Tony Gilroy breaks silence on Andor Emmy snubs

In 2023, Andor's first season received eight Emmy nominations, including one for Outstanding Drama Series. Despite the Disney+ original series being recognized in many categories—such as writing, directing, cinematography, music, and many others—it didn't walk away with any wins. While even getting nominated at the Emmys is cause for celebration, zero wins was surely a disappointing result after such a well-received show.

In case you've been out of the loop for a while, Andor stars Diego Luna as Cassian Andor. The show takes place in the events leading up to 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which itself occurs immediately before the events of 1977's A New Hope. I know, it's confusing if you're new around here, but that's Star Wars.

Andor's two seasons have been praised by fans and critics alike, as they offer a more nuanced and grounded look into the Star Wars universe—one without the awe-inspiring presence of the Jedi, yet maintaining the high stakes of the rebellion nonetheless. Creator Tony Gilroy successfully captured the raw, gritty, and bleak essence of what makes Star Wars so great.

Now, with Andor's second season in the books and receiving even more critical and audience acclaim than the first, fans were ready for a rematch at the Emmys in 2025. However, even with a still-impressive 14 total nominations that rank third-highest among Star Wars shows (The Mandalorian's first two seasons received 15 and 24, respectively), it still felt like a snub of galactic proportions.

While the show received another nomination for Outstanding Drama Series, few of the cast were recognized. Only Alan Tudyk (voice of K-2SO) and Forest Whitaker (with a guest appearance as Saw Gerrera) are getting nods for their performances. And while those two are certainly well-earned, it means that outstanding performances by Luna, Denise Gough (Dedra Meero), Adria Arjona (Bix Caleen), and Stellan Skarsgård (Luthen Rael), among many, many others, will go unnoticed.

At least, unnoticed by the Emmys. But Gilroy has his own thoughts.

“There are a lot of performances that I wish were recognized, [like] Diego Luna and Genevieve O’Reilly. There are a dozen performances. These aren’t great moment-to-moment [performances]. These are epic, long-term character studies that they’ve done over 24 episodes. I think the ultimate victory is that these performances will be celebrated and discussed for years to come. I feel confident about that.”

Gilroy seems to rightfully have the fans in mind when he talks of the performances of the cast. While awards such as the Emmys and TCAs are worth chasing, these "long-term character studies" that are "celebrated and discussed for years to come" are far more important.

And fans agree.

Here is a list of all 14 Emmy nominations for Andor Season 2:

• Outstanding Drama Series
• Outstanding Production Design For A Narrative Period Or Fantasy Program (One Hour Or More)
  -Season 2, Episode 8: “Who Are You?” 
• Outstanding Cinematography For A Series (One Hour)
  -Season 2, Episode 3: “Harvest”
• Outstanding Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes
• Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series
  -Season 2, Episode 8: “Who Are You?”
  -Janus Metz, Director
• Outstanding Picture Editing For A Drama Series
  -Season 2, Episode 8: “Who Are You?”
• Outstanding Music Composition For A Series (Original Dramatic Score)
  -Season 2, Episode 8: “Who Are You?”
• Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics
  -Season 2, Episode 8: “Who Are You?”
  -Song Title: We are the Ghor (Planetary Anthem)
• Outstanding Guest Actor In A Drama Series
  -Season 2, Episode 5: “I Have Friends Everywhere”
  -Forest Whitaker as Saw Gerrera
• Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance
  -Season 2, Episode 11: “Who Else Knows?”
  -Alan Tudyk as K-2SO
• Outstanding Sound Editing For A Comedy Or Drama Series (One Hour)
  -Season 2, Episode 8: “Who Are You?”
• Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Comedy Or Drama Series (One Hour)
  -Season 2, Episode 8: “Who Are You?”
• Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Season Or A Movie
• Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series
  -Season 2, Episode 9: "Welcome to the Rebellion"

We'll find out whether Andor manages to walk away with any Emmys when the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards air live beginning at 8/7c on CBS on Sunday, Sept. 14.

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