While it is supposedly "an honor just to be nominated," a handful of shows had a lot of nominations and came away with relatively little to show. They're certainly not "losers" as shows, but these nominees had some big hype surrounding them only to be disappointed.
"Boardwalk Empire" 12 nominations, four wins
While winning one out of three isn't too bad, the HBO show took a clear backseat to other shows. Rival network Showtime made a splash by winning big with "Homeland," broadcast networks have started to prove themselves in comedy and regular cable channels like AMC and FX have started to gain critical acclaim in drama. All of this means HBO is is finding itself amongst more, and tougher, competition for quality television.
"Downton Abbey" 16 nominations, three wins
This new show's well-known win was Maggie Smith for best supporting actress, but "Downton Abbey" received little else, despite having multiple nominees for some awards.
"Breaking Bad" 13 nominations, one win
The 2012 Emmys were a big blow for AMC, considering the network's ongoing battle with Dish Network, who dropped the network this summer. All season during new episodes of "Breaking Bad" and "The Walking Dead," AMC's advertisements have been reminding viewers of how awful Dish is for dropping them, how great their shows are and how decorated the channel is with Emmy awards. While those Emmys of the past don't go away, the lack of new wins for "Breaking Bad" is one point for Dish, especially considering fellow AMC show "Mad Men" failed to pick up the slack.
"Mad Men" 17 nominations, zero wins
And the winner for biggest loser goes to "Mad Men," with a whopping zero wins despite being tied for most nominations. It is certainly a highly acclaimed show that forced viewers to consider AMC as a quality television heavyweight, but there's new competition in town. "Downton Abbey" and "Boardwalk Empire" are only a few years old and have a bright future ahead of them at the Emmys. "Mad Men" seems to have been forgotten and overlooked in its fifth season, which ended in June.
