No Emmy Love for Squid Game in 2025, But Adolescence dominates nominations

As expected, Emmy voters showered praise on the comedy "Big Four" — “Hacks,” “The Bear,” “Abbott Elementary,” and “Only Murders in the Building.” Meanwhile, many drama contenders likely breathed a sigh of relief with the Emmy powerhouse “Shogun” taking a breather between seasons.

While Emmy voters tend to stick to familiar favorites, this year brought some welcome surprises. Notably, Kathy Bates of Matlock made history as the oldest performer ever nominated in the lead drama actress category at 77. Plus, “Severance,” which last year only scored wins for its dramatic score and title design, is in stronger contention for its second season.

Here are some other key highlights, snubs, and surprises from the latest Emmy nominations:

The growing love for ‘Shrinking’

“Shrinking,” the Apple TV+ comedy about a group of funny, complicated therapists, didn’t get much Emmy attention last year during its debut season, with only two nominations for stars Jason Segel, a co-creator, and Jessica Williams. This time, “Shrinking,” well, expanded — with seven nods, including best comedy, and nods for Segel, Williams, Michael Urie and Harrison Ford’s first Emmy nomination.

Fallout from an act of violence

“Adolescence,” the Netflix four-part series that traces the emotional fallout after a U.K. teen stabbing, became a sensation, a sort of 2025 version of “Baby Reindeer,” and has earned a boatload of Emmy nominations, with 13. Owen Cooper, who plays the young attacker, became the youngest nominee in the history of his category — best supporting actor in a limited/anthology series or TV movie. The series was co-created and co-written by Stephen Graham, who also stars as the accused attacker’s father and earned a nomination for his work. “Adolescence” reached No. 2 in Netflix’s Top 10 most popular English-language series.

Late night door is locked

“The Daily Show,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” filled up the outstanding talk series category, dashing hopes that newcomers might crash the party. Like John Mulaney’s “Everybody’s Live With John Mulaney” on Netflix, which features a quirky mix of guests, the host doing odd things like fighting three 14-year-old-boys and an episode when Mulaney was completely in a blindfold. There’s also the spicy wing YouTube interview series “Hot Ones,” hosted by Sean Evans, which has attracted A-list talent and often pulls in an audience higher than the established network late-night boys.

Green light, now red-light

The first season of “Squid Game” became an international phenomenon after its release in 2021 and was embraced by the Television Academy the next year, racking up 14 Emmy nominations and winning six, including best actor for Lee Jung-jae. Three years later, the second season continued to captivate audiences, logging over 192 million views on Netflix. But not a single Emmy nomination went to its cutthroat look at life.

‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ says goodbye, quietly

After six harrowing, powerful seasons, Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” ended its exploration of an alternative America taken over by a totalitarian theocracy with a meek showing. The dystopian drama had garnered 76 nominations and 15 wins over its lifetime going into Tuesday’s announcement — including a historic outstanding drama series win in its first season, the first ever for a streaming platform. But the series got a sole nomination Tuesday, for guest actress. It’s a hard way to say goodbye to a series that was ranked as the 25th and 38th best TV series of the 21st century by The Guardian and BBC, respectively

TV voters love a good Hollywood satire

“The Studio” received 23 Emmy nominations — the most ever for a comedy series in its first season. Seth Rogen’s critically acclaimed Apple TV+ series is about a Hollywood head struggling to balance his love of cinema with the mercenary demands of the market. Rogen got four individual nominations, including lead actor, writing and directing. The show mocks Hollywood’s addiction to franchises and the explosive issue of diverse casting, with famous actors and filmmakers happily playing heightened versions of themselves. Five of the six guest actor nods went to the show, including to Bryan Cranston, Dave Franco, Ron Howard, Anthony Mackie and Martin Scorsese.

Coldness for ‘The Four Seasons’

If Netflix thought combining Tina Fey and Steve Carell — two of the most Emmy-nominated comedic actors of the last 20 years — would lead to Emmy triumph, it thought wrong. Neither actor got a nod and the series only got one, for supporting actor Colman Domingo. The eight-episode relationship comedy is about three couples who are friends and meet up on four seasonal vacations throughout the year. Fey (45 career Emmy noms and nine wins as an actor, writer and producer) and Carell (10 nominations) will have to wait for another TV season.

‘Slow Horses’ gathers speed

The momentum seems to have continued for Apple TV+’s “Slow Horses,” a critical darling that gained traction in the U.S. only last year, in the fourth season. That’s when the show about lovable loser spies was added for the first time in the best drama series category. (So far, its only win is for writing.) This season, it earned five nods, including best drama, directing, casting, writing and for Gary Oldman, who leads the underdogs.

Gaga for Goggin

Walton Goggins is having quite a moment, earning back-to-back Emmy nominations. Last year it was for playing a ghoul on “Fallout” and this year it is for his “White Lotus” portrayal of the troubled Rick Hatchett. The Alabama-born, Georgia-raised actor has been around for over three decades, with memorable turns in blockbusters like “Django Unchained” and “Lincoln,” playing a spray-tanned, silver-streaked televangelist in “The Righteous Gemstones” and a hosting stint on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” “Thank You God for All This Goggins,” said a headline in Vulture.

Kristen Bell has been a TV fixture for years — think “Veronica Mars,” “The Good Place” or “Gossip Girl” — but has never gotten an Emmy nod — until now. In the Netflix romantic comedy series “Nobody Wants This,” Bell plays an agnostic sex and dating podcaster who finds herself romantically drawn to a rabbi played by Adam Brody, who also earned his first nod. Their on-screen chemistry and easy bantering has won over TV audiences and now Emmy voters.

“The Pitt,” a throwback medical drama that’s like a mashup of “ER” and “24,” has been a ratings hit — among the top three most-watched HBO Max titles ever — and now has 13 Emmy nods. “The Pitt” throws us into the chaos of the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center and takes viewers hour-by-hour through a single shift overseen by Noah Wyle’s Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch. Wyle, who is also a producer and writer, earned his first Emmy nod in 26 years, since back when he was on “ER.”