Two Huge Reasons Why Emmys Have Become a Joke

Watch any episode of “Landman,” and you’ll come away with one thought.

Billy Bob Thornton is as good as it gets.

The veteran actor’s turn in the Paramount Plus show is everything binge-worthy TV should be – smart, compelling, unpredictable and engaging.

You can quibble about the rest of the program, and some do. Loudly. Thornton’s performance is sublime.

Not to Emmy voters, apparently.

The actor got ignored, again, for his work on the show’s second season. That’s part of a bigger issue, one tied to the most successful TV producer working today.

Taylor Sheridan.

The mind behind “Landman,” “Tulsa King,” “Yellowstone” and more massive hits got snubbed yet again by this week’s Emmy nominations.

It’s a recurring theme for Sheridan, and he’s been blunt about his reaction to his critics.

“F*** them.”

The feeling is mutual, apparently, but it’s bigger than a personality dustup. It’s a sign that the Emmys, like the Oscars and other major awards in the modern era, care more about politics and culture than excellence.

Sheridan’s shows aren’t trashy or thin, the kind of populist entertainment meant for the masses alone. He’s tapped into something profound within the viewing public, a sense of stories that aren’t being told anywhere else.

It’s the secret to his massive success. And it put a culture war target on his back, apparently. He’s even appeared on “The Joe Rogan Experience.” Twice.

The horror, the horror (to certain communities).

It’s why a growing number of people pay less attention to the Emmys, Oscars and the like today. The fix, too often, is in. Even the far-Left Esquire called foul on yet another round of Sheridan Emmy snubs.

Need more proof?

The Emmy Nominations Love This Propagandist

“The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert just won 9 Emmy nominations, the most in the show’s decade-long run. The program’s previous nomination high? Five nominations.

What changed? Did the show get dramatically better over the last year? Did Colbert shake up the formula, adding inventive new bits to his show?

Or, did the far-Left host get canceled for losing CBS $40 million a year and become a faux free speech martyr in the Trump era?

CBS says $40 million Late Night loss to turn into $15 million profit after kicking Stephen Colberthttps://t.co/vgNpFXrva9

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) May 31, 2026

It’s really hard to say. Just kidding.

Emmy voters are sending a message tied to their political leanings. Full stop. To deny that is to suggest the sky isn’t blue.

Sheridan isn’t openly conservative. His work courts that demographic, telling tales that speak to their hopes, dreams and concerns.

And, sometimes, skewers the Left in ways no other program will.

The Emmy winners will be announced on Sept. 14.

Sheridan explained both his creative strategy and rationale for not getting any Emmy love in that same Variety interview referenced above.

“I’m pretty common and I’m going to tell stories that common people are going to understand. That’s most of America … You’re not going to win no Emmys with me, but I’m not trying to win Emmys. That’s not my goal. My goal is to sit somebody on their couch and move them, make them think, make them laugh, scare the shit out of them, excite them. That’s what I want to do, because that’s what I want from a show.”

Mission accomplished, but that’s an indictment of Emmy voters more than Sheridan.