Los Angeles: Prestige dramas and streaming heavyweights dominated the 2025 Emmy Award nominations, with Apple TV+’s mind-bending thriller Severance and HBO’s gritty DC spin-off The Penguin leading the pack.
Severance scored a remarkable 27 nominations, including Best Drama, while The Penguin followed closely with 24, affirming the continued dominance of streaming platforms in television’s most prestigious contest.
Both shows will compete in key categories, with Severance up for Best Drama alongside Andor (Disney+), The Pitt, The White Lotus (HBO), and others. The Penguin, starring Colin Farrell, is in the race for Best Limited Series, contending with Netflix’s hit Adolescence and more.
Apple TV+’s Hollywood satire The Studio, starring Seth Rogen as an anxious film executive, also made a strong showing with 23 nominations, tying with HBO’s The White Lotus, which returns this season with a gripping storyline set in Thailand. The Studio’s nod count also ties the record for a comedy series in a single season, previously set by The Bear.
HBO and HBO Max led all networks with a staggering 142 nominations, followed by Disney with 137, Netflix with 120, and Apple with 81. On the comedy front, nominees include past winners Hacks, The Bear, Abbott Elementary, and breakout show Nobody Wants This.
Congratulations to the entire Severance team on their 27 Emmy Nominations.
Drama Series
Lead Actor: Adam Scott
Lead Actress: Britt Lower
Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette
Supporting Actor: John Turturro
Supporting Actor: Tramell Tillman
Supporting Actor: Zach Cherry… pic.twitter.com/upZ47rQwOy
— Apple TV (@AppleTV) July 15, 2025
This year’s Emmy nominations also mark notable firsts for several veteran actors. The Pitt earned 13 nominations, including a long-awaited return for Noah Wyle, who received his first nod since 1999. Wyle was previously nominated five times for his work on ER, though he never won.
Hollywood legend Harrison Ford, 83, received his first-ever Emmy nomination for his role as a gruff therapist in Shrinking. Meanwhile, Oscar-winning director Ron Howard picked up a surprise guest actor nomination for portraying himself on The Studio, going head-to-head with fellow director Martin Scorsese, also nominated for a guest spot on the same show.
Other prominent acting nominees include Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti (The Penguin), Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri (The Bear), Kathy Bates (Matlock), Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder (Hacks), and Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey (The Last of Us). Eight cast members from The White Lotus also received individual nominations.
Winners will be chosen by roughly 26,000 voting members of the Television Academy, spanning actors, directors, producers, and industry professionals. The Emmy Awards will be broadcast live on CBS on September 14, with comedian Nate Bargatze set to host the star-studded ceremony from Los Angeles.
