Emmys 2025 nominations : Thought awards season ended with the Oscars? Think again — now it’s television’s turn in the spotlight!
The 2025 Emmy nominations were announced in the early hours (at least for us Aussies), recognizing the best in TV from June 1, 2024, to May 31, 2025.
While the winners won’t be revealed until the September ceremony, let’s break down the highlights, surprises, and notable snubs from today’s announcement.
Success: Yes! Do it Seth!!
Apple+ is celebrating a big win, with its eerie workplace thriller Severance leading the pack with an impressive 27 Emmy nominations.
Season two peeled back just enough of the mystery surrounding Lumon Industries to earn nearly every main cast member a nomination, along with multiple nods for writing and directing.
Quietly stealing the spotlight, John Turturro deserves major praise for the delivery of just four words that flipped the entire season on its head.
Sadly, Aussie star Dichen Lachman — who stunned audiences as Ms. Casey in the finale — was overlooked. But with season three on the horizon (even if it’s a while away), there’s still hope.
Snubs: The curse of The White Lotus
Picture this: you’re Patrick Schwarzenegger, eager to carve out your own path beyond your famous last name. You land a role in White Lotus: Thailand, one of TV’s most buzzed-about anthologies — a series that racks up awards like souvenirs.
Your performance is surprisingly layered, though it gets somewhat buried under the noise of a headline-grabbing incest storyline. Still, fans on Twitter are praising the emotion you packed into a single glance.
Then the 2025 Emmy nominations drop. The show earns 23 nods, seven of your castmates score acting noms… and your name’s missing.
That’s the gamble when you join the talent-packed world of White Lotus. On the bright side, at least you’ve become the internet’s go-to reaction meme.
Shock: Emmys playing fast and loose with words
Pedro Pascal landing a nomination for Best Actor in a Drama is… complicated.
Don’t get us wrong — we all adore Pedro Pascal. His portrayal of Joel in The Last of Us gave us peak protective dad energy (and, let’s be honest, serious Daddy vibes).
His brutal, bloody exit in episode two of season two left fans reeling (and sorry, no spoiler alert — the game’s been out for years).
But let’s be real: appearing in just a few episodes doesn’t exactly scream “leading role.” It barely qualifies as a guest spot.
Still, it’s not entirely unexpected from an awards body that continues to classify The Bear — aka 30 minutes of high-octane anxiety — as a comedy (yes, they’ve done it again this year).
Success:The Studio makes bank
This one’s for everyone who passionately tried to convince a friend to watch Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s hilariously sharp Hollywood satire.
The Studio racked up an impressive 23 Emmy nominations today, tying the record for most comedy nods previously set by The Bear last year.
Thanks to its wild lineup of celebrities playing exaggerated versions of themselves, The Studio dominated the Best Guest Actor in a Comedy category — snagging five of the six spots.
Among them? First-time Emmy acting nods for legendary directors Martin Scorsese and Ron Howard. Francesca Scorsese even shared a heartwarming screenshot of her dad reacting to the news.
Snub: Australia’s siren call wasn’t enough
Given that Netflix’s breezy take on the eat-the-rich genre barely squeaked into the eligibility window, it was a pleasant surprise to see Meghann Fahy land a Best Actress nomination for her role as Devon, the lovable disaster-turned-amateur sleuth.
It’s just a shame that rising Aussie star Milly Alcock didn’t get the same recognition for her standout performance as Simone, Devon’s status-chasing sister.
Fahy will go head-to-head with Cate Blanchett — the sole Australian to score a major nod — in September, but seeing two homegrown talents in the race would’ve been even better.
Still, Milly’s doing just fine — she’s busy suiting up as James Gunn’s Supergirl.
Shock: Dying For Sex lives!
Making terminal cancer funny is no small feat. Making it uplifting is even tougher. And making it heartbreakingly sexy? Nearly impossible. Yet somehow, the limited series Dying For Sex pulls off all of that — and then some.
This deeply moving exploration of life, death, and everything in between had critics raving, even if it flew a bit under the radar with audiences. That’s why it was such a delightful surprise to see the Emmys shower it with well-earned recognition.
Michelle Williams received a richly deserved nod for her raw, heartfelt portrayal of a woman confronting her own mortality, while Jenny Slate also scored a nomination for her role as the frazzled best friend doing her best to help.
In total, Dying For Sex earned six nominations — fingers crossed it doesn’t get swept away in the Adolescence wave.
Success: Adolescence star makes history
For the second year running, a jaw-dropping Netflix limited series might dominate the awards circuit. In 2024, it was Richard Gadd’s Baby Reindeer — and in 2025, the spotlight shifts to Adolescence. Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham’s powerful exploration of the online ‘manosphere’ and its consequences has earned an impressive 13 Emmy nominations.
All eyes are on British newcomer Owen Cooper, whose unforgettable performance as 13-year-old accused murderer Jamie Miller left audiences stunned. Having already won the Gotham Award earlier this year, Cooper could make history as the youngest male Emmy winner if he takes home the trophy.
Snubs: Just another Handmaid’s Tale
The Handmaid’s Tale quietly wrapped up its final season in May, with surprisingly little buzz. Maybe the three-year gap between seasons five and six dulled the momentum, or maybe audiences checked out when the dystopia started feeling a little too real. Whatever the reason, the once-acclaimed series received a noticeably subdued reception in the 2025 awards race.
Despite its history of 15 Emmy wins, this season earned just a single nomination — and not for lead Elisabeth Moss. Instead, Cherry Jones picked up a nod for Best Guest Actress. It’s a far cry from the grand farewell many had anticipated for what was once must-watch television.
Shock: Somebody, somewhere has been listening
Somebody Somewhere isn’t a flashy series — there are no deadly competitions or zombie apocalypses. Instead, it offers a warm, hilarious, and refreshingly original look at life in your 40s in a small town. Despite delivering two critically acclaimed seasons (both holding a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes), the Emmys have largely overlooked it — until now.
This year, things finally changed. Bridget Everett and her brilliant writing team earned a well-deserved writing nomination, and Jeff Hiller — who plays Everett’s kind, unwavering best friend — landed a spot in the Best Actor in a Comedy category.
Maybe everything is going to be OK — which, fittingly, is exactly how Somebody Somewhere makes you feel.
Leave a Reply