The Emmys Continue ‘The Walking Dead’ Hate With ‘Ones Who Live’ Snub
Despite being one of the most popular series in recent history, The Walking Dead has struggled to gain attention at the Emmys. This pattern continues with The Ones Who Live, the spinoff series starring Danai Gurira and Andrew Lincoln as franchise favorites Michonne and Rick, respectively.
The 2024 Emmy nominations ignored The Ones Who Live across all categories. However, Gurira and Lincoln’s exclusion from Outstanding Lead Actor and Lead Actress was the biggest hit for hopeful Walking Dead fans. The two actors have been portraying Rick and Michonne for over a decade combined, yet they’ve failed to secure any Emmy wins.
A category change may have hurt The Ones Who Live’s chances
As reported by Variety in April 2024, AMC Network hit a roadblock when submitting The Ones Who Live for Emmy consideration. The six-episode spinoff was declared ineligible for the Outstanding Limited Series or Anthology category, which requires stories to be resolved within the season and have no ongoing storylines. As a result, The Ones Who Live had to submit as a drama.
Although there were more slots to fill, the Outstanding Drama Series category had some steep competition, including FX’s Shōgun, Netflix’s 3 Body Problem, Prime Video’s Fallout, and Netflix’s The Crown, a returning nominee and winner. The Limited Series or Anthology category also had some heavy hitters like HBO’s True Detective: Night Country, Fx’s Fargo, and the Netflix phenomenon Baby Reindeer. Even so, the latter category feels like the better place for The Ones Who Live, which is a continuation of the flagship series that is more likely to keep longtime fans than attract new ones.
The Ones Who Live is the franchise’s most popular spinoff
While AMC also submitted its other qualifying Walking Dead titles (Dead City and Daryl Dixon), The Ones Who Live remains the biggest snub. The Rick and Michonne-led series is the highest-rated franchise spinoff on Rotten Tomatoes. It harbors some of the most critically acclaimed episodes, including episode 4, “What We,” which was penned by Gurira.
The Walking Dead flagship series only had 16 nominations and two wins across 11 seasons. In that light, it’s not surprising The Ones Who Live was snubbed. From the Emmys to the Oscars, major award shows are known for neglecting horror, and The Walking Dead has felt the weight of that trend. While there’s still a chance Lincoln and Gurira will get their well-deserved Emmys at some point, it won’t be at the 2024 awards.
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