With its massive popularity, it was only a matter of time before "Rick and Morty" was nominated for its first Emmy. Having previously won the Critics' Choice Award for Best Animated Series and the Annie Awards for Best General Audience Animated Television/Broadcast Production and Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production, the show stands a strong chance of bringing home the Emmy win. According to emmys.com, "South Park," "The Simpsons," "Bob's Burgers," and "Big Hero 6: The Series" are all nominated alongside "Rick and Morty" in the Outstanding Animated Program category.

Other ‘Rick and Morty’ episodes that deserved the nomination

"Pickle Rick" was one of the most anticipated episodes prior to its release. It’s debatable whether or not it was the best episode of Season 3. Unfortunately, the season premiere, "The Rickshank Rickdemption’s," was not eligible for this year’s Emmy nomination due to its early release. Otherwise, it would have been a very solid choice. Another strong contender fans are surprised wasn’t chosen was "The Ricklantis Mixup." Focused almost entirely on the Citadel of Ricks, the episode followed a variety of different Ricks and Mortys as they struggled with inequality, segregation, and depression. It was a hard-hitting episode with a lot of laughs that showed off Justin Roiland’s remarkable voice talents.

In fact, Justin voiced every character in that episode, minus one voiceover. How Justin wasn’t nominated for the Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance Emmy is beyond me. To add insult to injury, Seth MacFarlane was nominated twice for the category, as reported by IndieWire.

The competition and their odds of winning

While "The Simpsons" does have plenty of Emmys under its belt, it’s the least likely to win in my opinion.

It’s been ten years since the show has won the Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program and I doubt the episode "Gone Boy" will be the episode to break this losing streak. "Big Hero 6: The Series" is the only animated show aimed toward children that got nominated for Outstanding Animated Program. "South Park" may stand a chance as "Put It Down" likely ranks as one of best "South Park" episodes in years, but "Rick and Morty’s" biggest competition will be from "Bob’s Burgers." "Bob’s Burgers" won the Emmy last year and has been nominated for the Emmy seven years in a row now.

If "Rick and Morty" was going to lose to any show, it would be “Bob’s Burgers.”

Overall, it’s a pretty standard pool of nominees this year. Despite many of these shows’ former and current quality, I feel there are so many newer shows that deserved the nomination. In particular, Netflix’s roster of animation is still being heavily overlooked with no nominations for "BoJack Horseman," "F Is for Family," or "Voltron: Legendary Defender." With "Rick and Morty" finally getting nominated, there is a sense of change, but whether this lasts will depend on whether it wins or not. Regardless, fans can be sure "Rick and Morty" will have plenty of chances to win with its latest 70-episode renewal.
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