Emmy nominations: The biggest snubs

You can’t howl too loud. Not when HBO’s Game of Thrones and AMC’s Breaking Bad are among the top nominees. And when Mandy Patinkin gets recognized for Homeland and Vera Farmiga for Bates Motel; when Amy Poehler proves somebody at the Academy is still watching Parks and Recreation and when Netflix is shaking up the game.

But there were still plenty of decisions to fire up the embers of your slow burning snub-rage:

— First, the opposite of a snub (A buns?). FX’s American Horror Story: Asylum is the most nominated show with 17? Not that it didn’t deserve nominations. But … the most nominations? Most? Keep in mind, getting the most nominations, or even the most wins, doesn’t mean it’s the best show. Winning the best drama series category means it’s the best show. But still … the most?…

— The drama category is tight this year and leaves little room for griping. But once again, the Emmys seem to snub any FX show that isn’t American Horror Story — like Justified, Sons of Anarchy and The Americans. Beyond that category: When you have seven lead actress nominations and none are The Americans‘ Keri Russell, you have to wonder if Academy members watched their screeners. Likewise, Timothy Olyphant arguably had his best year yet on Justified.

— It’s hard to whine about Thrones when it got 16 nominations (including the showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss for writing The Red Wedding episode, and Emilia Clarke for supporting actress). But you think about Charles Dance, Lena Headey, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Michelle Fairley and others — they had performances that would have been the focus of awards attention on most other dramas, and you have to wonder if the size and quality of this cast worked against them.

— Parks & Recreation was nominated a couple years ago for comedy series but hasn’t been back since. The flyover-state effect? Every nominated comedy in the category is set in New York City, Los Angeles or Washington DC (I know, Big Bang Theory is set in Pasadena, that’s still close enough).

— Jennifer Carpenter turned up the heat on her Dexter character last fall. But her strongest performance is in the current final season, so maybe she will score next year. Likewise: Monica Potter deserved attention for Parenthood.

— Tatiana Maslany played seven different characters on cult breakout Orphan Black. Apparently all of them sucked — despite Maslany getting a Critic’s Choice award and TCA nomination! One theory: If BBC America’ Orphan Black (which received zero primetime noms) was on Netflix or HBO, outlets that seem to dig deep to promote their Emmy submissions, her chances might have improved.

— NBC’s Hannibal fans will be annoyed Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen didn’t get nominated.

— Another mild surprise: Zero New Girl noms. The Fox comedy fell notably in the ratings during its second season. Guess the TV Academy was among those who deleted it from their DVRs?

— The Sad Trombone nomination: Alec Baldwin for 30 Rock. The Academy loves him. No matter what.

List of all the top nominees.