Snubs and surprises as full list of Emmy nominations revealed

Australian actress Sarah Snook is among the nominees at this year’s Emmy Awards, for her performance in the drama series All Her Fault. Snook joins a who’s who of A-list names in contention for American television’s most prestigious awards, including Gary Oldman (Slow Horses), Noah Wyle (The Pitt), Keri Russell (The Diplomat), Jean Smart (Hacks) and Sally Field (Remarkably Bright Creatures).

Among the major television program nominees are some obvious major contenders: the medical drama The Pitt, the comedies The Bear and Hacks, and the limited series Beef and All Her Fault. But there were surprise additions too: the buzzy political thriller The Diplomat, the edgy comedy Margo’s Got Money Troubles and Apple TV’s hot new horror thriller, Widow’s Bay.

Despite a year of bumpy headlines and cancellation following a troubled relationship with its parent studio, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert scored nine nominations, its biggest Emmy showing ever. It was nominated in categories including variety series, writing for a variety series, directing for a variety series, lighting design and music direction.

One notable absence was HBO’s breakout hit of 2025, the gay ice hockey romantic drama Heated Rivalry. But there is no subterfuge in play; the series is ineligible for the American Emmy Awards because of submission guidelines which cover foreign co-productions. For eligibility, a series must be connected with a US production partner financially and creatively before production begins, with the explicit intent to broadcast the series on US TV.

But Heated Rivalry, which was an original series produced for the Canadian streaming service Crave, has not done too badly on its own. The series has set a record at the Canadian Screen Awards with 16 wins, including drama series, and a Peabody Award, a GLAAD Media Award and multiple nominations at the US television critics’ TCA Awards. It is also eligible for the International Emmys in November.

Despite that, Heated Rivalry star Connor Storrie was nominated for an Emmy, in the guest actor in a comedy category, for his gig hosting Saturday Night Live. Storrie hosted SNL in February of this year.

Among a number of rule changes this year, the nominees in the variety series category – that is, The Daily Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and Saturday Night Live – are not technically in competition with each other; voters can select multiple nominees, which means more than one program may win the category.

Another notable rule change was a shift from “television movie” to just “movie” in the limited or anthology series and movie categories; the change is purely aesthetic but doubtless is designed to move away from the slightly second-tier vibe associated with the term “made for television movie”.

The winners are tabulated from voted by almost 30,000 members of the Television Academy; all active members are generally eligible to vote in genre categories such as drama and comedy; specific categories are voted by their peer group, such as actors, directors, writers, cinematographers, and so on. This year 555 programs were submitted for Emmy consideration, including 110 dramas and 71 comedies.

Eligible shows need to have been broadcast in the US between June 1, 2025 and May 31, 2026. That window of eligibility means that some programs, such as HBO’s third season of House of the Dragon, were rendered ineligible for this year’s awards. The third season launched on HBO and, in Australia, HBO Max, in June, a month after this year’s eligibility window closed.

The 78th annual Emmy Awards will be hosted by Law & Order: SVU star and executive producer Mariska Hargitay. The 62-year-old Los Angeles-born actress, who is the daughter of screen legend Jayne Mansfield, will be the first female host of the Emmys telecast since 2011 when actress Jane Lynch hosted.

The event will be held on Monday, September 14 at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles; it will air on Australian television on Tuesday, September 15. The telecast has been shifted forward by one day from its traditional US Sunday night timeslot because of a clash with an NFL football fixture.

List of nominees:

Drama series: The Diplomat (Netflix), The Gilded Age (HBO Max), A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (HBO Max), Paradise (Hulu), The Pitt (HBO Max), Pluribus (Apple TV), Slow Horses (Apple TV), Your Friends and Neighbours (Apple TV)

Lead actor in a drama series: Sterling K. Brown (Paradise), Gary Oldman (Slow Horses), Mark Ruffalo (Task), Rufus Sewell (The Diplomat), Noah Wyle (The Pitt)

Lead actress in a drama series: Carrie Coon (The Gilded Age), Chase Infiniti (The Testaments), Keri Russell (The Diplomat), Rhea Seehorn (Pluribus), Zendaya (Euphoria)

Comedy series: Abbott Elementary (ABC), The Bear (FX), Hacks (HBO Max), Margo’s Got Money Troubles (Apple TV), Nobody Wants This (Netflix), Only Murders in the Building (Hulu), Shrinking (Apple TV), Widow’s Bay (Apple TV)

Lead actor in a comedy series: Yahya Abdul Mateen II (Wonder Man), Steve Carell (Rooster), Matthew Rhys (Widow’s Bay), Jason Segel (Shrinking), Martin Short (Only Murders in the Building)

Lead actress in a comedy series: Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary), Ayo Edebiri (The Bear), Elle Fanning (Margo’s Got Money Troubles), Lisa Kudrow (The Comeback), Jean Smart (Hacks)

Limited or anthology series: All Her Fault (Peacock), The Beast In Me (Netflix), Beef (Netflix), DTF St. Louis (HBO Max), John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette (FX)

Lead actor in a limited or anthology series, or movie: Riz Ahmed (Bait), Jason Bateman (Black Rabbit), Charlie Hunnam (Monster: The Ed Gein Story), Oscar Isaac (Beef), Matthew Rhys (The Beast in Me)

Lead actress in a limited or anthology series, or movie: Claire Danes (The Beast in Me), Sally Field (Remarkably Bright Creatures), Carey Mulligan (Beef), Sarah Pidgeon (Love Story), Sarah Snook (All Her Fault)

Variety series: The Daily Show (Comedy Central), Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC), Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (HBO Max), The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (CBS), Saturday Night Live (NBC)

Reality Competition program: Dancing With the Stars (ABC), RuPaul’s Drag Race (MTV), Survivor (CBS), Top Chef (Bravo), The Traitors (Peacock)

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