When Older Shows Become Newly-Minted Emmy Nominees (2025)

Many awards prognosticators expected the drama categories at this year’s Emmys to feature an odd assortment of nominated titles. Consider it a perfect storm of sorts: With the ending of HBO’s Succession (which took the top prize for three of its four seasons) and AMC’s Better Call Saul (which garnered a staggering 53 nominations across its six seasons without a single win) — plus the fact that last year’s strikes forced shows like last year’s drama nominees The Last of Us, Stranger Things, The White Lotus and Yellowjackets to delay production — this year’s contenders for best drama series include only one previous nominee in The Crown, which won the prize in 2021.

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While the royal drama from Netflix might be the reigning champ, it’s FX’s Shogun that stands as the strongest frontrunner — a claim it couldn’t make until the network renewed the show, forcing a savvy move from the limited series category to drama. But even if the top prize for drama is a foregone conclusion, the category did manage to offer some surprises beyond its freshmen entries in Netflix’s 3 Body Problem and Prime Video’s Fallout and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Also entering the race for the first time are HBO’s The Gilded Age and Apple TV+’s The Morning Show and Slow Horses — and all three shows are nominated for the first time despite having aired multiple seasons.

There are few strategic rules when it comes to Emmy campaigning, but a buzzy new series certainly has its advantages, particularly when it can gather consecutive Emmy nominations (and wins) for multiple seasons. But just as shows accumulate audiences over many seasons, they can also manage to grab the attention of Academy voters during less competitive years — and while rare, it’s happened at least twice in the past decade: FX’s The Americans earned its first of two best drama nods for its fourth season in 2016, while Prime Video’s The Boys landed one for its second season in 2021.

Even The Gilded Age star Carrie Coon, who earned a best actress nom along with Christine Baranski’s supporting actress nom, had a theory behind the success of the HBO drama’s second season compared to its first. “One of the things that happens with a second season is that you’ve dispatched with all the exposition and so you can jump right into the story,” Coon told THR the day of the noms announcement.

While The Gilded Age is HBO’s lone contender for best drama (somewhat surprising considering the network’s typical Emmys domination), the cabler’s absence was good news for Apple TV+ mainstay The Morning Show. The star-studded drama was one of the streamer’s earliest hits, premiering in tandem with Apple’s launch in November 2019, and many of those stars — including Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell, Billy Crudup, Mark Duplass and Martin Short — earned Emmy noms for their season one performances in 2020 (Crudup won best supporting actor). While Crudup, Marcia Gay Harden and Reese Witherspoon scored nods in 2022 for the show’s second season, The Morning Show itself again was passed over for a drama series nomination. Not only did the show clinch it this year, it also boasts a whopping 10 acting noms, including repeat nods for Aniston, Crudup, Duplass, Harden and Witherspoon, and fresh mentions for supporting players Nicole Beharie, Jon Hamm, Greta Lee, Karen Pittman and Holland Taylor. (Executive producer Mimi Leder also scored her second directing nom for the series.)

Apple TV+’s Slow Horses, nominated for its third season, is more under the radar — and thus a complete Emmys surprise as far as awards experts go, who until this year didn’t have the Gary Oldman-fronted spy thriller on their lists of predictions. (One can only imagine what other wild card could have filled the slot had Shogun not been renewed.) Yet the pedigree of the Oscar-winning Oldman may have helped push this word-of-mouth success into voters’ awareness — not only did Oldman score an Emmy nomination, so did supporting actor Jack Lowden, guest star Jonathan Pryce, director Saul Metzstein and writer Will Smith (Veep).

This phenomenon is hardly limited to the drama categories this year: The third and final season of FX’s Reservation Dogs, a critical darling championed by the likes of THR‘s own Daniel Fienberg, finally broke through with the Academy to earn its first best comedy series nomination. Perhaps more unexpected was the best actor nomination for D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, making the 22-year-old the youngest nominee in his category (and potentially the youngest winner, a record currently held by Michael J. Fox for his 1986 win for Family Ties at 25). And while FX’s What We Do in the Shadows is not a surprise nominee — it’s the show’s third nom for best comedy series — it did score a best actor nomination for Matt Berry, the first acting nod in its five-season run.

When asked why his ensemble has been until now ignored by the Academy, What We Do in the Shadows showrunner Paul Simms gave THR an Occam’s razor kind of hypothesis: “I don’t know. Maybe there’s just too many shows?” It’s as good a theory as any. Even as we slowly move out of the Peak TV era, there are still hundreds of narrative television series on a seemingly endless list of broadcast networks, cable channels and upstart streaming services. That’s thousands and thousands of hours of television, more than any Academy voter (or, I must say, any awards expert) can possibly consume.

