Lee Jung Jae's Squid Game 2 gets snubbed at Emmy Awards 2025 with ZERO nominations, fans call it 'brutal'

Netflix’s Squid Game once made history at the Emmys, but its second season failed to even get a foot in the door. Despite racking up over 192 million views worldwide, the global hit was completely excluded from the 2025 Emmy nominations. This marks a dramatic fall from its six-award haul in 2022.

Back then, Squid Game made headlines for being the first non-English drama to be nominated for Best Drama Series. It swept categories including Best Actor for Lee Jung Jae and Best Directing for the unforgettable ‘Red Light, Green Light’ episode. Fast-forward three years, and not a single category featured Squid Game Season 2, shocking fans and industry watchers alike.

Squid Game shut out of Best Drama, Lee Jung Jae snubbed

Even with eight nomination slots open, Squid Game couldn’t break into the Best Drama Series race this year. According to prediction platform Gold Derby, the show barely held onto the eighth spot heading into voting. 

While still popular with viewers, Season 2's critical reception dipped slightly. It earned an 83% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, down from Season 1’s 95%. Ultimately, it lost out to The Last of Us, Severance, The White Lotus, Andor, The Diplomat, Slow Horses, Paradise, and The Pitt.

The snub continued across acting categories. Lee Jung Jae, who once made Emmy history as the first Asian actor to win Best Drama Actor, didn’t make the ballot this year. His omission, while surprising, highlights the overall drop in Emmy enthusiasm for the series.

T.O.P, Park Sung Hoon, Lee Byung Hun and more snubbed in supporting categories

Among supporting roles, fans were particularly dismayed by the absence of Choi Seung Hyun (T.O.P.). His role as Player 230, a failed crypto investor-turned-desperate contestant, garnered widespread attention online. Park Sung Hoon, who played a transgender ex-soldier, and veteran actor Lee Byung Hun, reprising his role as the Front Man, also failed to secure nominations.

Meanwhile, actresses Kang Ae Shim and Park Gyu Young were also left out. Their emotionally charged portrayals of a devoted mother and a defiant North Korean defector didn’t gain enough awards traction.

Hwang Dong Hyuk snubbed despite strategic submissions

Hwang Dong Hyuk is the creator behind Squid Game. He had submitted only one episode for consideration in both writing and directing categories to avoid vote splitting. The chosen scripts, ‘Bread and Lottery’ for writing and ‘O X’ for directing, showcased pivotal moments from season 2. 

Despite Hwang’s previous wins in both categories, Emmy voters passed on his work this year. His previous win for directing ‘Red Light, Green Light’ was a milestone in 2022. But in 2025, even with full creative control over Season 2, Hwang walked away with zero nods.

Gong Yoo’s return fails to make the cut

Fan favorite Gong Yoo, who briefly returned as the mysterious Recruiter, was considered a contender for Best Guest Actor in a Drama. Though he ranked among the predicted nominees leading up to the announcement, he ultimately didn’t make the shortlist.

ALSO READ: Squid Game 3 steals most popular K-drama in July title from Our Unwritten Seoul, know top 20