Outlander has received just 3 Emmy nominations since it premiered. It’s long been overlooked, so we’re giving out our own awards.
The 73rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards are just two months away, and we officially know all the nominations. There were a handful of shows that we knew were a shoo-in, and some that should have definitely been considered but weren’t.
Outlander didn’t make the list of nominations because it didn’t air any episodes during the eligibility period. But let’s be honest, even if it had, it would have been snubbed. Over the years, for reasons unknown, the Emmys have consistently overlooked STARZ’s time-traveling romance. Despite producing incredible work over the last five seasons, this series is missing from every category year after year.
Since it premiered, Outlander has been nominated a total of three times: for music composition, costumes, and production design. And this was back in 2015 and 2016. Since then there has been zero, nada, zilch.
Outlander has yet to get any nominations in major categories like Lead Actor/Actress, Directing, and Writing, which is ridiculous considering how high-quality the series has been. They’ve never shied away from heavy topics, and the cast of the show have consistently delivered. I’m in shock year after year over the fact that Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan have not been awarded an Emmy nomination. It’d be one thing if they were recognized and just didn’t win, but not even be nominated is just…
And with that frustration in mind, here are seven times Outlander should have been nominated for and won an Emmy. There are more, but if we listed them all we’d be here all day.
Sam Heughan for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
I don’t even know where to start when it comes to the prodigy that is Sam Heughan. He quickly burrowed his way into the hearts of Outlander fans all around the world when he took on the role of Jamie Fraser. Fans of the novels immediately became smitten with him because he was quite literally the epitome of everything Jamie represented in the book. There was perhaps no one better to take on this role.
Over the years, Heughan has been neglected by the Emmys over and over again (not to mention many of the other award shows). It’s alarming to think that the voters haven’t given him much of a chance given how phenomenally he plays Jamie.
If we were stripping down his talents to just his looks, he’d still be a winner. But it’s not the fact that he’s easy on the eyes that makes him worthy of an Emmy nom/award. In Season 1, Episode 15, “Wentworth Prison,” Heughan gave us the performance of a lifetime. Without getting into the brutal details, Jamie is captured by Black Jack Randall (Tobias Menzies) and raped by him while in captivity.
I have a difficult time recalling this scene because Heughan made it feel all too real. The way he conveyed the emotion, horror, and pain of Jamie’s plight is something I can’t quite describe. What I know is that he must have had to go to a very dark place to act the scene out, and for that alone, he deserved all the recognition in the world. They could have at least nominated him!
Heughan could have easily competed with the likes of Game of Thrones actors, and he’s still worthy of winning accolades. Heughan’s ability to convey Jamie’s trauma during and after this event was worthy of reward, and it still haunts me that no one took a moment to give it a second look.
There are countless times throughout Outlander that Heughan deserved to be recognized, but “Wentworth Prison” is at the top of the list for me. It was the performance of a lifetime and should have never been ignored or overlooked. #EmmyForSamHeughan