The Emmy nominations for 2023 are in, and as usual, they have caused plenty of debate. Ironically, the nominations for the 75th annual Primetime Emmy Awards, which will celebrate the most skilled and talented people in the TV industry, have come when both the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors’ Guild are on strike, which may lead to a real barren spell for TV. This would be a far cry from the quality of some of the shows nominated for the 2023 awards.

It has been a stacked year for quality television, and many big hitters have been nominated. HBO continued its Emmy dominance as Succession received the most nominations, with 27. Just behind is The Last of Us with 24 and The White Lotus with 23. The nominations also feature some regulars, such as Better Call Saul, and newcomers, such as House of the Dragon, The Bear, and Wednesday. In such a competitive year, there would always be some upsets and surprises. So, here are some of the biggest surprises (and snubs) from the 2023 Emmy nominations.

Disney+ Star Wars Nominations
Disney+

One of the biggest surprises is the nominations for the Disney+ Star Wars shows. Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and The Mandalorian combined for 22 nominations. Since its release, The Mandalorian has gathered almost 50 Emmy nominations and has even won on several occasions in categories such as cinematography, stunt coordination, and production design. Now with Andor and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Disney+ has a very strong showing for the 2023 Emmys.

The critically acclaimed Andor is some of the best Star Wars content we have ever gotten, and it deservedly received nominations in some big categories such as Outstanding Drama Series, Writing for a Drama Series, and Directing for a Drama Series. As good as Andor was and as much it deserved the nomination for Outstanding Drama Series, it is still a pleasant surprise to see it receive a nomination in a category where it could very easily have been snubbed. Unfortunately, actors Diego Luna, Stellan Skarsgård, and Andy Serkis, whose performances were key to the show’s success, were snubbed.

Related: The 15 TV Shows with the Most Emmy Nominations Ever

The most surprising nomination for the 2023 Emmys was probably for Obi-Wan Kenobi, which received a nomination for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series. While it had some good moments, the show was met with a fairly lukewarm response. The best part of the limited series was Ewan McGregor reprising his famous role. He pretty much carried the show. Yet he didn’t receive a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie.

Not many would have predicted Obi-Wan Kenobi being up for the Limited Series Emmy. Most people would agree it simply doesn’t deserve to be there. Especially when you take into consideration, Black Bird was snubbed. It was arguably the best-limited series of 2022, and for many, it would have been the favorite to take home the Limited Series Emmy. Taron Egerton, Ray Liotta, and Paul Walter Hauser all received nominations for their roles, which shows the quality of the limited series and makes its omission from the nominations even more confusing.

While the Disney+ contingent has grown stronger this year and caused a bit of an upset when it comes to certain categories, it is unlikely they will cause any major upsets come awards night.

HBO Dominance
HBO

HBO’s dominance certainly isn’t a surprise to anyone, but within those nominations, there were several surprises. The Last of Us received the second most nominations, and the show’s leads, Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, were shoe-ins for a nomination. As were Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett for their roles as Frank and Bill in the show’s highly praised third episode.

But it wasn’t just Offerman and Bartlett that got nods for their guest roles. Lamar Johnson, Keivonn Montreal Woodard, Melanie Lynskey, Storm Reid, and Anna Torv were nominated for the Outstanding Guest Actor and Actress categories. Both categories are entirely made up of HBO shows, with the rest of the nominations being guest actors from Succession.

This HBO dominance, unfortunately, leads to other quality shows and actors missing out on nominations. One of the shows most affected by this is Better Call Saul. In its final season, we saw some Breaking Bad characters return. Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, and Betsy Brandt all made guest appearances that could have merited a nomination. In addition, Better Call Saul received no nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Michael Mando, Giancarlo Esposito, Tony Dalton, and Johnathan Banks all missed out in a category that only features actors from HBO’s White Lotus and Succession.

Related: The Emmys: Our Predictions for the Highly Competitive 2023 Awards Show

Even HBO’s show, House of the Dragon, has suffered because of how competitive this year’s awards are. House of the Dragon received eight nominations, one of those being for Outstanding Drama Series. But surprisingly, the show received no acting nominations.

It is hard to believe that not one of them would receive a nomination after some of the brilliant performances from the likes of Emma D’Arcy, Matt Smith, Rhys Ifans, and Paddy Considine. Paddy Considine’s Emmy snub is one of the worst we have seen in a while. His performance as Viserys was one of the most emotional and captivating performances of the year. It was more than deserving of a nomination.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to keep everybody happy. Especially in a year such as this one with how good television was. But there were still some nice surprises among the disappointing snubs. As HBO dominates the nominations, they look set to take home the vast majority of the awards with shows like The White Lotus, The Last of Us, and their powerhouse Succession.