--- description: Kurt Sutter's series was shut out yet again in the award show's major categories — but there are others with more cause for complaint title: Emmys 2014: Sons of Anarchy Showrunner Says Snubs Always Hurt image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9c97db510bf64bf4/69869b68e8524ba616603d8f/kurt-sutter-katey-sagal.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # _Sons of Anarchy_ Showrunner: Emmy Snubs Always Hurt by [Eric Dodds](/author/eric-dodds/) ## Eric Dodds Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 11, 2014 7:30 PM CUT  Actress Katey Sagal and Sons of Anarchy series creator Kurt Sutter. Actress Katey Sagal and Sons of Anarchy series creator Kurt Sutter.Amanda Edwards—WireImage by [Eric Dodds](/author/eric-dodds/) ## Eric Dodds Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 11, 2014 7:30 PM CUT Kurt Sutter, the tempestuous showrunner of _Sons of Anarchy_, has never been one to keep his views to himself — so it’s little surprise that he decided to share his feelings in the wake yesterday’s Emmy nominations, which shut out the show in all of the major categories. The omission is nothing new for the popular FX biker drama, which has received just two nominations — both for music — over the course of its six seasons. And while Sutter has lashed out at the snubs in years past, this year, he offered a more [subdued analysis at NikkiFinke.com](http://nikkifinke.com/emmy-snubs-kurt-sutter-feel/ "undefined"): --- > “” --- It’s a valuable counterpoint to all the many cast and crew members of great shows — both past and present — who say they aren’t bothered by a lack of recognition from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The common refrain is that series like _The Wire_ and _Deadwood_ and _Arrested Development_ never scored a win in any of the major categories, and undeserving shows (_Newsroom_, anyone?) are often rewarded in spite of superior competition. Sutter has a retort for that: “Any artist who tells you they don’t want to be acknowledged and awarded by their peers is a fat f—ing liar.” Sutter’s point is a valid one, but _Sons of Anarchy_ may not be the best example of the Academy’s shortcomings. There’s little question that the show peaked creatively in Season Two (a fantastic campaign by virtually any metric) and has struggled to regain that level in subsequent years. Other, more deserving shows, including _Hannibal_, _The Americans_ and _Orphan Black_, were largely ignored. It’s entirely possible that Sutter knows this and is still anguished over being snubbed back in 2010, but in either case, it’s refreshing to see someone say what everyone who suffered through Emmy-related disappointments yesterday must be feeling. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2976506/sons-of-anarchy-emmy-snubs/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2976506/sons-of-anarchy-emmy-snubs/"},"headline":"Sons of Anarchy Showrunner: Emmy Snubs Always Hurt","datePublished":"2014-07-11T19:30:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:05:56.521Z","description":"Kurt Sutter's series was shut out yet again in the award show's major categories — but there are others with more cause for complaint","url":"https://time.com/2976506/sons-of-anarchy-emmy-snubs/","keywords":["Television","Letter","emmy awards"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9c97db510bf64bf4/69869b68e8524ba616603d8f/kurt-sutter-katey-sagal.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Dodds","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-dodds/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9c97db510bf64bf4/69869b68e8524ba616603d8f/kurt-sutter-katey-sagal.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Katey Sagal and Kurt Sutter of \"Sons of Anarchy\"","caption":"Katey Sagal and Kurt Sutter of \"Sons of Anarchy\"","creditText":"Amanda Edwards—WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2976506/sons-of-anarchy-emmy-snubs/","name":"Sons of Anarchy Showrunner: Emmy Snubs Always Hurt"}}]}] ```