‘Better Call Saul’ Fans Lament the Series’ Lack of Emmy Wins: ‘Absolutely F–king Criminal’

The AMC drama set a record, winning zero of the 53 nominations it received over its six seasons

Better Saul S6E12 Waterworks
AMC's "Better Call Saul" embraces "Breaking Bad" before it ends. (AMC)

“Better Call Saul” set an upsetting record Monday night by becoming the most Emmy-nominated show to not win an award. Over the course of the AMC show’s six-season run, “Better Call Saul” was nominated 53 times but received zero wins to the ire of fans.

One X user called the fact that series star Bob Odenkirk never won an Emmy “absolutely f–king criminal” and “one of the worst things” that ever happened to The Emmys.

Odenkirk was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for all six seasons of the AMC drama but never took home the statue. The comedian and star currently holds two Emmys for Outstanding Writing for “Saturday Night Live” and “The Ben Stiller Show.”

Other users pointed to Odenkirk’s near-death experience as another reason why he should have won an Emmy for his performance. In 2021, after filming the Season 6 episode “Point and Shoot,” Odenkirk suffered a heart attack while riding his exercise bike. Following the incident, the star took a five-week break from filming but returned to film the final five episodes of the season.

Ultimately, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series went to “Succession’s” Kiernan Culkin over Odenkirk. Tudum staff writer and entertainment reporter John DiLillo wrote it was “absolutely wild” that Odenkirk had the narrative of “‘literally died and was brought back to life’” and he still lost the Emmy.

The Ringer’s Miles Surrey echoed that sentiment, writing, “Love you Kieran but Bob Odenkirk literally almost died making the last season of ‘Better Call Saul.’”

Fans were also disappointed by Rhea Seehorn’s loss. The actress behind Kim Wexler was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series but lost to Jennifer Coolidge in “The White Lotus” Season 2. Over the course of the show’s run, Seehorn was nominated for the honor twice and lost both times.

One user called Seehorn’s lack of an Emmy win “my supervillain origin story.”

Others looked at the larger picture of the AMC drama’s lack of wins, arguing that it now belonged to a select group of critically-acclaimed shows. Comedian and TV writer Ashely Ray wrote, “you belong with the greats now (the wire).”

RogerEbert.com and Paste Magazine journalist Isaac Feldberg noted that the series has now entered “the vaunted ‘too good for Emmys’ pantheon,” citing “The Wire,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” “The Leftovers” and “BoJack Horseman” as other examples.

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