Searing teen murder saga “Adolescence” was the big winner at Sunday’s Emmy Awards, claiming eight prizes including best limited series, while “The Pitt” prevailed in a tight race for best drama at television’s equivalent of the Oscars.
Seth Rogen’s Hollywood satire “The Studio” dominated the comedy categories, earning best series honours and an overall total of 13 Emmys — a record for comedies.
“Adolescence” was arguably 2025’s most talked-about TV hit. The British series for Netflix is the grim cautionary tale of a fictional 13-year-old schoolboy arrested on suspicion of murdering a female classmate with a knife.
Its examination of toxic masculinity among young boys, and the horrific messages they are exposed to via smartphones and social media, prompted debate around the world.
“We never expected our little program to have such a big impact,” said co-creator Stephen Graham, who plays the teen suspect’s father.
The series earned a whopping 140 million views in its first three months on Netflix. Each of its four episodes is shot in a single take.
“Adolescence” won a total of eight Emmys, including best limited series — awarded to shows that end after one season — as well as prizes for writing, directing, lead actor, supporting actress, and supporting actor.
The latter went to 15-year-old Owen Cooper, who became the youngest male actor to win an Emmy.
“Honestly, when I started these drama classes a couple of years back, I didn’t expect to be even in the United States, never mind here,” he said.
‘The Pitt’ Triumphs
“The Pitt” won best drama series — the night’s final prize, and arguably its most surprising moment.
It is a medical drama reminiscent of “ER,” with the twist that all 15 episodes are set consecutively during the same unbearably stressful shift at an inner-city Pittsburgh hospital.
Tackling everything from abortion rights to mass shootings, “The Pitt” received little fanfare on its initial release but became a word-of-mouth sensation.
“ER” veteran Noah Wyle won best drama actor for his performance as the emergency room’s haunted leader.
“Anybody who is going on shift tonight or coming off shift tonight, thank you for being in that job — this is for you,” he said.
Katherine LaNasa also won best supporting actress.
Pundits had considered the race too close to call, with sci-fi office thriller “Severance” considered difficult to beat.
A psychological drama set largely in the near-future offices of a shadowy corporation, it had the most nominations of any show this year, with 27.
The premise: the “innie” employees of Lumon Industries quite literally leave their outside lives, memories, and personalities at the door, thanks to a dystopian new mind-splitting technology.
Its star, Britt Lower, won best actress, and Tramell Tillman won for best supporting actor.
‘I Am Paying’
“The Studio” — both a love letter to the industry and a searing send-up of its many hypocrisies, insecurities, and moral failings — was named best comedy series.
Rogen, its co-creator, won best actor for his role as a floundering movie executive. The show also claimed writing and directing prizes on Sunday.
It had earned nine statuettes last weekend at a separate ceremony for the more technical Emmy categories.
The best comedy actress Emmy again went to Jean Smart — her fourth for “Hacks.” Hannah Einbinder finally won best supporting actress as the long-suffering assistant to Smart’s late-night comedian.
Einbinder used her speech to describe the agency behind most of US President Donald Trump’s recent immigration raids with an expletive — muted by broadcasting network CBS — before adding “Free Palestine.”
Television’s equivalent of the Oscars had promised to steer clear of politics.
In one of the night’s loudest moments, “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” finally won best variety talk series. A staple of late-night US television, the show will end in 2026.
CBS has denied that the cancellation is related to parent company Paramount’s $16 million settlement with Trump. Colbert — a regular critic of the US president — had dubbed the payment “a big fat bribe.”
Emmys host Nate Bargatze spent much of the evening focused on his novel initiative to keep winners’ speeches short.
The comedian pledged to donate $100,000 of his own money to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
The catch? He deducted $1,000 for every second that a winner’s acceptance speech exceeded the allotted 45 seconds — and added money back on for speeches that ran short.
“Don’t go crazy, because I am paying for this,” quipped Bargatze.
A money counter ran on-screen for much of the gala, but was quietly removed as the evening wore on. The show ended with Bargatze and others pledging large donations that more than covered any deductions.
Here’s the full list of winners and nominees from television’s biggest night.
