2025 Emmy nominations: ‘Severance’ and ‘The Penguin’ lead the pack

The dystopian workplace drama Severance picked up 27 Emmy nominations Tuesday, the most of any series.

Severance, which streams on Apple TV+, is the early favorite in a best drama race that could be unusually competitive this year. Also landing nominations was the surprise HBO Max hit, “The Pitt,” and another HBO favorite, “The White Lotus.” “Andor,” the Star Wars series that critics fawned over, also earned a nomination, as did “The Diplomat,” “The Last of Us,” “Slow Horses” and “Paradise.”

Noah Wyle, a former star of ER whose career is in full comeback mode after his performance in The Pitt, was nominated for best actor in a drama — it’s his first nomination in 26 years. He’ll face off against Adam Scott (Severance), Sterling K. Brown (Paradise), Gary Oldman (Slow Horses) and Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us).

Several actors were snubbed, including Diego Luna (Andor), Eddie Redmayne (The Day of the Jackal) and Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game) who won best actor in a drama just three years ago.

Kathy Bates scored a nomination for best actress in a drama for her role in Matlock, the rebooted CBS series. Bates, 77, is the oldest actress to ever score a nomination in the category. She will face off against Sharon Horgan (Bad Sisters), Britt Lower (Severance), Bella Ramsey (The Last of Us) and Keri Russell (The Diplomat).

The Studio, the Seth Rogen-starring comedy, had a strong showing with 23 nominations, tying the record for most nominations for a comedy in a single year. It will be up against 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.”

It wasn’t long ago that The Bear was a darling of the Emmys. But after a backlash emerged about a year ago — some industry players were aghast that a tense workplace series could be nominated in the comedy categories — the show seems to have lost quite a few Emmy votes along the way. The Bear scored 13 nominations, 10 fewer than last year.

Netflix’s out-of-nowhere hit, Adolescence, was nominated for best limited series, and forecasters believe it is the favorite in the category. But it will face competition from The Penguin, which had 24 nominations, the second most of any series. Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Dying for Sex and Black Mirror were also nominated.

The Television Academy unveiled most of the nominations for the 77th Emmy Awards at the academy’s Los Angeles headquarters in an event hosted by Harvey Guillén (What We Do in the Shadows) and Brenda Song (Running Point). TV series eligible for Emmy consideration had to premiere between June 2024 and May 2025. The prime-time Emmys ceremony will be held Sept. 14.

HBO Max, fueled by The Penguin, The White Lotus, The Last of Us, Hacks and The Pitt, had a huge day, scoring 142 Emmy nominations in all.

That is the most of any network and represents the highest tally HBO Max has ever recorded, besting its previous best performance from 2022. It is a big rebound from last year, when HBO fell to third place among all networks in total nominations for the first time in decades.

HBO overwhelmed some categories, including best supporting actress in a drama, where it landed five of the seven nominees. That included four stars from The White Lotus — Carrie Coon, Parker Posey, Natasha Rothwell, Aimee Lou Wood — and Katherine LaNasa from The Pitt. They will compete against Patricia Arquette (Severance) and Julianne Nicholson (Paradise).

Netflix finished in second place with 120 nominations, and Apple TV+ was in third with 81, its highest total.

The strong showing from Severance and The Studio is a shot in the arm for Apple TV+. The streaming service remains little-watched, ranking below Paramount+, Peacock, HBO Max and free streamers like Pluto and Tubi for viewing time in the United States, according to Nielsen.

But its creative team has assembled a lineup in recent years that has proved popular with Emmy voters. Ted Lasso won the best comedy Emmy twice already, and other series like Slow Horses, The Morning Show and “Lessons in Chemistry” have earned top program nominations before.

Colin Farrell, who underwent a transformative makeover for his role in The Penguin, earned a nomination for best actor in a limited series or TV movie. He will compete against Cooper Koch (Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story), Jake Gyllenhaal (Presumed Innocent), Stephen Graham (Adolescence) and Brian Tyree Henry (Dope Thief).

Michelle Williams was nominated for best actress in a limited series or TV movie for her role in FX’s Dying for Sex. She will compete against Cristin Milioti (The Penguin), Cate Blanchett (Disclaimer), Meghann Fahy (Sirens) and Rashida Jones (Black Mirror).

