Murder, Hacks, and Lamorne Morris: A Deadly Combination
Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building went into Sunday night’s 2024 Emmys with 21 nominations, the third most of any series this year, with star Selena Gomez landing her first acting nod for her role on the show and Meryl Streep and Paul Rudd among the glitzy season three additions up for Emmy awards. And the show even got an early moment in Sunday night’s telecast with Gomez, Steve Martin and Martin Short presenting the first award of the evening after being introduced by hosts Dan and Eugene Levy, the latter appearing in the fourth, current season of Only Murders.
But while its fellow contenders at the top of the nominees peak (Shogun and The Bear) picked up numerous trophies on Sunday night, the star-studded murder mystery comedy failed to win a single award during the ABC telecast.
To be fair, Only Murders did win three awards during the non-televised Creative Arts Emmys last week, including helping composers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul reach EGOT status. But it failed to win a trophy during the main event.
Other series that failed to win a single award during the ABC telecast despite landing multiple nominations include Saturday Night Live, losing to the only other nominee in the scripted variety series category, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, after an SNL reunion sketch joking about creator Lorne Michaels losing at the Emmys (the show won six awards at the Creative Arts Emmys); 16-time nominees (the same number of nods Hacks received) Fallout and Mr. and Mrs. Smith (two Creative Arts wins each); 11-time nominee Palm Royale (one Creative Arts win), with the same number of nominations as Baby Reindeer; and 10-time nominees Feud: Capote vs. The Swans and Lessons in Chemistry (one Creative Arts win each).
Similarly, despite its 18 nominations, onetime Emmy favorite The Crown, a past best drama series winner that some pundits suggested could score an upset win in the top category this year, won only one award in the main telecast, for best supporting actress for Elizabeth Debicki’s portrayal of Princess Diana. Sixteen-time Emmy nominee this year The Morning Show also won only one award in the ABC telecast for supporting actor Billy Crudup.
In terms of specific category upsets, Hacks shocked pundits who had expected a Bear sweep, particularly after the FX series broke its own record for most wins by a comedy series in a single season, by winning the top prize for best comedy series. Hacks had, however, won twice previously in the evening, with star Jean Smart beating out The Bear‘s lead actress nominee Ayo Edebiri and last year’s best comedy actress winner Quinta Brunson, both of whom pundits considered Smart’s toughest competition. Brunson’s Abbott Elementary also went winless during this year’s Emmys telecast, airing for the first time since the series’ debut on the series’ home of ABC, despite nine nominations this year and multiple wins in past years.
But it was The Bear that pulled off an upset in the best supporting actress in a comedy series category, with Liza Colón-Zayas triumphing over Hacks‘ Hannah Einbinder, whom pundits had predicted would win. Though this year’s Emmys are recognizing the second season of The Bear, the show’s third season recently aired on Hulu, including a standout episode focused on Colón-Zayas’ character.
Another surprise happened in the best supporting actor in a limited series category, with Fargo‘s Lamorne Morris beating Fellow Travelers‘ Jonathan Bailey, whom Emmys experts predicted as likely to win the category.
Reservation Dogs also went winless for its third and final season after receiving more nominations this year than it had in previous cycles. Some pundits thought the acclaimed series about Indigenous teens might make good on its delayed recognition with an Emmy win or two.