UpdatedSun, September 13, 2026 at 6:50 AM UTC
Every year around <a href="https://www.usmagazine.com/emmys/” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>Emmys season, TV fans hear about shows and actors who were snubbed as equally deserving nominees celebrate. In fact, some of the most iconic series of all time never won a single Emmy in their heyday.
While Alexis Bledel won Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for The Handmaid’s Tale in 2017, neither her work on Gilmore Girls nor costar Lauren Graham’s performance were honored by the awards show. The dramedy itself never received a nod either, but makeup artist Marie DelPrete earned an award for Outstanding Makeup for a Series in 2004. “I’m definitely happy about that, that I brought them the Emmy,” she told Vice in November 2016. “I don’t necessarily know if they’re happy it’s the only Emmy they have!”
The Wire — a critically-acclaimed HBO drama often referred to as the best television show in history — was similarly overlooked by the Emmys. Writer Ed Burns spoke out about the Television Academy’s seeming lack of regard for the predominantly Black cast in 2007.
“These guys clearly cut the mustard. They can act with anyone,” he told the Associated Press. “I don’t know why it has to be this ‘You can play a drug addict; you can play the good sidekick.’ These are the roles that these actors end up doing and it’s a shame.”
Scroll down to revisit popular TV shows that never won an Emmy:
