The Handmaid's Tale Sets Emmys Record for Most Losses in a Single Year

Despite a whopping 21 nominations, the cast and crew of The Handmaid's Tale walked away from the 2021 Emmy Awards empty-handed.

Following Sunday's ceremony, the dystopian drama now holds the record for the most losses in a single year, breaking the previous record set by Mad Men in 2012, when the AMC series went zero for 17.

The Handmaid's Tale was nominated for several awards at the Creative Arts Emmys, as well as in the outstanding writing and directing categories at the primetime show. The Hulu show was also nominated for outstanding drama series, and its cast members racked up eight acting nods.

Star Elisabeth Moss was nominated for outstanding lead actress, while Bradley Whitford, O-T Fagbenle and Max Minghella all received nods for outstanding supporting actor. Finally, Ann Dowd, Yvonne Strahovski, Samira Wiley and Madeline Brewer were nominated for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series.

Jasper Savage/Hulu The Handmaid's Tale

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The Handmaid's Tale, based on the Margaret Atwood novel of the same name, premiered in 2017.

That year, the show earned eight wins at the Emmys, including outstanding drama series and individual acting awards for Moss, Dowd and Alexis Bledel. This is the first year it has won zero Emmys since it premiered.

The fourth season of Handmaid's debuted earlier this year, and it has been renewed for a fifth.

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Sophie Giraud/Hulu The Handmaid's Tale

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Ahead of Sunday's show, Dowd appeared on the PEOPLE and Entertainment Weekly red carpet and opened up to hosts Janine Rubenstein and Jeremy Parsons about how filming Handmaid's has been one of the bright spots of the COVID-19 pandemic for her.

The 65-year-old actress said she "made new friends with anxiety" during the health crisis, adding, "I assume we all have."

"I realized I thought I already knew how much work means to me, but the profound gratitude of getting back to work, and people making it — Hulu, in our case — making it so safe," she continued. "We could do our work without worrying. Come on now, what is better? Considering the suffering in the world."