- The nominees for the 71st Primetime Emmys were announced on Tuesday in Los Angeles.
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus will look to take home her seventh consecutive Emmy for her role as Selina Meyer in “Veep.”
- But there are plenty of acting legends and spectacular talents that have never been nominated, much less taken home a statue.
- Courteney Cox was the only member of the “Friends” cast to not be nominated for an Emmy.
- Visit INSIDER’s homepage for more stories.
The 71st Primetime Emmys will air on Sunday, September 22, in Los Angeles. There will be plenty of excited first-time nominees hoping to win a trophy for their work last year, including Amy Adams, Kumail Nanjiani, and Nick Offerman.
But, as most of them would say, it’s an honor just to be nominated. There are plenty of TV legends and stars that have never gotten nominated for their work on the small screen, and it’s time they be recognized for their contributions to TV history.
Here are 10 actors you might be shocked to learn have never been nominated for an Emmy.
Kaley Cuoco was never recognized by the Television Academy for her 12 seasons portraying Penny on “The Big Bang Theory.”
It couldn’t have been easy playing the sole female character on the show for the first few seasons, and even after Amy and Bernadette were introduced, Penny was still the lone person of less than genius intellect on “The Big Bang Theory.”
Cuoco also starred on "8 Simpe Rules" for three seasons, and while the show was nominated twice, she was not.
Chris Noth was never nominated for his roles as Mr. Big on "Sex and the City," Mike Logan in "Law and Order," or Peter Florrick on "The Good Wife."
Noth has had a prolific TV career, with over 100 episodes of both "The Good Wife" and "Law and Order" under his belt, plus another 40-odd episodes of "Sex and the City," which is arguably his most iconic work.
But surprisingly, he's never received an Emmy nod, though many of his co-stars have, as well as the shows on which he starred. He did, however, earn Golden Globe noms for his work on "Sex and the City" and "The Good Wife" in 1999 and 2010, respectively.
Courteney Cox was the only one of the six cast members of "Friends" that didn't get an Emmy nomination.
For "Friends" alone, Lisa Kudrow was nominated six times, winning one, Jennifer Aniston was nominated five times, winning one, David Schwimmer had one nomination, Matthew Perry had one nomination, and Matt LeBlanc had three nominations. In addition, they've all been nominated for Emmys for their other work as well.
Cox has never been nominated, neither for her portrayal of Monica Geller on "Friends," but also not for her time on "Cougar Town."
Charlie Hunnam was never nominated for his seven seasons of work on "Sons of Anarchy."
Hunnam was tasked with playing Jax Teller, a leader of a motorcycle gang who tries to do the right thing while simultaneously committing murder, smuggling guns, generally partaking in illegal activities, and still making audiences root for him.
It's a testament to Hunnam's acting ability and charm that audiences did, and he easily could have earned an Emmy for his work.
Hunnam's on-screen mother, Katey Sagal, has never been nominated, either.
Sagal played Jax's complicated mother Gemma on "Sons of Anarchy." Gemma was both beloved and despised, and that's almost entirely due to her performance.
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."
The fact that Wendell Pierce has never been 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 was only nominated for two during its five-season run. Pierce played Det. William "The 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 Michael K. Williams for "When They See Us."
That Pierce, who has also starred in other prestige TV shows like "Treme," has never been nominated is a travesty.
Ellen Pompeo has been the heart and soul of "Grey's Anatomy" for 15 years, but has never been nominated for an Emmy.
Simply put, there is no "Grey's Anatomy" without Meredith Grey, as played by Pompeo. Plenty of characters have come and gone over the years, with fans and critics alike claiming that the show couldn't survive without them - but they were wrong. The show has endured, all narrated by Pompeo.
The fact that she hasn't been nominated, not once, for her huge body of work is tough to swallow. But maybe season 16 or 17 will change that!
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 Emmys recognition.
Gallagher played Cohen family patriarch Sandy, who rocked great eyebrows, refused to give into the materialistic surroundings of Newport, and had a great TV marriage with Kirsten, as played by Kelly Rowan.
He's also had stand-out guest roles on shows like "New Girl" and "Grace and Frankie" that were worthy of recognition.
Rhea Seehorn has been stealing scenes on "Better Call Saul" since the beginning, but she was shut out again this year.
As Cinema Blend put it, "Does 'Better Call Saul's' Kim have to die for star Rhea Seehorn to get Emmy love?" Almost all of her co-stars have been recognized with a nomination, while Seehorn has continually been shut out. Her role as Kim, Jimmy's confidant and love interest, has made her a fan-favorite.
Creator Vince Gilligan has even stated that if he were to do another "Breaking Bad" spin-off, "it would be the Kim Wexler show."
Jason Segel played the lovable Marshall Eriksen on "How I Met Your Mother" for nine years without getting any Emmy love.
Arguably, Marshall is the best male character from "How I Met Your Mother" - much better than problematic Barney or whiny Ted. Yet Segel never earned an Emmy nod for his portrayal of the lovable environmental lawyer with a penchant for the supernatural.
He also starred in cult classic TV show "Freaks and Geeks," which is regularly cited as one of the greatest high school shows of all time, but didn't earn any nominations from that, either.