Most Emmy nominations for a show in one year without a win

The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu, USA, 2017–present) was nominated 21 times at the 2021 Primetime Emmy Awards but failed to win any prize – the first time in the show's history that it has not taken home a statuette at the annual awards ceremony. The sci-fi dystopia broke the record held by Mad Men (AMC, USA, 2007–15) for its 17 unsuccessful nominations in 2012.

Nominations for the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards were announced on 13 July 2021 and the awards ceremony was held live on 19 September 2021 at the Event Deck at LA Live in Los Angeles, California, USA. Nominations for The Handmaid's Tale included Oustanding Drama Series, Outstanding Actress (Elisabeth Moss), Outstanding Supporting Actor (O-T Fagbenle, Max Minghella and Bradley Whitford) and Outstanding Supporting Actress (Madeline Brewer, Ann Dowd, Yvonne Strahovski and Samira Wiley. The show – a critical and commercial success – has garnered 75 Emmy nominations since its first in 2017, a record for an online-streaming original programme.