The 2017 Emmy Nominations were announced the other day, and fans were pleased to see that Carrie Coon had gotten herself a nomination...it was just for the wrong show, sort of. Coon got a nomination for her great work on Fargo Season 3, but her other show, The Leftovers, went home mostly empty-handed -- save for a Best Guest Actress nomination for Ann Dowd. This has caused a large number of fans to cry foul over what feels like a glaring snub, and Coon herself was equally displeased to learn that no love was given to her Leftovers family.
Honestly, I'm certainly thrilled for Fargo but I'm heartbroken this morning for my friends on The Leftovers because I was really hoping to see some love for Justin, who I think has been brave and deep for three years. For Damon [Lindelof] whose storytelling...I've never seen anything quite like The Leftovers on TV. I'm so proud of it and I think history will be very kind to the show but my heart breaks a little bit for my fellow Leftovers this morning. . . . I know the fans are with us. And I know that the television critics have been so supportive of the show and there have been so many amazing, thoughtful pieces written about the ethos of the world we built.
It would be hard to find a show that was more universally praised this year than The Leftovers, both with fans and with critics. The HBO drama got off to a divisive start in Season 1, but came into its own in Season 2 and then blasted off into the narrative stratosphere in Season 3. Earlier this summer, The Leftovers aired its question-provoking series finale, so this was its last chance to get recognized by the TV Elite in the form of an Emmy. Sadly and maybe not surprisingly, the show and (most of) its stars was largely passed over once again for arguably more boring and safe choices, and Carrie Coon can't say she didn't feel any disappointment.
But then, Emmys hardly measure a shows worth or legacy, as The Wire was famously only nominated for two Outstanding Writing awards, and it didn't win either, but still manages to get instantly namechecked during conversations about "the best TV show ever." Humbled by her own recognition elsewhere, Coon is thankful for the fan support and the critics who poured over every inch of The Leftovers with think pieces.
Though The Leftovers probably should have been nominated for every major category -- especially Outstanding Actress -- it did manage to procure a nomination for Ann Dowd for Outstanding Guest Actress for her one-off appearance in Kevin's second trip to Assassin World. There's no question that Dowd, who also earned a nomination for her stellar work on The Handmaid's Tale, was great on the show both then and in previous seasons, and Carrie Coon told ET Canada in a Facebook live event that she was so pleased to see Dowd score the nomination.
I was thrilled to see Ann Dowd get two Emmy nominations because she's deserved those for a long time. At least we got a little bit of love for Ann who's just the earth. She's just an incredible actress.
In this age of Peak TV, where there are so many great shows on, there's bound to be plenty of snubs at any given awards show. It's just a real disappointment that one of the -- if not THE best -- show of the year didn't receive proper recognition for the all the hard work every cast and crew member put, since this isn't exactly the easiest show to put together. Not to sound like a butt-hurt fanboy here, but my butt is hurt, people. It's a shame Carrie Coon didn't get a nod for her mesmerizing work (especially that final scene, because whoo boy), but when has an Emmy ever really mattered? When your show wins, that's when.
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