As the 2025 Emmys approach, the competition heats up, particularly in the drama category. This article delves into the historical Emmy data that highlights why Severance stands out as the frontrunner for Best Drama Series.
The Key Historical Emmy Data That Shows Why Severance is Favored to Win Best Drama Series
Do shows with the most nominations have a strategic edge at the Emmys, or is it nothing more than bragging rights?
An analysis of the past 10 years’ worth of Emmy ceremonies reveals vastly different results for dramas and comedies. While the drama with the most nominations has won Best Drama Series nine out of ten times, the comedy with the leading number of bids has only claimed Best Comedy Series four out of ten years.
What do these stats mean for the upcoming 2025 Emmys? Let’s dive in.
Best Drama Series
Severance leads all dramas (and all programs, for that matter) with a formidable 27 nominations. That’s just five away from the single-year record set by Game of Thrones in 2019. The other Best Drama Series contenders this year clock in at 23 nominations (The White Lotus), 16 nominations (The Last of Us), 14 nominations (Andor), 13 nominations (The Pitt), five nominations (Slow Horses), four nominations (Paradise), and two nominations (The Diplomat).
The Apple TV+ sci-fi workplace series boasts an impressive nine acting nominees across lead, supporting, and guest races, which is notable considering performers make up the biggest and most influential branch within the Television Academy. The 27 nominations also indicate widespread support among the crafts voters, so Severance has strength up and down the ballot. According to Gold Derby surveying, Severance has a 68 percent chance of winning Best Drama Series, compared to a 19 percent chance for The Pitt, the perceived runner-up. Could The Pitt be hurt by the fact that the acting branch only recognized three of its performers? Or that it didn’t have the below-the-line impact that the showier Severance had?
The last time the most-nominated drama failed to win the series race was in 2017. Westworld earned the most bids that year with 22, but The Handmaid’s Tale, which had 13 nominations, ended up walking away with the Best Drama Series title. Westworld only scored five below-the-line wins for hairstyling, makeup, sound mixing, visual effects, and interactive media. Meanwhile, The Handmaid’s Tale claimed eight prizes for series, lead actress (Elisabeth Moss), supporting actress (Ann Dowd), guest actress (Alexis Bledel), directing, writing, cinematography, and production design.
In the past 10 years, the following nine Best Drama Series champions went into their ceremonies with the most drama nominations:
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- Shōgun (25 noms) in 2024
- Succession (27 noms) in 2023
- Succession (25 noms) in 2022
- The Crown (24 noms) in 2021 — tied with The Mandalorian
- Succession (18 noms) in 2020 — tied with Ozark
- Game of Thrones (32 noms) in 2019
- Game of Thrones (22 noms) in 2018
- Game of Thrones (23 noms) in 2016
- Game of Thrones (24 noms) in 2015
Best Comedy Series
For comedies, The Studio is the one to beat this year as it received a record 23 nominations, the most ever for a first-year comedy. The pivotal acting branch was clearly wowed by the Apple TV+ show, which depicts the wild shenanigans that occur behind the scenes at a Hollywood movie studio, because 10 performers were individually recognized.
The other Best Comedy Series contenders received 14 noms (Hacks), 13 noms (The Bear), seven noms (Shrinking and Only Murders in the Building), six noms (Abbott Elementary and What We Do in the Shadows), and three noms (Nobody Wants This). Gold Derby believes The Studio has a 72 percent chance of winning, while Hacks is in the second place position at 14 percent.
Funnily enough, Hacks was in a similar position last year, when it was the second most-nominated comedy behind The Bear, which earned 23 bids. And while most awards pundits predicted The Bear would prevail for Best Comedy Series, it was Hacks that had the last laugh.
Unlike the drama categories, there are only four examples over the past 10 years where the comedy with the most nominations ended up winning Best Comedy Series. They were:
- Ted Lasso (20 noms) in 2022
- Ted Lasso (20 noms) in 2021
- Veep (17 noms) in 2017
- Veep (16 noms) in 2016
In the other six years, the nominations leaders for comedy were The Bear (lost to Hacks) in 2024, Ted Lasso (lost to The Bear) in 2023, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (lost to Schitt’s Creek) in 2020, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (lost to Fleabag) in 2019, Atlanta (lost to The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) in 2018, and Transparent (lost to Veep) in 2015.
Source: www.goldderby.com
