Another Emmy season is off to the races as of Tuesday morning, with what turned out to be a fairly predictable list of 2025 nominees that heavily favors returning series. The Television Academy loves The White Lotus, Severance, Abbott Elementary, Hacks, The Bear? Tell me something I don’t know. But mixed in among the Pedro Pascals and Jean Smarts and the Martin Shorts we always knew were going to get nominated are some truly wonderful surprises—along with some truly infuriating, if you’re the type to get worked up about such trivialities, exclusions. Below are five of each.
5 Egregious Exclusions
Taylor Dearden, The Pitt
The Pitt was one of this morning’s big winners, as was widely predicted, scoring 13 nominations including drama series, lead actor (Noah Wyle), and supporting actress (Katherine LaNasa)—all richly deserved. Conspicuously absent from the list, however, was Taylor Dearden’s breakout performance as Dr. Mel King, a sensitive and apparently neurodivergent young resident who cares for an autistic sister. As Sarah Kurchak wrote for TIME in an appreciation of the character and Dearden’s portrayal of her: “What makes Dr. King such a refreshing change from the old autistic-coded tropes, though, are the range of characteristics she embodies, how they’re integrated into her character, and how she’s incorporated into the show.”
Natasha Lyonne, Poker Face
Lyonne earned a nomination for her lead performance in this delightful Columbo homage’s first season, on top of three nods for previous roles, so it’s not like the Academy has some vendetta against her. Which makes it all the more confusing why she didn’t earn any recognition for Poker Face’s delightful second season, even if the category is particularly stacked this year. As its only consistent cast member, Lyonne is basically the whole show. Few…
