‘Ozark’: Almost Entirely Snubbed Again at the 2022 Emmys — Why?
Avid fans of Netflix’s Ozark hoped once again that the crime drama could take home more than one trophy at the 2022 Emmys. However, hope did not prevail. It wasn’t a complete snub — Julia Garner took home one Emmy — but it was still shocking for a critically acclaimed show.
Jason Bateman earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor for all four seasons but never a win. Meanwhile, Laura Linney snagged a nomination for seasons 2 to 4 but never a win. The Television Academy nominated Ozark for Outstanding Drama Series in 2019, 2020, and 2022, but again never awarded them an Emmy. Why?
Did ‘Ozark’ win any Emmys in 2022?
Julia Garner took home the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards. This trophy is Garner’s third trophy for playing Ruth Langmore in Ozark. She also won the award in 2019 and 2020. There’s no debate that she’s incredible, and the series could not be as strong without her. But what about everyone else?
Has ‘Ozark’ ever won an Emmy?
Aside from Julia Garner’s three trophies for Outstanding Supporting Actress, Ozark only ever won one other award. The Netflix series won an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series in 2019. Ozark had a total of 45 nominations throughout its four-season run — but only garnered 4 Emmy wins in that time.
After the Television Academy neglected to nominate Tom Pelphrey for his performance as Ben in Ozark Season 3, viewers thought redemption was coming when he earned a nod for the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards. It never came.
Why did ‘Ozark’ only earn 1 Emmy in 2022?
The answer is complicated. Part of the problem lies in the number of nominees per category. In 2020, the Academy expanded Outstanding Drama to eight total nominations. That’s a significant number of contenders to go up against. However, that’s only the beginning. The competition continues to soar against Netflix. HBO and HBO Max dominated the award show in 2022 with 38 wins across the categories. Meanwhile, Netflix took home only 26 trophies.
Let’s break it down by category. Jason Bateman’s breakdown in Ozark Season 4 had to earn him the trophy for Outstanding Lead Actor. He’s held it together this long while everyone dies around him. In a completely unrelated incident to the drug cartel, the even-keeled man finally loses it in traffic. Lee Jung-jae took the trophy for Squid Game, but if he hadn’t, Jeremy Strong’s performance in Succession topped Bateman’s.
Laura Linney faced off against Reese Witherspoon in The Morning Show, Melanie Lynskey in Yellowjackets, and Euphoria’s Zendaya. The competition is fierce. It’s not that we don’t love Ozark; there are just so many other amazing actors out there, too. How can one possibly choose?
In many of the categories, like Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Writing, and Outstanding Casting, Succession dominated the field. And it’s not surprising — the HBO drama is incredible. We need to watch it again to understand everything that just happened entirely. The showrunner throws shade at King Charles III in his acceptance speech; that’s how confident the series is of its status in the streaming world.
In musical categories, Stranger Things took the lead. See: “Running Up That Hill” circa 1985, which made a shocking comeback because of the series. No matter which category you look at, another show squeaks past Ozark.
When you break it down by category, the competition was simply better than Ozark. In the era of endless streaming originals, it’s a brutal world out there.
Luckily, all four seasons of Ozark are currently streaming on Netflix. They don’t need any more awards for you to binge-watch again.
