Acclaim, audience buzz, now 27 Emmy nominations for the show ‘Severance’

This image released by Apple TV+. shows Adam Scott, left, and Britt Lower in a scene from "Severance." (Apple TV+ via AP)

LOS ANGELES -- “Severance” separated itself from the field with 27 Emmy nominations Tuesday, while “The Studio” led comedy nominees with 23 in a dominant year for Apple TV+.

No other dramas came close to the dystopian workplace series “Severance,” which achieved a convergence of acclaim and audience buzz for its second season.

Leading acting nominations came for Adam Scott and Britt Lower for what amounted to dual roles as their characters’ “innie” work selves and “outie” home selves. Tramell Tillman got a supporting nod for playing their tone-shifting, pineapple-wielding supervisor. Ben Stiller got a directing nomination.

Apple’s Hollywood satire “The Studio” was expected to make a big showing for its first season, but it romped over more established shows like “Hacks,” which got 14, and “The Bear,” which got 13.

“The Studio” co-creator Seth Rogen personally got three nominations -- for acting, writing and directing. Its A-list roster of guest stars brought in a bounty, with nominations for Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard, Bryan Cranston, Anthony Mackie and Zoe Kravitz.

“The Penguin,” HBO’s dark drama from the “Batman” universe, was also surprisingly dominant in the limited series category with 24 nominations, including nods for leads Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti.

HBO’s “The White Lotus” got its usual flowering of acting nominations, with four cast members including Carrie Coon getting supporting actress nods, and three including Walton Goggins up for supporting actor. It was second in the drama categories to “Severance” with 23 nominations overall.

Netflix’s acclaimed “Adolescence” got 13 nominations, including a supporting actor nod for 15-year-old Owen Cooper, who plays a 13-year-old suspected of a killing.

Harvey Guillen and Brenda Song read the nominations in key categories.

Key nominees for the 2025 Emmy Awards

The nominees for best drama series are: “Andor”; “Paradise”; “Severance”; “Slow Horses”; “The Diplomat”; “The Pitt”; “The Last of Us” and “The White Lotus.”

The nominees for best comedy series are: “Hacks”; “The Bear”; “The Studio”; “Only Murders in the Building”; “Abbott Elementary”; “Nobody Wants This”; “Shrinking” and “What We Do in the Shadows.”

The nominees for outstanding limited series are: “Adolescence”; “Black Mirror”; “Dying For Sex”; “Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story” and “The Penguin.”

“The Last of Us” got 16 nominations in drama categories, helping to give HBO what would be a huge year for most outlets, but only an average one for the prestige cable channel given its previous dominance.

The nominees for best comedy actor are: Seth Rogen, “The Studio”; Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”; Jeremy Allen-White, “The Bear”; Adam Brody, “Nobody Wants This”; Jason Segel, “Shrinking”

The nominees for best comedy actress are: Uzo Aduba, “The Residence”; Kristen Bell, “Nobody Wants This”; Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”; Jean Smart, “Hacks”; Ayo Edebiri, “The Bear.”

Two categories were announced early on “CBS Mornings.” The nominees for talk series are “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

The nominees for reality competition series are: “The Amazing Race”; RuPaul’s Drag Race"; “Survivor”; “Top Chef” and “The Traitors.”

`Severance’ delivers big for Apple TV+

“Severance” has become a signature show for Apple TV+. The streamer has gotten plenty of Emmy nominations for dramas including “The Morning Show” and “Slow Horses,” and “Ted Lasso” was downright dominant on the comedy side.

But Apple has lacked the kind of breakaway prestige drama that HBO seems to produce perennially. That could change when the Emmys are handed out in September.

“Severance” got 14 nominations for its first season in 2023, but won just two, for its music and its title sequence.

How streaming has changed TV and the Emmys

All the shows are living in the splintered world of the streaming era, and the like the Oscars its most acclaimed nominees rarely have the huge audience they once did. While an impressive average of 10 million people per episode watched Wyle on “The Pitt” at some point on HBO Max, according to Warner Bros. Discovery, 30 years ago an average of 30 million sat down on the same night and watched him on “ER” on NBC.

The broadcast networks have largely become Emmy non-entities, with a few shining exceptions. ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” has annually drawn plenty of comedy nominations and should get its share this year. And Oscar-winner Kathy Bates is a front-runner for the best actress in a comedy Emmy for her role on CBS’s “Matlock.” She was the first person nominated in the category from a network show since 2019, and would be the first to win it since 2015.

CBS will air the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sept. 14. Nate Bargatze is slated to host.

By Andrew Dalton