Shows hosted by Jon Stewart (The Daily Show), Stephen Colbert (The Late Show) and Jimmy Kimmel (Jimmy Kimmel Live) will compete for best talk series. Only three series were nominated this year, leaving Late Night With Seth Meyers and Everybody’s Live With John Mulaney out in the cold.

Late-night TV talk series are struggling these days, with ratings, advertising revenue and even the number of shows dropping fast. In 2019, there were as many as six nominees for best talk show, but that’s back when there were many more series up for eligibility.

For best competition reality series, The Traitors, the Alan Cumming-hosted reality show on Peacock, was nominated once again. The show, which won last year, will face off against RuPaul’s Drag Race as well as Survivor, Top Chef and The Amazing Race.

The nominations are being announced at a moment when the entertainment industry is still locked in a contraction. Media companies are investing much less into new programming than they did during the so-called Peak TV era of a few years ago. The industry is also still recovering from a pair of strikes that effectively shut down the American entertainment world for much of 2023.

The number of programs that TV studios submitted for Emmy consideration in the best drama, comedy, limited series and TV movie categories declined modestly from last year — at 267 series overall, compared with 271. But that also represents a 33% decline from the number of shows submitted in 2022, when the Peak TV era was thriving.

Drama submissions showed signs of life during the latest eligibility period, increasing 17% compared with the period a year earlier. The number of comedies fell by 5%, and limited series submissions fell off a cliff, declining by a third.

Some cable networks that were perennial threats at the Emmys just a few years ago barely make original programming at all any more. Two media companies, Warner Bros. Discovery and NBCUniversal, are preparing to spin off most of their cable properties into separate companies, effectively abandoning a decades-old business that has been in sharp decline in recent years.

Last month, for the first time, streaming overtook broadcast and cable television as the leading distribution method for television viewing in the United States, Nielsen said. And in a sign of the times, only one broadcast network show — ABC’s Abbott Elementary — got a nomination among the 21 shows honored in the best drama, comedy and limited series categories.

Nearly 100 Emmys, many of them in technical categories, will be given out at a pair of ceremonies in early September. The biggest awards — including best drama, comedy and limited series, and all of the major acting categories — will be unveiled during the live prime-time ceremony on CBS on Sept. 14. The ceremony will be hosted by comedian Nate Bargatze.

EMMY NOMINEES 2025: THE COMPLETE LIST

Best Drama

Andor (Disney+)

The Diplomat (Netflix)

The Last of Us (HBO Max)

Paradise (Hulu)

The Pitt (HBO Max)

Severance (Apple TV+)

Slow Horses (Apple TV+)

The White Lotus (HBO Max)

Best Comedy

Abbott Elementary (ABC)

The Bear (Hulu)

Hacks (HBO Max)

Nobody Wants This (Netflix)

Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)

Shrinking (Apple TV+)

The Studio (Apple TV+)

What We Do in the Shadows (FX)

Best Limited Series

Adolescence (Netflix)

Black Mirror (Netflix)

Dying for Sex (FX)

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story (Netflix)

The Penguin (HBO Max)

Best Actor, Drama

Sterling K. Brown, Paradise

Gary Oldman, Slow Horses

Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us

Adam Scott, Severance

Noah Wyle, The Pitt

Best Actress, Drama

Kathy Bates, Matlock

Sharon Horgan, Bad Sisters

Britt Lower, Severance

Bella Ramsey, The Last of Us

Keri Russell, The Diplomat

Best Actor, Comedy

Adam Brody, Nobody Wants This

Seth Rogen, The Studio

Jason Segel, Shrinking

Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building

Jeremy Allen White, The Bear

Best Actress, Comedy

Kristen Bell, Nobody Wants This

Uzo Aduba, The Residence

Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary

Ayo Edebiri, The Bear

Jean Smart, Hacks

Best Actor, Limited Series or TV Movie

Colin Farrell, The Penguin

Stephen Graham, Adolescence

Jake Gyllenhaal, Presumed Innocent

Brian Tyree Henry, Dope Thief

Cooper Koch, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story

Best Actress, Limited Series or TV Movie

Cate Blanchett, Disclaimer

Meghann Fahy, Sirens

Cristin Milioti, The Penguin

Rashida Jones, Black Mirror

Michelle Williams, Dying for Sex

Supporting Actor, Drama

Zach Cherry, Severance

Walton Goggins, The White Lotus

Jason Isaacs, The White Lotus

James Marsden, Paradise

Sam Rockwell, The White Lotus

John Turturro, Severance

Tramell Tillman, Severance

Supporting Actress, Drama

Patricia Arquette, Severance
Carrie Coon, The White Lotus
Katherine LaNasa, The Pitt
Julianne Nicholson, Paradise
Parker Posey, The White Lotus
Natasha Rothwell, The White Lotus
Aimee Lou Wood, The White Lotus

