episode depicted the brutal and complicated aftermath and recovery of Meredith’s violent attack at the hands of a patient with a traumatic brain injury.  It was a magnificent and brutal piece of television in an otherwise great season of the long-running drama, and it should've been recognized for acting, writing and possibly direction.

Who is Mary Jane?  It’s safe to say that after three provocative and fearless seasons of Being Mary Jane—BET’s infuriatingly underrated drama about a successful, complicated and single black broadcast journalist—will never get the recognition it deserves.  And it doesn't make sense.  When racial tensions are at an all-time high and the forefront of headlines, creator Mara Brock Akil and cast led by the extraordinary Gabrielle Union churned out a near-perfect third season with controversial, cathartic, and passionate drama, not only worthy of Emmy nominations for Outstanding Actress, Writing and Series, but actual wins.  The series has tackled everything from sperm theft to suicide to singlehood to homosexuality in the black community.    

Also, veteran actress Loretta Devine stepped out of the sweet, motherly roles she usually plays for an incendiary turn as Cece, a street-smart, gay hustler who happily extorted Mary Jane after being injured in her season-opening car accident.  The two share a handful of engaging scenes discussing blackness and success and life that were not only riveting but soaked in scalding tea that should've earned Ms. Devine an Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series nod.  
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Mary Jane herself wouldn’t be surprised by being overlooked—or possibly purposefully ignored—by Hollywood.  But she’d definitely include a scathing thinkpiece about it on her fictional cable news show (which ironically is Emmy nominated).

Sassenach, indeed.  Admittedly, the premise for Starz fantasy drama—an English nurse accidentally travels 200 years back in time and falls in love with an outlaw Scottish clansman—is so exceedingly ridiculous and melodramatic that it doesn’t just sound like a soap opera, it sounds like a soap opera that the characters on a soap opera find over-the-top. Yet Outlander, based on the books by Diana Gabaldon, has won over audiences, thanks to brilliant writing, titillating sex scenes and spectacular acting, especially stars Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan.  While its sophomore season's Paris episodes struggled to duplicate the breathless intrigue and suspense of the first, it packed on the drama in the form of tension between the newly married Claire and Jamie and action in the form of the impending Battle of Culloden and again with Claire and Jamie.  

However, one of the most gut-wrenching moments of the season came in the episode entitled “Faith” in which Claire had to recover and grieve for her stillborn daughter and convince France’s prince to pardon her husband, imprisoned for dueling (which caused led to her miscarriage).  In one episode, Balfe devastated us, empowered us, entertained us and broke our hearts.  And it should've clenched her nomination. 

It’s the smallest consolation that Outlander was nominated for Outstanding Costumes in a Fantasty/Period Limited Series or movie and Outstanding Production Design For A Narrative Period Program. ​ If only we could go back in time and change things. 

Category Conflicts.  Award show categories can be a little confusing and even unmatched, especially if you're in Peter MacNicol's camp.  Entire genres of shows are virtually ignored despite being at the height of popularity and topping the ratings.  

If there was a category for Outstanding Science-Fiction Program, The CW's The Flash would be one of the first nominees. The show based on the DC Comics effortlessly marries The Flash's family-friendly camp with spot-on acting, dazzling stunt scenes and a terrifyingly badass Zoom, that's one of the best I've seen on TV.  Ever.  The Flash didn't just avoid the curse of the sophomore slump that plague most TV shows.  It created the Sophomore Slam with a second season that was more riveting, heartwarming and breath-taking than the first.

Grant Gustin portrays Barry Allen with an adorkable, puppyish charm and even makes his dunderheaded mistakes seem understandable.  And he would definitely score that Outstanding Sci Fic Actor nod, probably alongside Supernatural's Jensen Ackles 5th nomination.