Emmys 2017: the biggest surprises and snubs from this year's nominations

By Melody Lau

This year's Emmy Award nominations are in and, as always, there are some surprises and some snubs. Head here for a full list of nominations and scroll down to see what we were most shocked by this year.

Surprise: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

Late night TV host Jimmy Fallon has had a rough year with his show gradually falling behind CBS competitor Stephen Colbert in the ratings. These tumultuous times are clearly reflected in this year's nominations for outstanding variety talk series, where Fallon has been shut out. Prior to this, Fallon had been nominated for an Emmy every year since 2010, either with The Tonight Show or his previous post at Late Night.  

Snub: The Leftovers

While HBO's The Leftovers was never a ratings juggernaut, the series had steadily built a critical fanbase for its innovative storytelling and phenomenal performances from stars Justin Theroux and Carrie Coon. Actress Ann Dowd scored the show's only nomination this year, for outstanding guest actress in a drama series, but The Leftovers deserved much more recognition for its groundbreaking final season. Recently on his Instagram account, series co-creator Damon Lindelof jokingly promised to share Theroux's junk (a longstanding joke on the show) in the event of proper recognition from the Emmys and it looks like we're all worse off for this snub.

Surprise: Female directors

Half of this year's nominees for best directing in a drama series are women. Reed Morano and Kate Dennis are up for the award for directing episodes of the Hulu hit, The Handmaid's Tale, while Lesli Linka Glatter is also nominated for her directorial work on Homeland. It's a small but notable feat for a category that is often dominated by men.

Snub: Issa Rae

Many predicted some recognition for Issa Rae's HBO series, Insecure, but the comedy was completely shut out, losing out in the comedy series category to returning faves like Modern Family and Veep. In the leading actress category, Rae was squeezed out by two Grace and Frankie nominations as well as Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ellie Kemper, Tracee Ellis Ross, Allison Janney and newcomer to the group, Pamela Adlon from Better Things.

Surprise: Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live tied HBO's Westworld for most nominations this year at a whopping 22 categories, with stars like Alec Baldwin and Kate McKinnon leading one of the show's most politically aggressive seasons. SNL was just one of many shows that unabashedly went after U.S. President Trump, but now they're in a prime position to reap some of the biggest rewards.

Snub: Mr. Robot

After scoring six nominations (and two wins) for its first season, USA drama Mr. Robot was shut out this year for season two. The biggest snubs here go to its two stars, Rami Malek and Christian Slater, the former who took home the title of outstanding lead actor in a drama series last time around.

Surprise: The Handmaid's Tale

For its first year, Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale (which airs on Bravo in Canada) scored 13 nominations including outstanding drama series, outstanding lead actress for Elizabeth Moss and outstanding supporting actress in a drama series for Samira Wiley.

Snub: Other shows that walked away with zero nominations

Starz's breakout hit American Gods, Oprah Winfrey and Ava DuVernay's Queen Sugar, NBC comedy The Good Place, Netflix's animated series Bojack Horseman, CBS spinoff The Good Fight, CW favourites Jane the Virgin, zombie hit The Walking Dead, Fox's musical drama Empire.

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