Supporting Actor, Comedy

Ike Barinholtz, The Studio
Colman Domingo, The Four Seasons
Harrison Ford, Shrinking
Jeff Hiller, Somebody Somewhere
Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Bear
Michael Urie, Shrinking
Bowen Yang, Saturday Night Live

Supporting Actress, Comedy

Liza Colón-Zayas, The Bear
Hannah Einbinder, Hacks
Kathryn Hahn, The Studio
Janelle James, Abbott Elementary
Catherine O’Hara, The Studio
Sheryl Lee Ralph, Abbott Elementary
Jessica Williams, Shrinking

Supporting Actor, Limited Series or Movie

Javier Bardem, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story
Bill Camp, Presumed Innocent
Owen Cooper, Adolescence
Rob Delaney, Dying for Sex
Peter Sarsgaard, Presumed Innocent
Ashley Walters, Adolescence

Supporting Actress, Limited Series or Movie

Erin Doherty, Adolescence
Ruth Negga, Presumed Innocent
Deirdre O’Connell, The Penguin
Chloë Sevigny, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story
Jenny Slate, Dying for Sex
Christine Tremarco, Adolescence

Comedy Guest Actor

Jon Bernthal, The Bear
Bryan Cranston, The Studio
Dave Franco, The Studio
Ron Howard, The Studio
Martin Scorsese, The Studio
Anthony Mackie, The Studio

Comedy Guest Actress

Olivia Colman, The Bear
Jamie Lee Curtis, The Bear
Cynthia Erivo, Poker Face
Robby Hoffman, Hacks
Zoe Kravitz, The Studio
Julianne Nicholson, Hacks

Drama Guest Actor

Giancarlo Esposito, The Boys
Scott Glenn, The White Lotus
Shawn Hatosy, The Pitt
Joe Pantoliano, The Last of Us
Forest Whitaker, Andor
Jeffrey Wright, The Last of Us

Drama Guest Actress

Jane Alexander, Severance
Gwendoline Christie, Severance
Kaitlyn Dever, The Last of Us
Cherry Jones, The Handmaid’s Tale
Catherine O’Hara, The Last of Us

Variety Scripted Series

Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
Saturday Night Live

Host for a Reality/Competition Program

RuPaul Charles, RuPaul’s Drag Race
Alan Cumming, The Traitors
Kristen Kish, Top Chef
Jeff Probst, Survivor
The Sharks, Shark Tank

TV Movie

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy
The Gorge
Mountainhead
Nonnas
Rebel Ridge

Animated Program

Arcane: League of Legends
Bob’s Burgers
Common Side Effects
Love, Death + Robots
The Simpsons

Variety Special

Ali Wong: Single Lady
Adam Sandler: Love You
Bill Burr: Drop Dead Years
Conan O’Brien: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize For American Humor
Sarah Silverman: PostMortem
Your Friend, Nate Bargatze

Documentary or Nonfiction Special

Deaf President Now!
Martha
Pee-Wee as Himself
Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius)
Will & Harper

Documentary or Nonfiction Series

Chef’s Table
100 Foot Wave
Simone Biles: Rising
SNL 50: Beyond Saturday Night
Social Studies

Reality or Competition Program

The Amazing Race
RuPaul’s Drag Race
Survivor
Top Chef
The Traitors

Variety Talk Series

The Daily Show
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert

Directing for a Drama Series

Janus Metz, Andor (Who Are You?)
Amanda Marsalis, The Pitt (6:00 P.M.)
John Wells, The Pitt (7:00 A.M.)
Jessica Lee Gagné, Severance (Chikhai Bardo)
Ben Stiller, Severance (Cold Harbor)
Adam Randall, Slow Horses (Hello Goodbye)
Mike White, The White Lotus (Amor Fati)

Directing for a Comedy Series

Ayo Edebiri, The Bear (Napkins)
Lucia Aniello, Hacks (A Slippery Slope)
James Burrows, Mid-Century Modern (Here’s to You, Mrs. Schneiderman)
Nathan Fielder, The Rehearsal (Pilot’s Code)
Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, The Studio (The Oner)

