‘The Pitt’ Upsets ‘Severance’ For Best Drama

The biggest surprise at the 2025 Emmys came late. HBO Max drama The Pitt beat favorite Severance, the twisty Apple TV+ drama that led all 2025 Emmy nominees with 27 nods, in the best drama category. It echoed last year’s HBO upset in the best comedy category, when Hacks topped The Bear.

The final twist ended a night with a number of surprises at the show honoring TV’s top programs.

Emmys Surprise: ‘Severance’ Star Britt Lower Beats Kathy Bates

The snubs and surprises of the night the started early. CBS’s Kathy Bates was considered a lock to win best actress in a drama in most Emmy predictions, but in one of the night’s early awards, Severance’s Britt Lower won for her performance as Helly/Helena.

Lower herself even seemed surprised that she won. It came moments after castmate Tramell Tillman took home best supporting actor in a drama, and it seemed to indicate it would be a big night for the

Lower’s victory came before a surprise—though for a slightly different reason. Hannah Einbinder earned best supporting actress for her role in Hacks. She had been zero for three in the category entering the night, and she joked (during the night’s longest acceptance speech to that point) that she expected to extend that to zero for four. While many had favored The Studio’s Catherine O’Hara to win the category, the latter does have a past acting victory for Schitt’s Creek as well as a writing award for Second City Television.

The Studio Ends Big Night With Record Wins

Seth Rogen closed out a huge night for Apple TV+’s The Studio, which won best comedy. The show tied a record for comedy shows with 23 nominations. Frida Perez also became the first Latina to win a Best Comedy trophy, The Studio team said when accepting the award.

Rogen won four trophies on the night, also tying an individual record. And The Studio became the most-awarded first-year program ever, with 13 victories.

Noah Wyle Wins For ‘The Pitt’

Three decades after his first nomination for ER, Noah Wyle won the best actor in a drama award for another medical role, playing a doctor in the HBO Max series The Pitt.

“To anyone going on shift tonight or coming off shift tonight, thank you for being in that job. This one is for you,” said Wyle.

Early on, it seemed it would be a night of the expected with few Emmy snubs. Favorites Rogen (The Office) and Jean Smart (Hacks) took the evening’s first two awards, earning best actor in a comedy and best actress in a comedy. Both came in under the award speech acceptance limit of 45 seconds, which host Nate Bargatze encouraged people to stick to or he would reduce the amount he’s giving to Boys and Girls Club of America.

Emmy Snubs: Jeff Hiller Wins Best Supporting Actor In A Comedy Over Harrison Ford

The Emmy 2025 snubs and shockers kept coming. Harrison Ford had been considered the favorite for his role in Shrinking, partly because he gives a terrific performance and partly because he’s a popular actor who many would love to see get a career-capping award.

But Jeff Hiller pulled off perhaps the biggest surprise of the night, winning for HBO’s Somebody Somewhere. He joked about the network putting on his show about middle-aged people alongside the beautiful teens of Euphoria.

The camera panned almost immediately to Ford and wife Calista Flockhart as Hiller accepted the award. Saturday Night Live’s Bowen Yang, also a nominee in the category, was shown cheering the victory.

The Pitt’s Katherine LaNasa Surprises With Emmy Win

Another early surprise: Katherine LaNasa edged several actresses from White Lotus, including favorite Carrie Coon, to win best supporting actress in a drama series. She thanked nurses who inspired her character.

Emmy Snubs: Stephen Graham Edges Colin Farrell

Adolescence’s Stephen Graham pulled off a huge upset by winning best lead actor in a limited series. Farrell was a heavy favorite due to his complete physical transformation in The Penguin, becoming barely recognizable to play villainous Oswald. Graham was also one of the Netflix show’s creators in addition to playing the father of a suspected teenage murderer.

Adolescence was a big winner on the night, also taking best limited series as well as Erin Doherty winning best supporting actress and Owen Cooper becoming the youngest-ever winner for best supporting actor in a limited series.

Stephen Colbert Wins After Show’s Cancellation

Stephen Colbert had one of the most popular wins of the night, receiving a standing ovation from the audience for winning best variety series for the recently canceled Late Show With Stephen Colbert. He ended his speech by saying he’d never loved his country “more desperately.”