diff --git a/crates/nu-command/tests/commands/where_.rs b/crates/nu-command/tests/commands/where_.rs
index 1f1ccc764b..ebf1ff5bb9 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/tests/commands/where_.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-command/tests/commands/where_.rs
@@ -189,3 +189,10 @@ fn where_gt_null() {
     let actual = nu!("[{foo: 123} {}] | where foo? > 10 | to nuon");
     assert_eq!(actual.out, "[[foo]; [123]]");
 }
+
+#[test]
+fn pass_through_empty_pipelines() {
+    let actual = nu!(cwd: ".", pipeline(r#"null | where name == "foo" | to json"#));
+
+    assert_eq!(actual.out, "[]");
+}
diff --git a/crates/nu-protocol/src/pipeline_data.rs b/crates/nu-protocol/src/pipeline_data.rs
index 3e47d2efca..7257cfe224 100644
--- a/crates/nu-protocol/src/pipeline_data.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-protocol/src/pipeline_data.rs
@@ -302,6 +302,7 @@ impl PipelineData {
                 },
                 // Propagate errors by explicitly matching them before the final case.
                 Value::Error { error } => Err(*error),
+                Value::Nothing { .. } => Ok(PipelineIterator(PipelineData::empty())),
                 other => Err(ShellError::OnlySupportsThisInputType {
                     exp_input_type: "list, binary, raw data or range".into(),
                     wrong_type: other.get_type().to_string(),
@@ -309,12 +310,7 @@ impl PipelineData {
                     src_span: other.expect_span(),
                 }),
             },
-            PipelineData::Empty => Err(ShellError::OnlySupportsThisInputType {
-                exp_input_type: "list, binary, raw data or range".into(),
-                wrong_type: "null".into(),
-                dst_span: span,
-                src_span: span,
-            }),
+            PipelineData::Empty => Ok(PipelineIterator(PipelineData::empty())),
             other => Ok(PipelineIterator(other)),
         }
     }