Television in 2025 is the best it's been in some time; Severance finally returned for its much-anticipated season two, and it mostly lived up to the hype, while it was a year of huge success for debut series that recalled television of old with The Pitt, a medical drama that dropped weekly, and Nobody Wants This, with millennial icons Adam Brody and Kristen Bell telling the story of two thirty-somethings still hoping for love. It's not a surprise to see the Emmy nominations list stacked with first-time nominees – including beloved 90s icon Noah Wyle, finally receiving his recognition, as well as Harrison Ford and Kathy Bates, both for their work as septuagenarian professionals flipping the idea of what's possible for all later in life.
Best Drama and Best Comedy are both stacked with a mix of new and returning series, and a few surprises, including a nod for Disney+'s Star Wars spin-off Andor , while The Handmaid's Tale's final season was shut out. Despite the hope that some network shows may creep in, it was only ABC's Abbott Elementary that broke into the top contender lists for Best Comedy, although Kathy's nod was for her work in CBS's Matlock. Fun fact, it's been over 10 years since a network comedy won the Best Comedy category (ABC's Modern Family in 2014) and over 20 years since a network won Outstanding Drama Series (NBC's The West Wing in 2003).
At HELLO! we love to bring you news and features on the world's A-listers, from their weddings to baby news and family changes but we also love TV, and that's why this year is so exciting as some of our – and your – favorite celebrities from over the years – Adam, Kristen, James Marsden (Paradise), Keri Russell (The Diplomat), and Sir Gary Oldman (Slow Horses) – are being recognized for their work, along with newcomers such as Aimee Lou Wood (The White Lotus).
So keep reading for our 2025 Emmy picks across the major categories – and why.
© Warrick Page/MAXBest Drama
HELLO!'s winner: The Pitt
Nominees: Andor, The Diplomat, The Last of Us, Paradise, The Pitt, Severance, Slow Horses, The White Lotus
The Pitt is 24 crossed with ER, following the lives of the staff inside the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center across one 15-hour shift, with each episode one hour of the shift.
The premise automatically gives the series a heightened sense of tension, but what the writers do next across those 15 episodes is not just high stakes drama and bloody gore from all kinds of injuries and incidents but also, somehow, incredibly detailed ensemble-wide character development, forcing you to care deeply for strangers whose lives you are dropped right into the middle of with zero context.
It's the only new series this season that I've already rewatched at least four times and although the season two trailer appears to reveal Dr Langdon will not be the most divorced man in America (if you know, you know), I trust John Wells, R. Scott Gemmill and the team of writers will be able to make season two as dramatic as season one, and with even more development despite the confines of the ER walls.
Plus? Season one has great representation of autism, a hilarious jab at the hypocrisy of anti-vaxxers, and two characters who are so romantically-coded there's an entire section of the internet shipping them. What more do you need from a TV show in 2025?
© ERIN SIMKIN/NETFLIXBest Comedy
HELLO's winner: Nobody Wants This
Nominees: Abbott Elementary, The Bear, Hacks, Nobody Wants This, Only Murders in the Building, Shrinking, The Studio, What We Do In The Shadows
Nobody Wants This was a surprise awards contender for Netflix. On the surface, it reads like a simple romcom for millennial women, following Joanne, an agnostic sex podcaster, who meets and falls in love with a newly single rabbi, Noah, only for them to realize that life isn't that easy.
But performances from Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars) and Adam Brody (The OC) and a sharp and at times caustic script, saw it break out past its intended audience, with the series reaching audiences of all generations
© HBOBest Actor in Drama
HELLO!'s winner: Noah Wyle
Nominees: Adam Scott, Noah Wyle, Sterlling K Brown, Gary Oldman, Pedro Pascal
If you watch Noah Wyle's Dr Michael 'Robby' Robinavitch break down in the children's ward of the PTMC at the end of a terrifying and devastating mass casualty incident and not cry yourself, you don't have a heart.
That one scene from The Pitt will be the one played on September 14 when his name is read out – and if it's not, I have no hope left for the Academy.
