The Awards Magnet team has reconvened to analyze all of the comedy categories at the 2025 Emmys.
Senior editors Marcus James Dixon, Denton Davidson, and Mia McNiece agree that The Studio is the frontrunner in the Best Comedy Series race. After all, the Apple TV+ program is about Hollywood, and it set a new record for a first-year comedy with 23 total nominations, including four alone for Seth Rogen — series, lead actor, director, and writer — and he could potentially sweep all four.
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Performers from The Studio over-performed in the nominations phase, with a whopping 10 of them receiving mentions. That number includes five guest stars who all portray themselves, plus Bryan Cranston, whose fictional performance steals the show. All of that bodes well for The Studio’s chances up in the Best Comedy Series contest, considering that the Acting Branch is the largest within the Television Academy.
Comparatively, Hacks, the reigning Best Comedy Series champion, received 14 Emmy nominations, but only five of those were for performers. Supporting players Paul W. Downs and Megan Stalter were strangely snubbed, though Downs is still nominated as a writer and producer with his co-showrunners Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky.
The editors believe that lead actress Jean Smart, supporting player Hannah Einbinder, and guest star Julianne Nicholson could all walk away with Emmys this year for the HBO Max program. However, Einbinder may have the trickiest road considering she’s up against true powerhouses like Liza Colón-Zayas (The Bear), Catherine O’Hara (The Studio), and Janelle James (Abbott Elementary).
See all of the 2025 Emmy episode submissions in our TV forum.
The team also discusses the chances for the other half-dozen Best Comedy Series contenders: The Bear (13 nominations), Shrinking (seven), Only Murders in the Building (seven), Abbott Elementary (six), What We Do in the Shadows (six), and Nobody Wants This (three).
Plus, for our fellow awards nerds, the trio dives deep into the recent history of Best Comedy Casting and how it’s lined up with Best Comedy Series in eight of the past 10 years. That could prove to be the ultimate bellwether category at the Creative Arts ceremonies, which take place one week before the Primetime Emmys air on Sept. 14.
Tune in to the latest episode of Awards Magnet, and don’t forget to email your questions, comments, and video memos to awardsmagnet@goldderby.com for future mailbag episodes.
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