11 TV superstars who have never been nominated for an Emmy

• The 78th Primetime Emmys will air on September 14.
• Elle Fanning, Connor Storrie, Matthew Rhys, Oscar Isaac, and Quinta Brunson were among the nominees.
• But there are plenty of acting legends who have never been nominated.

The 2026 Emmy Award nominations have been revealed, and while there were plenty of sure bets, there were also some surprise nods and even a few snubs.

Every year, a mix of new talent and reliable stars are recognized for their talent. And yet, more than a few TV superstars have never even been nominated, let alone won.

Here are some of the biggest TV icons who have never been nominated for an Emmy award for their acting.

As more people watch "New Girl" on streaming platforms, they might wonder how Jake Johnson never received an Emmy nom for his role.

"New Girl," which was then on Netflix, got a serious bump in viewership during the COVID-19 pandemic as stressed people looked for something sweet and gut-bustingly funny to watch. It's now available on Peacock and Hulu.

And while Max Greenfield and Zooey Deschanel were deservedly recognized by the Television Academy for their performances as Schmidt and Jessica Day, respectively, and Lamorne Morris was finally recognized for "Fargo" in 2024, Johnson was snubbed for all seven seasons for his role as Nick Miller.

Johnson is currently starring on the Apple TV+ series "Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed," so a golden statue could be in his future soon.

Ellen Pompeo has been the heart and soul of "Grey's Anatomy" for soon-to-be 23 seasons, but she has never been nominated for an Emmy.

Simply put, there is no "Grey's Anatomy" without Meredith Grey, played by Pompeo. Plenty of characters have come and gone over the years, with fans and critics claiming the show couldn't survive without them — but they were wrong. The show, all narrated by Pompeo, has endured.

The fact that she hasn't been nominated — not once — for her huge body of work is tough to swallow. Maybe season 23 will change that.

Katey Sagal has never been nominated for her dramatic or comedic roles.

Sagal played Jax's complicated mother, Gemma, on "Sons of Anarchy." Gemma was both beloved and despised, and that's due to Sagal's performance, in addition to great writing.

But "Sons of Anarchy" wasn't the only show she starred in. Sagal played Peggy Bundy on "Married... with Children" for 11 seasons and was one of the show's most iconic characters. She also voiced Leela on "Futurama" for seven seasons and starred on "8 Simple Rules" — none of which garnered a nomination.

The fact that Wendell Pierce was never nominated for his work on "The Wire" seems egregious to us.

"The Wire" is heralded as one of the greatest shows of all time, period. But it never won an Emmy, and it was only nominated for two during its five-season run. Pierce played Det. William "Bunk" Moreland, whom Esquire called "the best-written character in the best-written show in the history of television."

Like all of his co-stars, he didn't receive an Emmy nod for "The Wire." But some of them have been honored for their other work, like Idris Elba for "Luther" and the late Michael K. Williams for "When They See Us" and "Lovecraft Country."

That Pierce, who has also starred in other prestige TV shows like "Treme," has never been nominated is a travesty. He'll just have to settle for two Tony nominations and one win.

Peter Gallagher easily could have earned an Emmy nod for his time on "The O.C."

Given that almost any teen soap of the 2000s owes "The O.C." a great debt, and that it's the reason we have "Laguna Beach" and "The Hills," it's hard to believe neither the show nor any of its actors received any Emmy recognition. 

Gallagher played Cohen family patriarch Sandy, who rocked great eyebrows, refused to give in to the materialistic surroundings of Newport, and had a great TV marriage with Kirsten, played by Kelly Rowan.

He's also had stand-out guest roles on shows like "New Girl" and "Grace and Frankie" that could be worthy of recognition.

Charlie Day, Rob Mac (née McElhenney), and Glenn Howerton have never been nominated for acting once in the 17 seasons of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."

"It's Always Sunny's" lack of awards recognition is so well known that a season nine episode called "The Gang Tries Desperately to Win an Award" remains as relevant in 2026 as it was in 2013.

The other two co-stars of the show, Danny DeVito and Kaitlin Olson, have each been recognized. In DeVito's case, he won in 1981 for "Taxi," along with nominations in 1979, 1982, and 1983 for the same role. He was also nominated in 2004 for his guest spot on "Friends." Olson received a nomination in 2020 for her role in Quibi series "Flipped" and three more in 2022, 2024, and 2026 for "Hacks."

But the three original dudes behind the show, Mac, Day, and Howerton, have all been snubbed — not only for their iconic performances as Mac, Charlie, and Dennis, but for writing, directing, and producing the series, too.

Howerton starred on "AP Bio," for which he was not nominated, while Mac created, wrote, and starred in Apple TV+ series "Mythic Quest," which was snubbed for all four of its wonderful seasons. Day also produced "Mythic Quest."

Mac is currently appearing on the FX docu-series "Welcome to Wrexham," which he also executive-produces, so that finally earned him two producing wins, but he still hasn't been recognized for acting.

Technically, Will Smith was nominated in 2021 as a producer for "Cobra Kai," but he was never nominated for "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."

Smith's entire movie-star career can be traced back to how charismatic he was across all 148 episodes of the show.

"The Fresh Prince" was, and is, a pop culture phenomenon, with characters like Will, Carlton, and Uncle Phil, remaining relevant to this day (just ask J. Cole or Joyner Lucas) due to the quality of the performances.

A return to the small screen could secure his E for a potential EGOT (as he now has an Oscar and a Grammy).

Courteney Cox has also never been nominated for an acting Emmy, despite her roles on "Friends" and "Cougar Town."

In a downright rude turn of events, Cox is the only member of the six-person "Friends" ensemble who wasn't nominated for an Emmy in its 10 seasons: Jennifer Aniston has one win from five nominations; Lisa Kudrow has one win from six nominations; Matthew Perry was nominated once; Matt LeBlanc was nominated three times; and David Schwimmer was nominated once.

Kudrow, Aniston, Perry, and Schwimmer were all nominated for projects outside "Friends" as well.

Cox went on to star in "Cougar Town" for six seasons, also without any Emmy recognition.

She was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for producing "Celebrity Name Game," and received a nomination along with her "Friends" co-stars for producing the HBO Max reunion, but Cox still doesn't have an acting nom.

Chances are, if you've watched a sitcom in the last 15 years, you've laughed at Jason Mantzoukas.

Here's a list of just some of the shows Mantzoukas has been in since 2011: "Parks and Recreation," "Modern Family," "Broad City," "Transparent," "Community," "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," "The Good Place," "Dickinson," "Percy Jackson and the Olympians," and "A Man on the Inside."

You're telling me that not one of those hilarious supporting roles, guest roles, or even glorified cameos was worthy of an Emmy nom? Adrian Pimento, Dennis Feinstein, and Derek were all iconic characters and deserve some recognition.

And that's leaving out his voice work, which is also award-worthy.

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