2025 Emmy Nominations: ‘Severance’ and ‘The Penguin’ Lead the Pack

The Emmy Awards race for 2025 is already shaping up to be fierce and unpredictable, led by the workplace thriller Severance, which secured an impressive 27 nominations—more than any other series this year. The show, streaming on Apple TV+, has emerged as an early frontrunner in the coveted Best Drama category, edging out other strong contenders.

Among those contenders are several standout shows from HBO Max, including the dark horse The Pitt and fan-favorite The White Lotus, both of which landed significant nods. The critically acclaimed Andor, a Star Wars spinoff, also earned a nomination, alongside The Diplomat, The Last of Us, Slow Horses, and Paradise.

The nominations brought a wave of excitement for actor Noah Wyle, best known for his role in ER. His performance in The Pitt has earned him a Best Actor in a Drama nomination—the first Emmy recognition he’s received in 26 years. He will compete against several strong performers: Adam Scott (Severance), Sterling K. Brown (Paradise), Gary Oldman (Slow Horses), and Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us).

Yet, not everyone had a reason to celebrate. Several high-profile actors were left off the list. Among those snubbed were Diego Luna for Andor, Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne for The Day of the Jackal, and Squid Game’s Lee Jung-jae, who previously won Best Actor just three years ago.

Veteran actress Kathy Bates received a nomination for her role in the Matlock reboot on CBS, making her, at 77, the oldest nominee ever in the Best Actress in a Drama category. She faces competition from Sharon Horgan (Bad Sisters), Britt Lower (Severance), Bella Ramsey (The Last of Us), and Keri Russell (The Diplomat).

On the comedy front, The Studio, starring Seth Rogen, made a major splash, matching the all-time record with 23 nominations for a single season. It will go head-to-head with last year’s winner Hacks, as well as The Bear, Abbott Elementary, Only Murders in the Building, Nobody Wants This, Shrinking, and What We Do in the Shadows.

The Bear, which once enjoyed enthusiastic Emmy support, saw its nomination count fall significantly. After a wave of criticism last year over its inclusion in the comedy category despite its heavy tone, the show picked up just 13 nominations—10 fewer than the previous year.

Over in the limited series category, Netflix’s unexpected hit Adolescence emerged as a frontrunner. However, it faces stiff competition from HBO Max’s The Penguin, which received 24 nominations, the second-highest total of any series. Other nominees in the category include Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Dying for Sex, and Black Mirror.

The full list of nominations for the 77th Emmy Awards was revealed at a press event held at the Television Academy’s headquarters in Los Angeles. The announcements were made by Harvey Guillén (What We Do in the Shadows) and Brenda Song (Running Point). To qualify, shows had to premiere between June 2024 and May 2025. The main Emmy ceremony is scheduled to air live on CBS on September 14, with comedian Nate Bargatze as host.

HBO Max emerged as the most-nominated network, racking up an astounding 142 nominations thanks to standout performances from The Penguin, The White Lotus, The Last of Us, Hacks, and The Pitt. This marks HBO Max’s best showing ever, surpassing its previous record set in 2022 and rebounding from a less impressive showing last year, when it fell to third place overall in total nominations.

The network performed particularly well in the supporting actress in a drama category, securing five of the seven spots. Four of these were actresses from The White Lotus—Carrie Coon, Parker Posey, Natasha Rothwell, and Aimee Lou Wood—joined by Katherine LaNasa from The Pitt. The remaining nominees in this category are Patricia Arquette (Severance) and Julianne Nicholson (Paradise).

Netflix came in second with 120 total nominations, while Apple TV+ finished third, scoring a personal record of 81 nominations. The strong performance by Severance and The Studio was especially significant for Apple TV+, which continues to trail behind other platforms such as Paramount+, Peacock, and HBO Max in terms of U.S. streaming viewership, according to Nielsen.

Despite its relatively smaller viewer base, Apple has steadily built a portfolio of content that resonates with Emmy voters. The platform’s comedy Ted Lasso has previously taken home the Best Comedy Emmy twice, and other offerings like Slow Horses, The Morning Show, and Lessons in Chemistry have all garnered critical acclaim and nominations in major categories.

Colin Farrell received a nod for Best Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie for his transformational role in The Penguin. He is joined by Cooper Koch (Monsters), Jake Gyllenhaal (Presumed Innocent), Stephen Graham (Adolescence), and Brian Tyree Henry (Dope Thief) in the category.

For Best Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie, Michelle Williams was nominated for her emotionally complex role in FX’s Dying for Sex. Her competitors include Cristin Milioti (The Penguin), Cate Blanchett (Disclaimer), Meghann Fahy (Sirens), and Rashida Jones (Black Mirror).

In the Best Talk Series category, only three shows made the cut: The Daily Show (hosted by Jon Stewart), The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and Jimmy Kimmel Live. Absent this year were Late Night with Seth Meyers and Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney. The limited slate reflects the growing struggles of late-night programming, which is suffering from declining viewership, ad revenue, and overall influence. Just a few years ago, the category could field six strong contenders.

In the realm of reality competition, The Traitors, hosted by Alan Cumming and streaming on Peacock, earned a repeat nomination after winning last year. It will compete with mainstays such as RuPaul’s Drag Race, Survivor, Top Chef, and The Amazing Race.

These nominations arrive at a time when the television industry is still grappling with significant changes. Budget cuts and reduced investment in new content have become the norm following the high-output Peak TV era. The sector is also recovering from the impact of two major strikes in 2023, which halted production for much of the year.

The total number of shows submitted for Emmy consideration in major categories—including drama, comedy, limited series, and TV movie—saw a slight decline from 271 last year to 267 this year. However, compared to 2022, that figure is down by roughly a third, highlighting a sharp pullback in programming volume.

While drama series submissions actually rose 17% this year, comedy entries dropped by 5%, and limited series submissions plunged by nearly 33%. Traditional cable networks, once dominant at the Emmys, have significantly scaled back on original content. Major companies like Warner Bros. Discovery and NBCUniversal are even planning to spin off most of their cable assets into independent businesses, effectively ending an era that defined TV for decades.

In a historic shift, Nielsen recently reported that streaming has officially surpassed both cable and broadcast as the primary method for watching TV in the U.S. Reflecting this, only one broadcast network show—ABC’s Abbott Elementary—was nominated across the major drama, comedy, and limited series categories.

Finally, nearly 100 Emmy Awards will be handed out in early September at two pre-ceremonies focused on technical achievements. The most anticipated awards, including Best Drama, Best Comedy, Best Limited Series, and the leading acting categories, will be revealed during the live prime-time event on September 14.