Andor Emmy Nods Reveal a Franchise Acting Awards Bias Still Persists

The announcement of the 2025 Emmy nominations came with plenty of good news for sci-fi fans, comic book enthusiasts, and every other genre of geek.

HBO Max’s The Batman spinoff The Penguin received the second most nominations overall, set to compete in 24 categories including “Best Limited or Anthology Series,” “Best Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series” (Colin Farrell), and “Best Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series” (Cristin Milioti). Meanwhile, HBO’s video game adaptation The Last of Us pulled in an impressive 16 nominations, popping up in every major drama category (including a dubious “Best Actor” nod for Pedro Pascal’s roughly two-and-a-half episodes worth of work).

Most striking, however, was the performance of Andor – Tony Gilroy’s two-season Rogue One prequel that unexpectedly blossomed into one of the most beloved and essential Star Wars efforts since George Lucas’ original trilogy. Andor is the type of mass entertainment property that awards shows like the Primetime Emmys tend to ignore. It’s a heady sci-fi project that’s tied to a popular IP and resides on a streaming service not named “Netflix,” “Apple TV+,” or “HBO Max.”

Despite all that, Andor received 14 nominations (tied for sixth place with HBO Max comedy Hacks) including in the Best Drama category where it will compete against heavy hitters like The Pitt, The White Lotus, and Severance (which leads the pack with 27 total nominations). Andor‘s mainstream acceptance from the premier TV awards program is just the latest sign that the meek (or in this case “the geek”) have inherited the pop culture Earth. Gone are the days when a comic book or genre story would be dismissed out of hand. Quality is quality and is increasingly recognized as such.

Unfortunately though, there remains one notable exception when it comes to sci-fi and franchise properties’ respectable performances at major awards shows: the acting categories. Amid the usual gauntlet of well-deserved nods in production verticals like “Outstanding Cinematography For A Series,” “Outstanding Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes,” and “Outstanding Sound Editing/Mixing,” Andor season 2 has only two acting nominations: one “Outstanding Guest Actor In A Drama Series” nod for Forest Whitaker as Saw Gerrera and one “Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance” for Alan Tudyk as K-2SO.

While Tudyk and Gerrera are both fine choices, many other Andor performers were unambiguously snubbed here. Kyle Soller and Denise Gough brought real belief (and some disturbing psychosexual energy) to Imperial couple Syrian Karn and Dedra Meero. Stellan Skarsgård proved once again that he’s one of his generation’s finest actors, digging deep into the psyche of Luthen Rael, a man who fully understood he would never see that sunrise he helped build. First-time actor Elizabeth Dulau practically burst off the screen as Luthern’s devoted and damaged protege Kleya Marki. And Ben Mendelsohn? Well, Ben Mendelsohn’s Orson Krennic was mother.

None of that is to even mention the series lead and namesake. Diego Luna shouldered a heavy storytelling and soldierly burden as Cassian Andor – a man who just always seemed to be there when The Rebellion needed him most. Surely, the “Best Actor in a Drama” category could have found room for him. Give him Pedro’s spot. He already has everything needs. He’s Mister Fantastic!

In the grand scheme of things, the lack of acting Emmy nominations for a Star Wars property is not necessarily the biggest issue facing Western culture. Hell, it’s far from the biggest mistake the Emmy Awards have ever made. (Fun fact: The Wire never won an Emmy). It does, however, speak to an anti-franchise and sci-fi bias that award shows can’t seem to shake. Even when they acknowledge that a particular show or movie is a fine creative achievement, awards voters seem to have a hard time recognizing the performances therein as believably human and effective.

After all, it’s not like the Emmys ignored genre acting altogether this time around. The aforementioned The Penguin, The Last of Us, and Andor itself all received some recognition for acting. Most of those, however, veer towards heightened, at times cartoonish performances like Farrell’s Oz Cobb, Milioti’s Sofia Falcone, Tudyk’s droid, and Whitaker’s rhydonium-huffing freedom fighter. Voters are more inclined to honor comic book-y or space operatic characters when they feel sufficiently comic book-y or space operatic. Ironically, it’s the more grounded, layered roles they struggle with.

Ultimately though, the unrecognized characters of Andor season 2 wouldn’t have it any other way. Cassian Andor, Syril Karn, Dedra Meero, Luthen Rael, and Kleya Marki won’t make it to the sunrise of the Emmy Awards on September 14, but they helped make Andor‘s sunrise happen all the same.