Adam Scott and Britt Lower in “Severance,” now streaming on Apple TV+.
Apple TV+
The 2025 Emmy Awards on Sunday night will celebrate many TV shows that elevate deeply personal issues to high drama.
The medical hit The Pitt, starring Noah Wyle, garnered 13 nominations and highlights the “real” chaos of the ER, where patients are at their most vulnerable. Severance, a twisted workplace allegory, asks us all to consider who we are relative to what we do all day. And the Netflix show Adolescence is a gut-punch of a show exposing parents’ worst nightmares.
Yet the Hollywood ceremony on CBS will be hosted by a comedian, Nate Bargatze, and many of the most-talked about shows and nominees have attracted viewers with humor and humanity.
Viewers Care About TV. Do They Care About Award Shows?
The Emmys had a resurgence last year, when the award show’s viewership grew more than 50% from the rescheduled (remember the strike?) 2023 show. In fact, more people (6.9 million) watched the 2024 Emmys than any year since 2021, whereas most awards shows have seen viewership drop pretty steadily. The show, which begins at 8 p.m. EST on Sunday, could see a similar boost as last Sunday’s VMAs – which hit a six-year high on the same network.
Let’s Get To The Emmy Nominees
Streamers Rule Over Cable, Unsurprisingly
HBO (Max) leads with 142 nominations, largely credited to two dramas: The White Lotus and The Last of Us. Apple trails behind with almost half of as many nominations as HBO, but the streamer has Severance, the most nominated-show this year, is the frontrunner for Best Drama, according to Forbes senior contributor Toni Fitzgerald. Part of its win can be credited to “Severance’s huge gap in total nominations” compared to The Pitt.
Hollywood Loves Hollywood
Whether or not you will be surprised — or entertained — by the Emmys telecast may depend on how much TV — and on what platforms — you’ve watched this year, and if the voters’ enthusiasm for new material trumps their loyalty for much-loved characters and shows.
Five of the eight Best Comedy nominees are the same as last year, when Hacks won. It’s nominated again this year, as are Abbot Elementary, The Bear, Nobody Wants This, Only Murders In the Building, Shrinking, The Studio, and What We Do In the Shadows.
The entertainment industry seems to enjoy entertainment about the industry. “Hollywood absolutely loves navelgazing—shows about show business seem to captivate voters,” Fitzgerald writes. She points to the showbiz-centric Hacks, which won last year over the 2023 winner – The Bear. That’s why Fitzgerald predicts The Studio, another Apple show, will win for comedy.
Lots Of Drama
Chances for a surprise are higher in the drama category, where only one nominee is a repeat from last year — Slow Horses. Streamers (which increasingly dominate the Drama category) seem to take longer to produce new seasons, giving breakout dramas and long-awaited returning series more of a chance.
(L-R) Mason McCulley, Brandon Mendez Homer, Noah Wyle and Tracy Ifeachor star in ‘The Pitt’
John Johnson/Max
Forbes contributors seemed most excited about the first season of The Pitt, the long-awaited second season of Severance, which came out nearly three years after season one, and the third season of The White Lotus, which followed more than two years after season two.
Severance became Apple’s most-watched show. Some viewers might want to mine the satirical workplace narrative for business lessons.
“At its narrative core, Severance deploys a rich tapestry of characters whose internal conflicts vividly illustrate the tension between professional duty and personal identity,” Forbes senior contributor Benjamin Laker wrote. “Beyond its captivating storyline, the series delves deep into the psychological costs of isolating professional experiences from personal identity.”
The Pitt is imbued with authenticity and compelling characters. Forbes senior contributor Paul Tassi praised “the steady, often chaotic flow of new and returning patients,” for creating the show’s feeling of urgency.
The White Lotus may not win big, but the HBO show drew a crowd. The new season of Mike White’s murder anthology series garnered an estimated 15 million U.S. viewers across platforms — one of HBO Max’s biggest returning programs.
The third season led to an increase in tourism in Thailand and signaled a rise in (prestige) product placement.
The White Lotus was one of those shows “that blurred the line between entertainment and aspiration,” Forbes retail contributor Kate Hardcastle wrote.
HOUSTON, TEXAS – DECEMBER 25: Beyoncé performs at halftime during an NFL football game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans, at NRG Stadium on December 25, 2024 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Brooke Sutton/Getty Images)
Getty Images
Some of the biggest names in entertainment have already collected a trophy. Beyoncé’s record-breaking NFL Christmas halftime special on Netflix earned the singer her first Emmy win.
“The Christmas halftime show was not only a celebration of culture, it was a history lesson, Forbes contributor Stephanie Tharpe wrote. It brought into focus, “the role Black cowboys have played in shaping American History.” Both Queen Bey and Kendrick Lamar, who won for his 2025 Super Bowl halftime show, are halfway to EGOT status.
Read more from Forbes contributors about other nominees, including Adolescence — one of Netflix’s most-watched shows, Hacks — last year’s surprise Comedy winner and other standout nominees.
Read More Entertainment Stories From Forbes Contributors
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jairhilburn/2025/09/13/2025-emmy-awards-offer-high-drama-with-a-comedian-as-host/