Best Actor in Comedy
HELLO's winner: Seth Rogen
Nominees: Adam Brody, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Martin Short, Jeremy Allen White
I was one of the rare TV reporters who didn't automatically fall in love with The Studio. Yes, it was supposed to be a cringe satirical comedy, yet the second-hand embarrassment I got from episode two, watching Hollywood studio exec Matt Remnick (Seth Rogen) and his colleague Sal Saperstein (Ike Barinholtz) ruin Sarah Polley's hopes for a continuous shot, left me turning the episode off before the end.
I picked the series back up because of Seth Rogen, though – would Matt get it together and make a success of Continental Studios? – and it was his performance that made me stick it out, as we watched Matt come back from failure after failure, all because of his determination and genuine love for making films.
© GettyBest Actress in Drama
HELLO's winner: Kathy Bates
Nominees: Kathy Bates, Sharon Horgan, Britt Lower, Bella Ramsey, Keri Russell
At 77, Kathy Bates is the oldest female Emmy nominee of all time, but what a role to have undertaken to finally get the recognition. As the lead character in Matlock, Kathy plays two roles; the persona of Matty Matlock, a former lawyer who returns to the workplace in her 70s after the alleged death of her husband who had gambling problems, and Madeline Kingston, the former lawyer who goes undercover at the law firm to seek justice for the death of her daughter from the opioid epidemic.
Those two differing personalities were on show in season one, often in the same episode, with Kathy's talent able to take you from the trope of the old and overlooked woman who couldn't possibly be smart enough or quick enough to outwit you, to Madeline the tough and calculated woman out for revenge.
By the end of the season, Kathy was often juggling these two characters in the same scene, taking the audience on their own journey as they came to realize exactly who this character was and what she was willing to do.
Best Supporting Actor in Drama
HELLO's winner: Tramell Tillman
Nominees: Zach Cherry, Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, James Marsden, Sam Rockwell, Tramell Tillman, John Turturro
Severance season two was owned entirely by Tramell Tillman as Seth Milchick, the reliable and loyal Lumon employee who will do whatever it takes to keep the severed workers from revolting.
His steely gaze went from disturbing in season one to terrifying in season two, as he went to deeper and darker lengths to keep the "innies" happy, culminating in that fever dream sequence of Milchick being locked in the MDR bathroom and attempting to escape all while a high school marching band plays.
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy
HELLO's winner: Harrison Ford
Nominees: Ike Barinholtz, Colmon Domingo, Harrison Ford, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Michael Urie, Bowen Yang
Yes, Harrison would give an incredible speech if he won this category, but it would also be 100% deserved. After a career of playing the gruff but handsome male lead, characters that are often just an extension of himself, Harrison was finally able to show off his comedic and dramatic chops in the thoughtful yet hilarious comedy Shrinking.
As Dr Paul Roades, a therapist in his 70s who has been diagnosed with Parkinson's, Harrison brings his own world weariness to the screen but imbues Paul with a wit, and heart, and depth with just a glance of his eyes or a head tilt.
© Warrick Page/MAXBest Supporting Actress in Drama
HELLO's winner: Katherine LaNasa
Nominees: Patricia Arquette, Carrie Coon, Katherine LaNasa, Julianne Nicholson, Parker Posey, Natasha Rothwell, Aimee Lou Wood
There was a haunted look in The Pitt's charge nurse Dana Evans' eyes from the opening scenes; Dana was a nurse who had seen some stuff and yet kept coming back because of her love for the job. Dana is the cornerstone of the ER, until a devastating attack unfolds that leaves her shaken to her core and rocks her previously unwavering faith for job.
Katherine's own love for acting has kept her as a working actor, and as Dana, she finally shows the masses what she has been capable of all those years, bringing no-nonsense responsibility, a kind word when needed, and a comforting look in the middle of all the tragedy.
Best Supporting Actress in Comedy
HELLO's winner: Janelle James
Nominees: Liza Colon Reyes, Hannah Einbinder, Kathryn Hahn, Janelle James, Catherine O'Hara, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Jessica Williams
Janelle James has been doing the absolute best work of her career for the last two seasons of ABC's comedy Abbott Elementary, and it's about damn time the Academy recognized it.
Janelle has taken Principal Ava Coleman from a one-note headteacher to a fully-rounded character who has grown, now cares about her kids and her staff, and has learned to open herself up to love – and all while still recognizing her own worth.
