'Severance' leads Emmy nominees with 27 and 'The Studio' tops comedies as Apple TV+ dominates

In an expected haul, "Severance" and "The White Lotus" picked up a total of 50 nominations in the 77th annual Primetime Emmy Awards sweepstakes announced Tuesday. Meanwhile, two of TV's most buzzed-about series of 2025, "The Pitt" and "Adolescence," had solid results too, with both landing best show and actor nods.

A little less anticipated was this: "The Studio," Seth Rogen's Apple TV+ comedy about a ham-fisted movie studio boss, which got a total of 23 nods. The awards will air Sept. 14 on CBS/2.

Here are the main categories, along with some stray thoughts:

DRAMA

"Andor" (Disney+)

"The Diplomat" (Netflix)

"The Last of Us" (HBO Max)

"Paradise" (Hulu)

"The Pitt" (HBO Max)

"Severance" (Apple TV+)

"Slow Horses" (Apple TV+)

"The White Lotus" (HBO Max)

For its second and final season, "Andor" — the best of this bunch — got just 14 nominations, which puts it well back of the leaders ("The White Lotus," 23, and "Severance," 27). Nevertheless, "The Pitt" (13 nods) still feels like the front-runner.

COMEDY

"Abbott Elementary" (ABC)

"The Bear" (FX on Hulu)

"Hacks" (HBO Max)

"Nobody Wants This" (Netflix)

"Only Murders in the Building" (Hulu)

"Shrinking" (Apple TV+)

"The Studio" (Apple TV+)

"What We Do in the Shadows" (FX)

"The Studio" was expected here, but that enthusiastic endorsement (23 nods!) was not. Clearly voters like this show-biz satire with heart. That could mean they're a little less enthusiastic about the front-runners, "The Bear" (2023's winner) and "Hacks" (2024's) this year.

LIMITED SERIES

"Adolescence" (Netflix)

"Black Mirror" (Netflix)

"Dying for Sex" (Hulu)

"Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story" (Netflix)

"The Penguin" (HBO Max)

Just four episodes long, "Adolescence" left everything on the field, as the saying goes — an intense viewer experience that dragged those viewers to a place they weren't sure they wanted to go. But too intense? "Dying for Sex" — certainly a shock to the system in its own obvious and subversive ways (a woman who really explores her libido before her death from cancer) — could surprise the field.

ACTOR/DRAMA

Sterling K. Brown ("Paradise")

Gary Oldman ("Slow Horses")

Pedro Pascal ("The Last of Us")

Adam Scott ("Severance")

Noah Wyle ("The Pitt")

Over 11 seasons on "ER," Wyle got five nominations, all for supporting actor, and came up empty-handed every time. Brown — as the presidential bodyguard in the dystopian "Paradise" and who last won this award in 2017 for "This is Us" — just might play spoiler here.

ACTRESS/DRAMA 

Kathy Bates ("Matlock")

Sharon Horgan ("Bad Sisters")

Britt Lower ("Severance")

Bella Ramsey ("The Last of Us")

Keri Russell ("The Diplomat")

As Helly R., Lower — who just picked up her first-ever nomination — had to play at least three major characters this second season — her "innie" and "outie" selves while also pretending to be an innie while she was actually outie. Impressive (and baffling). But five-time nominee Russell still feels like the front-runner.

ACTOR/COMEDY 

Seth Rogen, "The Studio"

Martin Short, "Only Murders in the Building"

Jeremy Allen White, "The Bear"

Adam Brody, "Nobody Wants This"

Jason Segel, "Shrinking"

In "The Studio," Rogen surrounded himself with a lot of other talented, funny actors — Ike Barinholtz, Kathryn Hahn, Zoë Kravitz, Catherine O'Hara, Bryan Cranston — but somehow still managed to stand out. Not easy with a crowd like this one. He's the front-runner, and should be.

ACTRESS/COMEDY

Uzo Aduba, "The Residence"

Kristen Bell, "Nobody Wants This"

Quinta Brunson, "Abbott Elementary"

Jean Smart, "Hacks"

Ayo Edebiri, "The Bear."

Smart has owned this for most of the decade so far and no reason to assume that will change. Nevertheless, there could be an upset (Bell) or two (Edebiri) in the offing.

ACTOR/LIMITED SERIES, MOVIE

Colin Farrell ("The Penguin")

Stephen Graham ("Adolescence")

Jake Gyllenhaal ("Presumed Innocent")

Brian Tyree Henry ("Dope Thief")

Cooper Koch ("Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story")

There are four first-time nominees here (Henry has had three). Better yet, any of these could win. Yes, Graham was extraordinary but so was Farrell. This is what's called a "toss-up" with five coins in the air.

ACTRESS/LIMITED SERIES, MOVIE

Cate Blanchett ("Disclaimer")

Meghann Fahy ("Sirens")

Rashida Jones ("Black Mirror")

Cristin Milioti ("The Penguin")

Michelle Williams ("Dying for Sex")

This is probably between four-time nominee (and winner for "Fosse/Verdon") Michelle Williams and Milioti, who got her first nod. Advantage: Williams.