Outstanding variety special (live)
WINNER: SNL50: The Anniversary Special (NBC)
The Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show Starring Kendrick Lamar (Fox)
Beyoncé Bowl (Netflix)
The Oscars (ABC)
SNL50: The Homecoming Concert (Peacock)
Outstanding drama series
Andor (Disney+)
The Diplomat (Netflix)
The Last of Us (HBO Max)
Paradise (Hulu)
WINNER: The Pitt (HBO Max)
Severance (Apple TV+)
Slow Horses (Apple TV+)
The White Lotus (HBO Max)
Outstanding lead actor in a drama series
Sterling K Brown – Paradise (Hulu)
Gary Oldman – Slow Horses (Apple TV+)
Pedro Pascal – The Last of Us (HBO Max)
Adam Scott – Severance (Apple TV+)
WINNER: Noah Wyle – The Pitt (HBO Max)
Outstanding limited or anthology series
WINNER: Adolescence (Netflix)
Black Mirror (Netflix)
Dying for Sex (Hulu)
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story (Netflix)
The Penguin (HBO Max)
Outstanding lead actress in a drama series
Kathy Bates – Matlock (CBS)
Sharon Horgan – Bad Sisters (Apple TV+)
WINNER: Britt Lower – Severance (Apple TV+)
Bella Ramsey – The Last of Us (HBO Max)
Keri Russell – The Diplomat (Netflix)
Outstanding lead actor in a comedy series
Adam Brody – Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
WINNER: Seth Rogen – The Studio (Apple TV+)
Jason Segel – Shrinking (Apple TV+)
Martin Short – Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Jeremy Allen White – The Bear (Hulu)
Outstanding lead actress in a comedy series
Uzo Aduba – The Residence (Netflix)
Kristen Bell – Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Ayo Edebiri – The Bear (Hulu)
WINNER: Jean Smart – Hacks (HBO Max)
Outstanding lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie
Colin Farrell – The Penguin (HBO Max)
WINNER: Stephen Graham – Adolescence (Netflix)
Jake Gyllenhaal – Presumed Innocent (Apple TV+)
Bryan Tyree Henry – Dope Thief (Apple TV+)
Cooper Koch – Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story (Netflix)
Outstanding lead actress in a limited or anthology series or movie
Cate Blanchett – Disclaimer (Apple TV+)
Meghan Fehy – Sirens (Netflix)
Rashida Jones – Black Mirror (Netflix)
WINNER: Cristin Milioti – The Penguin (HBO Max)
Michelle Williams – Dying for Sex (Hulu)
Outstanding supporting actor in a drama series
Zach Cherry – Severance (Apple TV+)
Walton Goggins – The White Lotus (HBO Max)
Jason Isaacs – The White Lotus (HBO Max)
James Marsden – Paradise (Hulu)
Sam Rockwell -The White Lotus (HBO Max)
WINNER: Tramell Tillman – Severance (Apple TV+)
John Turturro – Severance (Apple TV+)
Outstanding comedy series
Abbott Elementary (ABC)
The Bear (Hulu)
Hacks (HBO Max)
Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Shrinking (Apple TV+)
WINNER: The Studio (Apple TV+)
What We Do in the Shadows (Hulu)
Outstanding supporting actress in a drama series
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Patricia Arquette – Severance (Apple TV+)
Carrie Coon – The White Lotus (HBO Max)
WINNER: Katherine LaNasa – The Pitt (HBO Max)
Julianne Nicholson – Paradise (Hulu)
Parker Posey – The White Lotus (HBO Max)
Natasha Rothwell – The White Lotus (HBO Max)
Aimee Lou Wood – The White Lotus (HBO Max)
Outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series
Ike Barinholtz – The Studio (Apple TV+)
Colman Domingo – The Four Seasons (Netflix)
Harrison Ford – Shrinking (Apple TV+)
WINNER: Jeff Hiller – Somebody Somewhere (HBO Max)
Ebon Moss-Bachrach – The Bear (Hulu)
Michael Urie – Shrinking (Apple TV+)
Bowen Yang – Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Outstanding supporting actor in a limited or anthology series or movie
Javier Bardem – Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story (Netflix)
Bill Camp – Presumed Innocent (Apple TV+)
WINNER: Owen Cooper – Adolescence (Netflix)
Rob Delaney – Dying For Sex (Hulu)
Peter Sarsgaard – Presumed Innocent (Apple TV+)
Ashley Walters – Adolescence (Netflix)
Outstanding supporting actress in a limited or anthology series or movie
WINNER: Erin Doherty – Adolescence (Netflix)
Ruth Negga – Presumed Innocent (Apple TV+)
Deirdre O’Connell – The Penguin (HBO Max)
Chloë Sevigny – Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story (Netflix)
Jenny Slate – Dying For Sex (Hulu)
Christine Tremarco – Adolescence (Netflix)
Outstanding reality competition programme
The Amazing Race (CBS)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (MTV)
Survivor (CBS)
Top Chef (Bravo)
WINNER: The Traitors (NBC)
Outstanding scripted variety series
WINNER: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO Max)
Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Outstanding talk series
The Daily Show (Comedy Central)
Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC)
WINNER: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS)
Outstanding writing for a drama series
WINNER: Dan Gilroy – Andor
Joe Sachs – The Pitt
R. Scott Gemmill – The Pitt
Dan Erickson – Severance
Will Smith – Slow Horses
Mike White – The White Lotus
Outstanding writing for a comedy series
Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary
Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky – Hacks
Nathan Fielder, Carrie Kemper, Adam Locke-Norton, Eric Notarnicola – The Rehearsal
Hannah Bos, Paul Thureen, Bridget Everett – Somebody Somewhere
Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory, Frida Perez – The Studio
Sam Johnson, Sarah Naftalis, Paul Simms – What We Do in the Shadows
Outstanding writing for a limited or anthology series or movie
WINNER: Jack Thorne, Stephen Graham – Adolescence
Charlie Brooker, Bisha K. Ali – Black Mirror
Kim Rosenstock, Elizabeth Meriwether – Dying for Sex
Lauren LeFranc – The Penguin
Joshua Zetumer – Say Nothing
Outstanding directing for a drama series
Janus Metz, Andor
Amanda Marsalis, The Pitt
John Wells, The Pitt
Jessica Lee Gagné, Severance
Ben Stiller, Severance
WINNER: Adam Randall, Slow Horses
Mike White, The White Lotus
Outstanding directing for a comedy series
Ayo Edebiri, The Bear
Lucia Aniello, Hacks
James Burrows, Mid-Century Modern
Nathan Fielder, The Rehearsal
WINNER: Seth Rogen, The Studio
Outstanding directing for a limited or anthology series or movie
WINNER: Philip Barantini, Adolescence
Shannon Murphy, Dying for Sex
Helen Shaver, The Penguin
Jennifer Getzinger, The Penguin
Nicole Kassell, Sirens
Lesli Linka Glatter, Zero Day
Outstanding writing for a variety of series
WINNER: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
The Daily Show
Saturday Night Live
Outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series
Liza Colón-Zayas – The Bear (Hulu)
WINNER: Hannah Einbinder – Hacks (HBO Max)
Kathryn Hahn – The Studio (Apple TV+)
Janelle James – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Catherine O’Hara – The Studio (Apple TV+)
Sheryl Lee Ralph – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Jessica Williams – Shrinking (Apple TV+)
AFP
