After a few decent years of Emmy nominations — ones that seemed to suggest a TV Academy that was willing to reward innovative programming — we’re back to a disappointing list this year. Don’t get me wrong, there is definitely plenty of good to hold onto: Sandra Oh has become the first Asian woman to be nominated as a Lead Actress in a Drama, for BBC America’s Killing Eve. Auteurs Bill Hader and Donald Glover have a slew of nominations in a variety of categories for their great series Barry (on HBO) and Atlanta (on FX) respectively. The Americans has been rewarded as one of TV’s best series (in its final year) with acting noms for both of its leads and as best drama series. And hey look, GLOW! (It’s not exactly my Wish List, but it’s something).

When you really dig deep into this year’s nominees though (full list here) — all the way down to the guest appearances and writing / directing nods — you see how uninspired the nominations truly are. And yet they still aren’t terrible! Let’s take it category by category: