Emmy Noms Analysis: Diversity in Acting Nominees Down 39% While ‘The Pitt’ Cements Frontrunner Status and ‘Widow’s Bay’ Emerges as Dark Horse

The nominations for the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards arrived Wednesday morning, spreading the wealth across 117 categories and 610 nominations. But beneath the impressive numbers was a clear story: HBO Max reaffirmed its status as television’s dominant awards force, Apple TV completed its ascent into the industry’s top tier, and several presumed contenders discovered just how unforgiving Emmy morning can be.

HBO Max led all companies with 122 nominations, followed by Netflix with 111. Apple TV enjoyed its strongest showing yet with a company-record 87 nominations, cementing its place as one of television’s dominant awards players.

Standing atop the field was the sophomore season of medical drama “The Pitt,” which led all programs with 25 nominations. Thirteen of those came in acting categories (thanks to two self-submissions), leaving the series just one shy of the 14 acting nominations “Succession” earned in 2022, the current Emmy record. It’s an extraordinary endorsement of the show’s sprawling ensemble, particularly in an era when drama races have become increasingly crowded with prestige newcomers and returning favorites.

Its HBO Max stablemate “Hacks” also made history, setting a comedy series record with 24 nominations for its fifth and final season. The achievement underscores the Television Academy’s continued embrace of auteur-driven comedy, extending a remarkable three-year streak in which the nomination record has been broken annually, with “The Bear” and then “The Studio” each resetting the bar.

For star Noah Wyle, “The Pitt” completed an Emmy trifecta, earning nominations for acting, directing and producing — a testament to his role as both the face and creative backbone of the breakout drama.

Apple’s breakout newcomer “Pluribus” delivered 18 nominations, powered by what many consider the strongest work of Rhea Seehorn’s career. Combined with continued support for “Slow Horses,” a major breakthrough for “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” and a surprise drama series nomination for “Your Friends and Neighbors,” Apple demonstrated remarkable depth across both drama and comedy.
Just a few years ago, the platform was largely defined by “Ted Lasso” and “Severance.” It now boasts one of the deepest awards benches in television.

Of course, every nomination morning produces its share of surprises and casualties.

Netflix’s “Stranger Things” was shut out of every major race for its final season, despite earning several craft nominations. It marks the first time the series failed to receive an outstanding drama series nomination after being recognized in every previous season, an unexpectedly quiet farewell for one of Netflix’s defining franchises.

Perhaps the morning’s biggest statistical oddity belonged to Apple’s “Your Friends and Neighbors.” The Jon Hamm-led drama earned exactly one nomination — outstanding drama series — and nothing else. Every branch of the Television Academy collectively deemed it one of the year’s eight best dramas. Yet no individual performer, writer, director or craft discipline earned enough support to join it. By Variety’s count, it appears to be the first series ever to achieve that unusual distinction.

Comedy, meanwhile, continues to revolve around Jean Smart.

Should Smart win again for “Hacks,” she would tie Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Cloris Leachman with eight acting Emmy wins, the most ever by a performer. “Hacks,” already an outstanding comedy series winner for its third season, is attempting to become just the second comedy to win the top prize in nonconsecutive years since “Everybody Loves Raymond,” which prevailed in 2003 and again for its final season in 2005. “Hacks” also dominated the guest comedy actress field, landing four of the six slots, including Laurie Metcalf and Kaitlin Olson.

FX’s “The Bear” endured one of the morning’s roughest showings. Aside from Ayo Edebiri in lead comedy actress, the series’ principal cast was shut out. Jamie Lee Curtis returned in guest comedy actress, but Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Jon Bernthal — whose perfect Emmy nomination streak for the series came to an end — all missed. For a show that dominated the Emmys over the past three years, the nominations suggest the Academy’s enthusiasm may finally be cooling as newer contenders capture voters’ attention. The series still has one more season to campaign for next year, with the fifth and final season already released.

We’re seeing an intriguing dynamic in the supporting comedy actress race.

Veteran actor Dale Dickey’s surprise bid for the late-breaking horror-comedy “Widow’s Bay” transformed the category — and potentially the entire race — into what could be the contest that determines the comedy season. Both “Widow’s Bay” and “Hacks” landed two supporting actress nominations: Dickey and Kate O’Flynn for “Widow’s Bay,” and Hannah Einbinder and Megan Stalter for “Hacks.”

Whichever show prevails could ultimately have the momentum to capture the outstanding comedy series title. Emmy voters have often telegraphed the eventual series winner by embracing ensemble performers (look at Katherina LaNasa’s win for “The Pitt” last year), making the supporting actress race one of the season’s most revealing. With Jean Smart and Matthew Rhys now looking like frontrunners in the lead comedy categories, this may be where the path to best comedy series is decided.

Marvel Studios also returned to the Primetime Emmys in a major way for the first time since the limited series “WandaVision.” Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s lead comedy actor nomination for “Wonder Man” gives Marvel its first major acting nomination in a comedy series and signals a broader embrace of the studio’s television ambitions beyond the limited series arena.

The morning also reinforced one of television’s defining trends: the rise of the multi-hyphenate.
Quinta Brunson again pulled off the rare triple, earning bids for acting, writing and producing ABC’s mockumentary “Abbott Elementary.” She is now tied for the most writing nominations ever received by a Black woman.

“Hacks” creators Paul W. Downs and Lucia Aniello each earned three nominations. Downs was recognized for acting, writing and producing, while Aniello received nominations for directing, writing and producing. Matthew Rhys landed lead actor bids in two separate program categories — for “Widow’s Bay” and “The Beast in Me” — while also earning a producing nomination for “Widow’s.”

Martin Short returned to the lead comedy actor lineup for “Only Murders in the Building,” which he also executive produces. Although co-stars Steve Martin and Selena Gomez were snubbed in acting, Gomez extended her record as the most-nominated Latina producer in Emmy history with five career producing nominations. Short also added a nomination for hosting “Match Game.”

“South Park” co-creator Trey Parker earned three nominations for animated program, original music and lyrics, and character voice-over performance.

Jason Bateman amassed four nominations across two projects, earning acting and directing nods for “Black Rabbit” and supporting actor and producing nods for “DTF St. Louis.” His co-star, David Harbour, is also a double nominee for “DTF St. Louis.”

Netflix’s “Beef” produced multiple nominees as well, with Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan and Charles Melton recognized both on-screen and as executive producers. Although Cailee Spaeny missed out on a supporting actress spot, she remains nominated as an executive producer.

Ryan Murphy’s “Love Story: John F. Kennedy and Carolyn Bessette” performed respectably but fell short of expectations. Only Sarah Pidgeon and Constance Zimmer broke into the acting races, while Paul Anthony Kelly, Alessandro Nivola, Naomi Watts and Grace Gummer were left off the ballot.

“All Her Fault” marked a milestone for Peacock, earning the platform its first nomination in a marquee scripted series category: outstanding limited series. The nomination also brought Sarah Snook her fourth career Emmy nod. At the same time, Dakota Fanning added another nomination to her executive producer recognition alongside sister Elle Fanning for “Margo’s Got Money Troubles.”

Interestingly, which some people may have missed, the directing nominees for limited or anthology series were four nominees, instead of five. The reason was a three-way tie for fifth place, and per TV Academy rules, they announced four nominees instead of seven.

Apple TV also accomplished something no other platform managed this year, placing six different series across the outstanding drama and comedy series fields. The last network to achieve this was HBO in 2022. By far, HBO Max received the most acting nominations of any network, garnering 37 nominations across nine series. It is the network’s best outing for acting nominees since 2022’s 43-nomination haul and the second-highest total ever. Apple earned 24 acting nominations across six shows, while Netflix landed 16 across eight programs.

In unscripted television, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” led all reality and competition programs with nine nominations. RuPaul extended his own Emmy records for both the most nominations and the longest consecutive streak in the reality host category.

In its final season, CBS’ “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” drew nine Emmy nominations, the biggest awards showing of Colbert’s 11-year tenure behind the desk. Before this year, the largest haul was three consecutive years of five nominations from 2020 to 2022.

In the outstanding short form comedy, drama or variety series category, Kareem Rahma’s viral YouTube hit “Subway Takes” — which conducts man-on-the-street interviews on New York City’s subway, with guests ranging from everyday commuters to Woody Harrelson and Jennifer Lopez — was recognized.
Unfortunately, not every creator cleared the bar. After years of growing popularity among audiences and critics alike, Dropout — the indie streamer formerly known as CollegeHumor — has yet to earn its first Emmy nomination.

Some of the snubs were just as notable and tell a different story.

Former winner Sheryl Lee Ralph missed for “Abbott Elementary,” raising the question of whether her absence could help co-star Janelle James finally win the prize. Constance Zimmer earned a nom for “Love Story,” while Grace Gummer missed the cut, a split Variety correctly forecast. However, a more surprising omission was Naomi Watts, who was left out in favor of Joy Sunday from “DTF St. Louis.”

NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” managed just one guest acting nomination, with Connor Storrie making the lineup, while former cast member Amy Poehler was left out. Apple TV’s “Shrinking” performed fairly well but failed to crack the writing and directing races yet again despite collecting five acting nominations.

Richard Gadd’s HBO Max miniseries “Half Man” came away nearly empty-handed after Gadd swept the Emmys for “Baby Reindeer” just two years ago. Jamie Bell’s omission was among the morning’s most conspicuous misses.

Hollywood television titan Taylor Sheridan’s Emmy drought also continued. Both “The Madison” and “Landman” were blanked in the major races, extending one of television’s more surprising disconnects. Despite producing some of the medium’s biggest hits and most-watched dramas, Sheridan’s expanding television empire continues to struggle for broad support from the Television Academy. Michelle Pfeiffer, however, remained in the Emmy conversation, earning a comedy acting nomination for “Margo’s Got Money Troubles.” This is her second career acting nomination after the TV movie “The Wizard of Lies” in 2019.

The Bad Bunny Super Bowl Halftime Show became the most-nominated halftime show in history with nine noms, which is matched by the 98th Oscars, which had a strong showing. Also, shoutout to the Golden Globes and PMC chairman Jay Penske, who picked up his first nom as an executive producer for the Nikki Glaser-hosted telecast, and to Glaser, who herself picked up three noms in total thanks to her stand-up special.

The morning also delivered several historic milestones for representation.

By Variety’s count, 17 performers of color were nominated in the lead and supporting acting races this year, down from 28 last year — a 39% decline. Emmy-nominated actors and hosts peaked in 2021, earning 49 nominations.

Four acting categories have no nominees of color: lead actress (limited), guest drama actress, guest comedy actor and guest comedy actress.

Sepideh Moafi became the first Middle Eastern and Iranian actress nominated for supporting drama actress for “The Pitt.” Salli Richardson-Whitfield became the first Black woman to receive two outstanding drama directing nominations in the same year — for “The Gilded Age” and “Task” — while also earning a producing nomination for outstanding drama series.

Afro-Latino Colman Domingo is a double nominee this year with “The Four Seasons” in supporting comedy actor and “Euphoria” in guest drama actor, making him the only performer of color to land two acting bids.

In guest drama actress, Tal Anderson earned a nomination for “The Pitt,” making her one of the first openly autistic performers ever nominated in an acting category.

Ultimately, this year’s nominations reflected a Television Academy that continues to evolve. Established Emmy powerhouses remain formidable, but newer platforms, emerging series and fresh creative voices are increasingly reshaping the awards landscape.

Final-round voting takes place Aug. 17-26 ahead of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards and Governors Gala on Sept. 5-6. The Primetime Emmy Awards will air Sept. 14 on NBC.