Better Call Saul Was Snubbed By The Emmys And Fans Are Furious
In spite of a long list of nominations over the years, Better Call Saul once again failed to bring home any Emmys this week.
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After Monday’s 74th Annual Emmy Awards, one fact became abundantly clear: Emmy voters really don’t like Better Call Saul. Unlike the show it spun off of, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul has never earned the respect it so rightfully deserves, and the numbers don’t lie. In the six seasons since its 2015 premiere, the show, headlined by Bob Odenkirk (Nobody), has been nominated for 46 Emmys and hasn’t won a single one, making it the Susan Lucci of Primetime Emmys.
Although it never aimed to have the epic, dark scope of its predecessor, Better Call Saul was no less brilliant, and creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould (the same minds behind Breaking Bad), crafted a character-driven tale that co-existed in the Walter White universe while forging its own identity. Much of that can be credited to the performances of Bob Odenkirk, reprising his role as morally-compromised lawyer Jimmy McGill (aka Saul Goodman), and Rhea Seehorn, who played a new character: Kim Wexler, an attorney who falls in love with Saul in an ultimately doomed relationship.
Odenkirk was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series five times for the role, while Seehorn earned her only nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama series just this year. Odenkirk lost to Lee Jung-jae for Netflix’s hit Squid Game, while Seehorn lost to Julia Garner of Ozark, who won her third consecutive Emmy on Monday night. Better Call Saul lost to Succession for Best Drama Series and Outstanding Writing for a Drama, and despite some worthy winners, fans of Saul are none too thrilled about the show being snubbed once again, as MovieWeb reported.
Emmy snubs are a tradition, as much as winning one itself, and Better Call Saul wasn’t alone in being ignored. Kevin Costner’s epic modern western Yellowstone didn’t receive a single nomination, and HBO’s multiple-Emmy winner Barry lost in all of the major comedy categories. Still, fans are upset that Saul only managed seven nominations total, less than half of some other shows, and standout cast members Giancarlo Esposito, Michael Mando, Jonathan Banks, and Patrick Fabian weren’t even nominated.
Odenkirk seemed to take the snubs with a grain of salt, despite having a heart attack and nearly dying on the set last year. Instead, he tweeted a thank you to Rhea Seehorn, with a picture from the Emmys audience. “Rhea, thanks for holding my head off the concrete floor,” he wrote on Twitter.
All is not lost for Better Call Saul to get some Emmy love. Despite the series finale airing this summer, the season aired in two parts, with the second part of the season still eligible for Emmy nominations next year. The second half of the season featured some of the best work by the cast in the series’ history, particularly Odenkirk and Seehorn, so nominations and wins could still come next year.
If it’s any consolation to Better Call Saul fans, the Emmys seemed to have suffered for not recognizing more popular series with nominations. According to CNN, the Monday telecast was the lowest-rated in the event’s history.