Directing for a Limited Series/TV Movie

Philip Barantini, Adolescence
Shannon Murphy, Dying for Sex (It’s Not That Serious)
Helen Shaver, The Penguin (Cent’anni)
Jennifer Getzinger, The Penguin (A Great or Little Thing)
Nicole Kassell, Sirens (Exile)
Leslie Linka Glatter, Zero Day

Writing for a Comedy Series

Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary (Back to School)
Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Down and Jen Statsky, Hacks (A Slippery Slope)
Nathan Fielder, Carrie Kemper, Adam Locke-Norton and Eric Notarnicola, The Rehearsal (Pilot’s Code)
Hannah Bos, Paul Thureen and Bridget Everett, Somebody Somewhere (AGG)
Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory and Frida Perez, The Studio (The Promotion)
Sam Johnson, Sarah Naftalis and Paul Simms, What We Do in the Shadows (The Finale)

Writing for a Drama Series

Dan Gilroy, Andor
Joe Sachs, The Pitt (2:00 P.M.)
R. Scott Gemmill, The Pitt (7:00 A.M.)
Dan Erikson, Severance (Cold Harbor)
Will Smith, Slow Horses (Hello Goodbye)
Mike White, The White Lotus (Full-Moon Party)

Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or Drama Special

Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham, Adolescence
Charlie Brooker and Bisha K. Ali, Black Mirror (Common People)
Kim Rosenstock and Elizabeth Meriwether, Dying for Sex (Good Value Diet Soda)
Lauren LeFranc, The Penguin (A Great or Little Thing)
Joshua Zetumer, Say Nothing (The People in the Dirt)

Writing for a Variety Special

Jon Macks, Chris Convy, Lauren Greenberg, Skylar Higley, Ian Karmel and Sean O’Conner, Conan O’Brien: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize For American Humor
Charlie Brooker, Ben Caudell, Erika Ehler, Charlie George, Eli Goldstone, Jason Hazeley, Lucia Keskin, Diane Morgan, Joel Morris and Michael Odewale, Cunk on Life
Sarah Silverman, Sarah Silverman: PostMortem
Nate Bargatze, Your Friend, Nate Bargatze
James Anderson, Dan Bulla, Megan Callahan-Shah, Michael Che, Mikey Day, Mike DiCenzo, James Downey, Tina Fey, Jimmy Fowlie, Alison Gates, Sudi Green, Jack Handey, Steve Higgins, Colin Jost, Erik Kenward, Dennis McNicholson, Seth Meyers, Lorne Michaels, John Mulaney, Jack Nordwind, Ceara O’Sullivan, Josh Patten, Paula Pell, Simon Rich, Pete Schultz, Streeter Seidell, Emily Spivey, Kent Sublette, Bryan Tucker, August White, SNL50: The Anniversary Special

Writing for a Variety Series

Dan Amira, Daniel Radosh, Lauren Sarver Means, David Angelo, Nicole Conlan, Devin Delliquanti, Zach DiLanzo, Jennifer Flanz, Jason Gilbert, Dina Hashem, Scott Hercman, David Kibuuka, Matt Koff, Matt O’Brien, Joseph Opio, Randall Otis, Zhubin Parang, Kat Radley, Lanee’ Sanders, Scott Sherman, Jon Stewart, Ashton Womack and Sophie Zucker, The Daily Show

Daniel O’Brien, Owen Parsons, Charlie Redd, Joanna Rothkopf, Seena Vali, Johnathan Appel, Ali Barthwell, Tim Carvell, Liz Hynes, Ryan Ken, Sofía Manfredi, John Oliver, Taylor Kay Phillips and Chrissy Shackelford, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Kent Sublette, Streeter Seidell, Alison Gates, Dan Bulla, Will Stephen, Auguste White, Celeste Yim, Bryan Tucker, Steven Castillo, Michael Che, Mike DiCenzo, Jimmy Fowlie, Martin Herlihy, John Higgins, Steve Higgins, Colin Jost, Erik Kenward, Allie Levitan, Ben Marshall, Lorne Michaels, Jake Nordwind, Ceara O’Sullivan, Moss Perricone, Carl Tart, Asha Ward, Pete Schultz, Rosebud Baker, Megan Callahan-Shah, Dennis McNicholas, Josh Patten and KC Shornima, Saturday Night Live