Stranger Things' Sadie Sink gave one of the best acting performances of the year. So, why wasn't she nominated for a top prize at the 2022 Emmys?
That's a question even Stranger Things executive producer Shawn Levy is asking. When exclusively speaking with E! News on Sept. 12 ahead of television's biggest night, which is hosted by Kenan Thompson and taking place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, Shawn called Sadie's Emmy Awards snub "ridiculous and unjust."
"All of our actors did amazing work this season," he continued. "But this season was really built to a large extent around the two female character pillars, Eleven and Max. Both Millie [Bobby Brown] and Sadie stepped up and delivered career high performances, and I'm just looking ahead to the upcoming award season and the Guild awards to properly recognize the exceptional work that these two young actresses did."
We can't say we're surprised by Shawn's defense of Sadie, as he directed Sadie's standout episode "Dear Billy," in which the character is confronted by her guilt over her stepbrother's death in season three. And, as Shawn detailed, this very episode is one of "the great prides of my directing career."
"Getting to bring that 'Dear Billy' episode to life was as challenging as a movie," he added, "and as fulfilling as a movie."
But it wasn't just the "Dear Billy" episode that made Stranger Things season four a success, as Shawn made sure to shout out creators Matt and Ross Duffer. And though Shawn isn't anticipating a win in the Outstanding Drama Series category, calling the competition "fierce," he's thrilled the show's fourth season is being acknowledged.
"Season four, more than any prior season, really kicked our asses," he said to E! News. "It took almost three years. It was three different locations, multiple countries, pre-pandemic, mid-pandemic, post-pandemic, and by far the biggest, most ambitious season we've attempted."
And Shawn promised that the Stranger Things team will be bringing this same energy into the fifth and final season, noting, "Our ambitions remain pretty high and the way the audience has grown along with the cinematic scope of the show, I don't expect that we're going to mess with that approach going into season five."
Seasons one through four of Stranger Things are available to stream on Netflix.
(E!, NBC and Peacock are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)