None of the actors from Star Trek: The Next Generation ever earned an Emmy nomination for their portrayals of the iconic crew of the USS Enterprise-D.

Despite being considered one of the greatest science fiction shows of all time, Star Trek: The Next Generation never earned any of its actors an Emmy Award. Genre shows and films have often been overlooked by the major award shows when it comes to awards for acting and directing. Although the Star Trek franchise has won numerous Creative Arts Emmy Awards for things like costuming, make-up, and sound mixing, not since Star Trek: The Original Series has the franchise been nominated for Outstanding Drama or Best Supporting Actor.

Star Trek: The Next Generation earned one Emmy nomination for Outstanding Drama Series for its last season in 1994 (losing to Picket Fences), but none of the actors ever got nominated for Best Actor or Best Supporting Actor. Many of the actors on TNG delivered incredible performances, with Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner as particular standouts. In the Star Trek oral history, The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years by Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross, TNG Executive Producer Rick Berman discusses the many talented actors and directors in Star Trek. Read his full quote below:

I’m very proud of the show, and I think that a lot of our actors should have gotten a lot more acclaim than they did. The fact that not one of our actors from Patrick Stewart on down ever got nominated for an Emmy is criminal. And when I see Roxann [Dawson] and Jonathan [Frakes] doing some remarkable directing, or so many successful writers like Rob Doherty [creator of Elementary] or Ron Moore, it’s wonderful. We gave the first acting jobs to people who became movie stars, like Tom Hardy, The Rock, and Ashley Judd. Tom Hardy had never had more than one or two lines in a show or movie before, and we gave him a leading role. He is now one of the top movie stars in the world. Even Patrick Stewart, who was certainly not a household name at the time. A lot of them have gone on to do great things.”

Star Trek: The Next Generation Cast & Character Guide

Star Trek: The Next Generation has one of the most beloved cast of characters in all of science fiction. Here are the major characters of the classic.

The Emmys’ Criminality Continues With Picard Season 3 Snub

Picard season 3 only got makeup and prosthetics nominations.

Star Trek: Picard season 3 brought the original crew of the USS Enterprise-D back together, providing the original actors another chance to garner award attention. However, despite some early Emmy buzz, the talented actors in Picard failed to receive any Emmy nominations yet again. From Patrick Stewart to Jonathan Frakes to Gates McFadden, the returning TNG cast members remained as great as ever, delivering some of their best Star Trek performances. The new characters were solid, too, with Todd Stashwick’s performance, in particular, cementing Captain Liam Shaw as one of Star Trek’s best new characters.

With solid direction and writing, and plenty of excitement from viewers, Star Trek: Picard season 3 should have finally earned the TNG actors some Emmys. Unfortunately, it was not to be, but the Saturn Awards did give Star Trek some much-deserved recognition. Focusing on science fiction, fantasy, and horror, the Saturn Awards announced their list of nominees on December 6, 2023. The Star Trek franchises received a total of 14 nominations, with Star Trek: Picard earning 7 nominations, including Best Science Fiction Television Series and Best Actor in a Television Series for Patrick Stewart. Still, it’s unfortunate none of the actors of Star Trek: The Next Generation have earned Emmys for playing such iconic characters. Hopefully, some of them will get another shot in a future Star Trek project.