Overview
An insidious approach to work/life balance. The making of a villain. Hollywood satirising Hollywood. Vacation chaos. Traumatic teens. In the past year, all of the above has graced the small screen in stunning fashion. Each of these series — Severance, The Penguin, The Studio, The White Lotus and Adolescence, that is — is excellent, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences agrees. Among 2025's just-dropped Emmy nominations, they've all picked up a swag of nods, making them top contenders.
Rebellion in a galaxy far, far away. Trying to survive in dystopian times. Chasing comedy dreams. Kitchen stress. Hospital heartbreak. True crime. Tech nightmares. The Emmys has also shown the love for Andor, The Last of Us, Hacks, The Bear, The Pitt, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story and Black Mirror, too. Which of the above multi-nominees will collect shiny trophies will be revealed on Monday, September 15, Australian and New Zealand time.
Severance season two leads the pack with a huge 27 nods, followed by The Penguin with 24. With its 23 mentions, The Studio matched The Bear's record from 2024 for the most amount of nominations by a comedy in a single year. That's the same number of nods that the third season of The White Lotus picked up, while season two of The Last of Us nabbed 16. Andor and Hacks both scored 14. Adolescence, The Bear and The Pitt each collected 13. Rounding out the shows with double-digit hauls, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story was nominated 11 times and Black Mirror ten.
That's 2025's Emmy contenders by the numbers. Dying for Sex's nine nominations, plus Only Murders in the Building and Shrinking's seven apiece, are also hefty achievements. Even just from the shows notching up sizeable nods, it's clear that this year's batch is fond of both returning favourites and newcomers. Also getting some love in the first category: The Diplomat, Slow Horses, Abbott Elementary, What We Do in the Shadows, Bad Sisters and Somebody Somewhere. And in the second, Paradise, Nobody Wants This, Presumed Innocent, Dope Thief, Disclaimer, Sirens, The Four Seasons and The Residence are all represented.
Although plenty of shows earned the Emmys' attention across the board, the same series pop up again and again in the acting fields. It seems like almost every The White Lotus cast member grabbed a nod, for instance, and the same for everyone who starred or even just popped up on The Studio. Filmmakers Martin Scorsese (Killers of the Flower Moon) and Ron Howard (Jim Henson Idea Man) are now Emmy-nominated actors for the latter, for instance.
Cate Blanchett is flying the flag for Down Under talent in the acting categories thanks to Disclaimer, with Australian Babyteeth director Shannon Murphy also recognised for helming episodes of Dying for Sex.
And if you're after a few records, Matlock's Kathy Bates is the oldest Best Actress in a Drama nominee ever, Harrison Ford has finally collected his first Emmy nod at the age of 83 for Shrinking, The Last of Us' Bella Ramsey is the only non-binary talent to be nominated twice, Saturday Night Live's Bowen Yang has become the most-nominated Asian male performer and Adolescence's Owen Cooper is the youngest-ever contender in his Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie field.
Here's a rundown of the nominations in the major categories:
Emmy Nominees 2025
Outstanding Drama Series
Andor
The Diplomat
The Last of Us
Paradise
The Pitt
Severance
Slow Horses
The White Lotus
Outstanding Comedy Series
Abbott Elementary
The Bear
Hacks
Nobody Wants This
Only Murders in the Building
Shrinking
The Studio
What We Do in the Shadows
Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series
Adolescence
Black Mirror
Dying for Sex
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story
The Penguin
Outstanding Television Movie
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy
The Gorge
Mountainhead
Nonnas
Rebel Ridge
Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Sterling K Brown, Paradise
Gary Oldman, Slow Horses
Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us
Adam Scott, Severance
Noah Wyle, The Pitt
Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Kathy Bates, Matlock
Sharon Horgan, Bad Sisters
Britt Lower, Severance
Bella Ramsey, The Last of Us
Keri Russell, The Diplomat
Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Adam Brody, Nobody Wants This
Seth Rogen, The Studio
Jason Segel, Shrinking
Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building
Jeremy Allen White, The Bear
Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Uzo Aduba, The Residence
Kristen Bell, Nobody Wants This
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary
Ayo Edebiri, The Bear
Jean Smart, Hacks
Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or 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
Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Cate Blanchett, Disclaimer
Meghann Fahy, Sirens
Rashida Jones, Black Mirror
Cristin Milioti, The Penguin
Michelle Williams, Dying for Sex
Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Zach Cherry, Severance
Walton Goggins, The White Lotus
Jason Isaacs, The White Lotus
James Marsden, Paradise
Sam Rockwell, The White Lotus
Tramell Tillman, Severance
John Turturro, Severance
Supporting Actress in a Actor in a Drama Series
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 in a Comedy Series
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 in a Actor in a Comedy Series
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 in a Limited or Anthology 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 in a Limited or Anthology 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
Guest Actor in a Drama Series
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
Guest Actress in a Drama Series
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
Merritt Wever, Severance
Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
Jon Bernthal, The Bear
Bryan Cranston, The Studio
Dave Franco, The Studio
Ron Howard, The Studio
Anthony Mackie, The Studio
Martin Scorsese, The Studio
Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
Olivia Colman, The Bear
Jamie Lee Curtis, The Bear
Cynthia Erivo, Poker Face
Robby Hoffman, Hacks
Zoë Kravitz, The Studio
Julianne Nicholson, Hacks
Writing for a Drama Series
Dan Gilroy, Andor
Joe Sachs, The Pitt
R Scott Gemmill, The Pitt
Dan Erickson, Severance
Will Smith, Slow Horses
Mike White, The White Lotus
Writing for a Comedy Series
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary
Lucia Aniello, Paul W Downs and Jen Statsky, Hacks
Nathan Fielder, Carrie Kemper, Adam Locke-Norton and Eric Notarnicola, The Rehearsal
Hannah Bos, Paul Thureen and Bridget Everett, Somebody Somewhere
Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory and Frida Perez, The Studio
Sam Johnson, Sarah Naftalis and Paul Simms, What We Do in the Shadows
Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham, Adolescence
Charlie Brooker and Bisha K Ali, Black Mirror
Kim Rosenstock and Elizabeth Meriwether, Dying for Sex
Lauren LeFranc, The Penguin
Joshua Zetumer, Say Nothing
Directing for a Drama Series
Janus Metz, Andor
Amanda Marsalis, The Pitt
John Wells, The Pitt
Jessica Lee Gagné, Severance
Ben Stiller, Severance
Adam Randall, Slow Horses
Mike White, The White Lotus
Directing for a Comedy Series
Ayo Edebiri, The Bear
Lucia Aniello, Hacks
James Burrows, Mid-Century Modern
Nathan Fielder, The Rehearsal
Seth Rogen, The Studio
Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Philip Barantini, Adolescence
Shannon Murphy, Dying for Sex
Helen Shaver, The Penguin
Jennifer Getzinger, The Penguin
Nicole Kassell, Sirens
Lesli Linka Glatter, Zero Day
The 2025 Emmy Awards take place on Monday, September 15, Australian time. For further details, head to the Emmys' website.