Emmys Snub ‘Squid Game‘ Amidst Shifting Audience preferences
In a surprising turn of events, the global phenomenon Squid Game failed to secure a single Emmy nomination this year, highlighting a growing divergence between critical acclaim and public viewership. This marks a meaningful snub, especially when juxtaposed with the performance of other top-rated drama series according to JustWatch data.
The crime drama MobLand, featuring a star-studded cast including Tom Hardy, Pierce brosnan, and Helen Mirren, ranked second in justwatch’s popularity metrics. It outperformed Netflix’s Dept. Q, a series from Queen’s Gambit creator Scott Frank. Both of these highly-watched shows were overlooked for a Best Drama Series nomination, further emphasizing the disconnect between the Television Academy’s choices and widespread audience appeal.
Adding to the narrative of differing perceptions, Apple TV+’s Severance, which garnered an extraordinary 27 nominations, landed at number 13 out of 17 tracked shows, falling outside the top 10. This placement underscores the complex relationship between Emmy recognition and viewer engagement.
On the comedy front, there appears to be a more consistent alignment between audience preference and Emmy recognition. The Bear, which received 13 Emmy nominations, including a nod for Best Comedy Series, topped the JustWatch user popularity charts in the days leading up to the nominations declaration.
The FX culinary comedy garnered more attention from viewers than its category rival Hacks, which ultimately secured the top comedy award in an upset, following The Bear‘s own freshman season triumph the previous year.Other nominees in the Best Comedy Series category, such as Abbott Elementary, What We Do in the Shadows, Only Murders in the Building, Shrinking, and Nobody Wants This, also saw strong audience engagement.
Interestingly, the comedy series that received the most nominations the Studio, with a record-tying 23 nods, ranked just below several shows that did not receive a series nomination, including Poker Face, The Four Seasons, and A Man on the Inside.