That’s potentially one public service that the Emmys can provide: a shortlist of the best shows on television that viewers can accept, within reason, as the best of the best on TV. But even the Academy doesn’t always get it right from the very beginning — just look at Pop TV’s Schitt’s Creek, which didn’t earn a single Emmy nomination until its fifth season in 2019 (it would lose to another show that earned its first nom for its second and final season: Prime Video’s Fleabag). A year later, the show won best comedy series and swept the acting categories, cementing Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Daniel Levy and Annie Murphy as one of television’s great ensembles — and proving that sometimes Emmy domination is all about the long game.

This story first appeared in an August stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.

When Older Shows Become Newly-Minted Emmy Nominees (2025)

FAQs

What show has 23 Emmy nominations? ›

With 23 nominations, “The Bear” broke the record for most nods for a comedy series, beating out “30 Rock,” which had held the record for 15 years with 22 nominations. “Shogun” has 25 nominations, the most in this year's drama category. New shows including “Palm Royale” and “Mr. & Mrs.

Which TV show landed the most Emmy nominations with 25? ›

“Shogun,” the FX hit about 17th-century feudal Japan, dominated a drama category that is filled with newbies. “Shogun” landed 25 nominations, the most of any show, which represents something of a moment.

What show has been nominated for most Emmys in one year? ›

The Bear's Business Is Booming

The beloved FX series broke the record for most nominations for a comedy series, clocking 23 nods for the 2024 ceremony. The record was previously held by 30 Rock with 22 nominations in 2009. Actress Liza Colón-Zayas earned her first ever Emmy nomination for her performance in the show.

What show got 25 Emmy nominations? ›

"Shōgun," which aired the 10 episodes of its first season between February and April 2024, received 25 Emmy nominations at the 76th Emmy Awards.

What is the most nominated show for the Emmys in 2024? ›

LOS ANGELES -- There's still time to get caught up on the 2024 Emmy Award nominees before the winners are revealed on Sept. 15 on ABC. "Shōgun" is the most-nominated series this year, scoring 25 total nominations. Following close behind are "The Bear" with 23 nods and "Only Murders in the Building" with 21 nominations.

What is the most decorated TV show? ›

1. 'Saturday Night Live': 84 wins. “Saturday Night Live” has been on air since 1975. In 49 seasons, the sketch comedy series has earned 331 nominations, including three new nominations for the 76th Emmy Awards.

What show has 20 Emmy wins? ›

"NYPD Blue" racked up 20 Emmy wins for writing, directing, casting, editing, and art direction, taking home the trophy for Outstanding Drama Series in 1995.

What show has 18 Emmy nominations? ›

The Crown secured the most Emmy nominations of any departing series of the last year, canceled or otherwise, leading the pack as an Outstanding Drama nominee with a total of 18 nominations for its final season, which debuted in two parts in November and December of last year.

What actress has won the most Emmys? ›

Most successful Emmys actresses 2023

Joint top of the ranking of female performers with the most Emmy wins ever are Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus with eight wins each as of August 2023.

Which sitcom has won the most Emmys? ›

7 Hit TV Shows With the Most Emmys: From Comedies to Dramas, These Are the Biggest Television Winners in History
  • Cheers — 28 Emmy Awards. ...
  • RuPaul's Drag Race — 29 Emmy Awards. ...
  • The Mary Tyler Moore Show — 29 Emmy Awards. ...
  • The Simpsons — 37 Emmy Awards. ...
  • Frasier — 37 Emmy Awards. ...
  • Game of Thrones — 59 Emmy Awards.
Aug 28, 2024

What TV show nominations are coming out in 2024? ›

Who are the 2024 Emmy nominees? "Shōgun" on FX leads the group with 25 nominations, followed closely by FX's restaurant dramedy "The Bear" with 23 nods. Next up is 21 nominations for Hulu's "Only Murders in the Building." HBO's "True Detective: Night Country" rounds out the list with 19 nominations.

What show recently received a record 23 Emmy nominations? ›

The Bear” notched a record-breaking 23 Emmy nominations on Wednesday, setting a new high for the most nominations in a single year for a comedy series. The record previously belonged to “30 Rock,” which earned 22 nominations 15 years ago.

Which TV show is leading the Emmy nominations? ›

'Shogun' leads the nominations, which were unveiled Wednesday morning. Other top nominees include 'The Bear,' 'Only Murders in the Building,' 'True Detective: Night Country' and 'The Crown.'

What has the most Emmy nominations this year? ›

NBC's broadcast “Saturday Night Live” nearly doubled its nominations since last year at 17, up from 9. With competition fierce among the streaming industry's major players, Netflix dominated the lineup this year, securing 107 nominations in total.

What Amazon shows are nominated for Emmys in 2024? ›

Amazon scores 62 Emmy nominations: Prime Video's 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' and 'Fallout' among the top nominees. Amazon MGM Studios' 'Red, White & Royal Blue,' 'Invincible,' 'Fargo,' 'Survivor,' 'Shark Tank,' 'The Voice,' and 'Vanderpump Rules' were also nominated.

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