In a year faced with unexpected obstacles and changes by the COVID-19 pandemic, the TV world produced incredible content for audiences to watch while stuck at home, though the 2021 Emmys still shocked and surprised viewers by snubbing well-deserving projects and unexpectedly awarding certain nominees. Television became a comfort in homes around the world, largely replacing many moviegoers’ time as movie theaters were shut down and of course, they wanted to avoid risk of exposure to the virus. Certain shows like The Crown and Ted Lasso were recurring and comforting favorites, while the limited series The Queen’s Gambit and Mare of Easttown unexpectedly captured the attention of the larger culture.
While there are a few outliers, most of the wins at the 2021 Emmys were expected and well-deserved. Netflix's The Queen’s Gambit winning Outstanding Limited Series was anticipated back at the time of its October 2020 release, The Crown was hardly going to lose Outstanding Drama, and Ted Lasso expectedly swept the comedy category albeit with a few more-than-deserving steals from Hacks. Additionally, there were a few very close races in which one’s loss could be disappointing, but not necessarily seen as a snub or surprise, such as how Anya Taylor-Joy and Kate Winslet were neck-and-neck for Outstanding Actress in a Limited Series, which was ultimately awarded to Winslet.
Outside of the specific losses or wins, some of the overarching takeaways from the 2021 Emmys were the majority wins by British actors and surprising shutout in acting categories for POC even with a record number of nominations for the year. As the Primetime Emmy Awards was seemingly changing its historic voting patterns as hinted by its new and exciting nominees, the TV Academy ultimately proved itself to be the same as ever.
Surprise/Snub: WandaVision Was Shut Out In Acting Categories
As the acting categories were swept through for limited series, the snubs just kept on coming for WandaVision. Following Watchmen’s success and surprising critical attention with the Emmys, television awards seemed more and more likely for the historically excluded superhero genre. With both The Mandalorian and WandaVision being nominated against the most prestigious television series of the year, nerd culture was paving the way for record-making wins at the Emmys. While still featuring the typical Marvel calls of a CGI-fest and in-universe connections that take away from its larger importance within TV culture, WandaVision was a surprisingly well-crafted series primarily using superheroism as a vehicle to tell a poignant story of grief. Marvel approaching the project with such depth that reached those outside of the typical Marvel fan signaled a positive shift for more including widely accessible themes to the larger culture, and the Emmys aptly recognized it with an outstanding 23 nominations. As such, it was hard to believe WandaVision was shut out for the major acting categories for which the cast had long been the frontrunners.
Even if audiences didn’t quite agree on the show's prestige against worldwide phenomena like The Queen’s Gambit or Mare of Easttown, the incredible performances by WandaVision’s cast are hard to deny. As such, Kathryn Hahn was the clear favorite among industry professionals and odds betting outlets for Oustanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series. Her portrayal of Agatha was what underscored the surprise villain twist, and even began a long series of popular memes about her character. It was hard to be angry when Mare of Easttown’s Julianne Nicholson took home the award, but it was a surprise considering Hahn was favored by media outlets as someone who should and likely would win. The same circumstances occurred for Paul Bettany, who played the titular Vision, a character who died in Marvel’s 2018 Avengers: Infinity War. In a category that was quite weak compared to previous years, Paul Bettany was sure to secure the Emmy for Outstanding Actor in a Limited Series as all statistics indicated. Lastly, Elizabeth Olsen, nominated against hard-to-beat performances by Anya Taylor-Joy and film darling Kate Winslet, didn’t take home Outstanding Actress in a Limited Series. She wasn’t the frontrunner for her category like her cast members, but audiences truly resonated with Olsen's emotional performance as Wanda, especially since she practically had to change her character in each episode.
Surprise: Ewan McGregor Wins Outstanding Actor In A Limited Series
As previously mentioned, Paul Bettany of WandaVision was the clear favorite to win the Outstanding Actor in a Limited Series Emmy. While Bettany was the most probable winner, the actor who came in second for who to place betting odds on was Hugh Grant for The Undoing. Since WandaVision and The Undoing were two series that received plenty of cultural and critical attention, it was surprising that Ewan McGregor took home the award for Netflix's Halston, a Ryan Murphy series that really didn’t make waves within the culture and had an overall mediocre reception by critics.
Snub: Michael K. Williams Loses Outstanding Supporting Actor In Drama
One of the earliest snubs in the 2021 Emmys was the late actor Michael K. Williams’ loss to Tobias Menzies for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. As one of the greatest television actors of the 21st century, many believed it was time that Williams finally be rewarded for his contributions, especially since his performance as the poignant, complex father Montrose Freeman in HBO’s Lovecraft Country was regarded with much critical acclaim. Not to mention Williams’ performance outran Tobias Menzies on The Crown, who was phenomenal in his own right, but didn’t compare to the depth that Williams brought to his Lovecraft Country role. Williams was the obvious favorite to win heading into the Emmys, and not just because professionals believed he deserved a posthumous award - the Emmys voting closed a week prior to Williams’ death. His snub was one of the biggest of the night, and was another example of every POC actor, in a record number of nominations, being shut out this year at the Emmys.
Surprise/Snub: Olivia Colman Wins Outstanding Actress In Drama
While it’s hard to deny that Colman’s portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II was one of the best aspects of The Crown’s past two seasons, it was quite unlikely that she was going to win. Colman, already an Oscar winner, was up against other outstanding actresses from the year's drama series and the category’s two likely frontrunners: Her co-star Emma Corrin, whose portrayal of young Princess Diana was received with wide critical acclaim and made the actor a breakout sensation, and MJ Rodriguez, who portrayed the heartfelt and underdog-inspiring Blanca Evangelista in Pose. Corrin had edged slightly ahead of Rodriguez in likeliness to win, but either would have been a historical moment for the Emmys, as Corrin would have been the first gender-queer actor to win and Rodriquez the first transgender woman in the leading actress category. With Corrin being the favorite, the consensus was that if it didn’t go to the Lady Di portrayer, Rodriguez deserved the award.
Snub: Bo Burnham’s Inside Loses (Pre-Recorded) Variety Special To Hamilton
While it’s difficult to call Hamilton’s win surprising because of its 5-year-long lasting cultural impression that was revamped with the July 2021 pre-recorded theatrical performance, the Emmy should have gone to Bo Burnham for his timely and popular comedy special Inside. Hamilton was a special that was clearly intended for a movie theatre release, and really didn’t need any more awards after holding 11 Tonys and practically a monopoly on Broadway since 2016. Burnham’s Inside was what truly deserved the award, especially when reflecting the milieu of 2020-2021 with many peoples’ worlds changing to an indoor, solitary experience that he provides comic relief for. Inside was also a new concept with a one-man amateur-style show that unsurprisingly already won 3 Creative Emmys. As one of the final disappointments of the 2021 Emmys, Bo Burnham was robbed of the (Pre-Recorded) Variety Special Award by Hamilton.