Emmys 2025

The 77th Primetime Emmy Awards took place on 14 September, broadcast live on CBS and Paramount+ from Los Angeles’ Peacock Theatre. The Sunday night revealed several historic milestone moments, especially for relatively new shows like Adolescence, The Pitt, and The Studio. Ratings climbed to a four-year high of roughly 7.42 million viewers, marking a rare upward trend for a major awards show in the streaming era. 

The Netflix series Adolescence is a British psychological drama created by Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne, revolving around a teen named Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper) who is arrested for murdering a schoolmate. Adolescence dominated the limited series category this year, winning six awards including acting, directing and writing awards. Owen Cooper, 15-years-old, made history by becoming the youngest ever male winner for Best Supporting Actor in a limited series. Stephen Graham also won awards for outstanding lead actor in a limited series and writing, stating in his acceptance speech, “This kind of thing doesn’t happen to a kid like me. I’m just a mixed-race kid from a block of flats in a place called Kirkby.” 

The Pitt was also a huge success, edging out strong contenders like Severance and The White Lotus with three awards. The show is a new HBO Max medical drama series about modern healthcare workers in Pennsylvania and was first released in January this year. It claimed the award for outstanding drama series, as well as other major acting awards; Noah Wyle, who played Dr. Michael Robinavitch, won best lead actor and Katherine LaNasa, who played Dana Evans, won best supporting actress in a drama series. 

The Studio was the comedic star of the night; the Apple TV+ freshman comedy series broke records for most wins by a comedy in a single Emmys season. The show won best comedy series, with Seth Rogen, who played Matt Remick, not only winning best lead actor in comedy but also best writing and directing for a comedy series. 

Although Severance lost the best drama award to The Pitt, the highly successful sci-fi thriller series from Apple TV+ won two major acting trophies, with Britt Lower for lead actress and Tramell Tillman for supporting actor (the first Black man to win in that category). In her acceptance speech, Britt Lower memorably held up her notes to reveal the words “LET ME OUT” on the back, a clever nod to her character’s trapped existence in the series. Severance also won awards for title design, sound mixing, and cinematography. The White Lotus’s blank major-category record was especially surprising with 23 nominations, perhaps speculating a shift in the Academy’s taste toward fresher material. Similarly, the second season of Star Wars: Andor, a Disney+ sci-fi series, earned 14 nominations and took home five Creative Arts Emmys. However, it fell short in the major drama categories, underlining the Academy’s continued reluctance to grant top prizes to genre shows. 

Overall, the 2025 Emmys delivered one of the most eventful ceremonies in years. There were some controversial moments, such as host Nate Bargatze’s $100,000 charity donation penalty for every speech lasting longer than 45 seconds, and acceptance speeches doubling as political statements. Ultimately, the show reflected the vibrancy of modern television with a tension between a fast-changing entertainment ecosystem and some sincere, genuine moments for everyone involved.