Lead acting nominations came for Adam Scott and Britt Lower for what amounted to dual roles as their characters’ “innie” work selves and “outie” home selves. Tramell Tillman got a supporting nod for playing their tone-shifting, pineapple-wielding supervisor, and Patricia Arquette was nominated for supporting actress for playing an ousted outcast from the sinister family business at the center of the show. Ben Stiller got a directing nomination.
Apple's Hollywood satire "The Studio" was expected to make a big showing for its first season, but it romped over more established shows like "Hacks," which got 14, and "The Bear," which got 13.
And “The Studio” tied a record set by “The Bear” last year when it also got 23 nominations, the most ever for a comedy.
“The Studio” co-creator Seth Rogen personally got three nominations — for acting, writing and directing. Its A-list roster of guest stars brought in a bounty, with nominations for Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard, Bryan Cranston, Anthony Mackie, Dave Franco and Zoë Kravitz. The men made for five of the six nominees in the guest actor in a comedy category.
“The Penguin,” HBO’s dark drama from the “Batman” universe, was also surprisingly dominant in the limited series category with 24 nominations, including nods for leads Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti.
Netflix’s acclaimed “Adolescence” got 13 limited series nominations, including a supporting actor nod for 15-year-old Owen Cooper, who plays a 13-year-old suspected of a killing.
HBO’s high-end soap “The White Lotus” got its usual flowering of drama acting nominations for its Thailand-set third season, with four cast members including Carrie Coon getting supporting actress nods, and three including Walton Goggins up for supporting actor. It was second in the drama categories to “Severance” with 23 nominations overall.
“The Pitt,” HBO Max’s prestige medical procedural starring “ER” veteran Noah Wyle, got 13 nominations, including best drama and best actor for its star, “ER” veteran Noah Wyle. One of its nurses, Katherine LaNasa, was able to squeeze in among the women of “The White Lotus” for a supporting actress nod.
“The Last of Us” brought in 16 nominations in drama categories for HBO. The elite cable channel with its streaming counterpart HBO Max has been so prolific for decades in Emmy nominations that it almost felt like an off year without it having a “Succession” or a “Game of Thrones” atop the drama category. But it definitely wasn't. It led all outlets with 142 nominations, the most it's ever gotten.
Netflix followed with 120 nominations overall, and Apple TV+ had 79.
Wyle, who was nominated five times without a win for “ER,” could join Scott to make best actor in a drama a two-man race, with both seeking their first Emmy.
Actors Harvey Guillén and Brenda Song announced the nominations in key categories.
Key nominees for the 2025 Emmy Awards
The nominees for best drama series are: “Andor”; “Paradise”; “Severance”; “Slow Horses”; “The Diplomat”; “The Pitt”; “The Last of Us” and “The White Lotus.”
The nominees for best comedy series are: “Hacks”; “The Bear”; “The Studio”; “Only Murders in the Building”; “Abbott Elementary”; “Nobody Wants This”; “Shrinking” and “What We Do in the Shadows.”
The nominees for outstanding limited series are: “Adolescence”; “Black Mirror”; “Dying For Sex”; “Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story” and “The Penguin.”
The nominees for best comedy actor are: Seth Rogen, “The Studio”; Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”; Jeremy Allen-White, “The Bear”; Adam Brody, “Nobody Wants This”; Jason Segel, “Shrinking”
The nominees for best comedy actress are: Uzo Aduba, “The Residence”; Kristen Bell, “Nobody Wants This”; Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”; Jean Smart, “Hacks”; Ayo Edebiri, “The Bear.”
‘Severance’ delivers big for Apple TV+
"Severance" has become a signature show for Apple TV+. The streamer has gotten plenty of Emmy nominations for dramas including "The Morning Show" and "Slow Horses," and "Ted Lasso" was downright dominant on the comedy side.
But Apple has lacked the kind of breakaway prestige drama that HBO seems to produce perennially. That could change when the Emmys are handed out in September.
“Severance” got 14 nominations for its first season in 2023, but won just two, for its music and its title sequence.
How streaming has changed TV and the Emmys
All the shows are living in the splintered world of the streaming era, and the like the Oscars its most acclaimed nominees rarely have the huge audience they once did. While an impressive average of 10 million people per episode watched Wyle on “The Pitt” at some point on HBO Max, according to Warner Bros. Discovery, 30 years ago an average of 30 million sat down on the same night and watched him on “ER” on NBC.
Kathy Bates' best actress nomination for playing the title role in CBS's “Matlock” made for a rare exception to streamers' dominance over broadcast networks. The Oscar-winning Bates is considered the front-runner to get the Emmy. She was the first person nominated in the category from a network show since 2019, and would be the first to win it since 2015.
ABC's "Abbott Elementary" has been keeping hope alive for broadcasters in recent years. It got six nods this year, including best actress in a comedy for creator Quinta Brunson, who also got a writing nomination.
CBS will air the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sept. 14. Nate Bargatze is slated to host.
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