Emmy Nomination Revoked: What Happened and Why?

Veep actor Peter MacNicol has made headlines because he has had his Emmy nomination revoked — but why did this happen to such a good actor? And is this the first time such a thing has happened?

Veep actor Peter MacNicol Emmy nomination revoked

According to the New York Daily News, the veteran actor — who plays recurring character Jeff Kane on the critically acclaimed series — had his Emmy nomination revoked because the governing party that determines the nominations realized that he appeared on too many episodes to qualify for the nomination.

HBO, the network that broadcasts the series, released a statement to CNN about the mix-up shortly after the revocation was announced. Per the standards of The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, an actor (or actress) must appear in less than half of the season’s episodes in order to qualify for the Outstanding Guest Actor (or Actress) Emmy. In this season of Veep, MacNicol appeared in five of the ten episodes of Season 5, resulting in the Emmy nomination being revoked.

“The information we received from the production was that Peter MacNicol was eligible as a guest star. We are very sorry that Peter’s brilliant performance will not be recognized,” the network said in its statement. With the Emmy nomination revoked, does that mean bad news for the network?

Not really, according to Slate Magazine. When Peter MacNicol was disqualified for his nomination, and his Emmy nomination revoked, Girls actor Peter Scolari was named in his place. This meant that the total number of Emmy nominations for the network has remained the same. Still, that doesn’t mean that MacNicol’s performance was sub-par — even the Academy had to acknowledge that his performance as the uncle of the much-reviled Jonah Ryan was worthy of a nomination, regardless of his “guest star” status. “This decision is in no way a diminishment of Mr. MacNicol’s stellar performance on this season of Veep,” the Academy said in a statement to Slate.

If MacNicol is drowning his sorrows because of his Emmy nomination being revoked, he needn’t worry: this isn’t the first time — and, apparently, it won’t be the last time — that an actor or actress’s Emmy nomination was revoked.

Congratulations to Peter Scolari on his Emmy nomination! Well done!

— Peter MacNicol (@PeterMacNicol1) July 21, 2016

E! News made a quite extensive list of actors who have had their Emmy nominations revoked, and the results are quite interesting. For example, Henry Winkler — best known for his role of Arthur “The Fonz” Fonzarelli on the legendary TV show Happy Days — found his Emmy nomination revoked after his appearance on Battery Park aired after the cutoff date for the nominations.

Actor Dennis Miller also had his Emmy nomination revoked when it was revealed that he was nominated for a show with his name in the title… a stipulation that was against the rules.

There are also several original songs that have had their Emmy nomination revoked, for a wide variety of reasons. For example, “Alone, Yet Not Alone,” the original song for the Christian film of the same name, found its Emmy nomination revoked after it came to light that the song’s composers actively campaigned to have the song nominated — an action that is strictly forbidden by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Then — going all the way back to 1942 — the original song, “Pig Foot Pete,” found its Emmy nomination revoked… though its reasons for why remain lost to the annals of time. All we know, today, is that the song was from the film Hellzapoppin’, even though it previously appeared in the film Keep ‘Em Flying.

Still, if MacNicol’s tweet is any indication, he’s handling his Emmy nomination being revoked with grace… which, frankly, says the most about him.

[Photo by Frederick A. Brown/Getty Images]