Stranger Things' only acting submission for the Emmys 2023 is a surprising one

Stranger Things season 4 featured plenty of heartbreaking – and scene-stealing – performances. Whether it be Sadie Sink's Max struggling to deal with Vecna's pull, Jamie Campbell Bower's terrifying villain, or Joseph Quinn playing everyone's favorite guitarist Eddie Munson, there was a lot of talent on show.

Somewhat surprisingly, none of these actors have been submitted for an acting nomination at the upcoming 2023 Emmy Awards. Instead, Netflix's hit show has only put Billy actor Dacre Montgomery up for his performance in the latest episodes due to a strange quirk of the award body's rules.

As Variety explains, this is down to the fact that season 4 was split across two volumes. The first half, featuring seven episodes, was released on May 27, 2022, meaning it competed for last year's Emmys. This means only the second part, comprising two episodes and released on July 1, 2022, is eligible for the upcoming awards.

However, as it only features two episodes, they're considered something called "orphan episodes" in the eyes of the awards board. This makes them ineligible for the drama categories, which need to have at least six episodes. As well as this, given most of the main actors were put forward for last year's awards for what is technically the same season, they're ineligible for the acting categories too. 

The short story is, it's only Montgomery that has a shot in the best guest drama actor category. Although, he'll have some stiff competition against performances by Nick Offerman, Murray Bartlett, and Lamar Johnson in The Last of Us, and James Cromwell and Arian Moayed in Succession. 

Stranger Things season 5 is in production, but filming has been delayed by the WGA strike. The Duffer brothers shared a statement on Twitter confirming they won’t work on the show until a fair deal has been reached.

For what to stream now, check out our round-up of the best Netflix movies and the best Netflix shows.