'Shrinking,' 'Adolescence' Among Our Favorite 2025 Emmy Nominees

by Tyler Glover and Julian Spivey

The nominees for the 77th annual Primetime Emmy Awards were announced on Tuesday, July 15. The Word on Pop Culture's Tyler Glover and Julian Spivey each chose five of their favorite nominations.  

All of the Nominations for "Shrinking"
Apple TV+’s “Shrinking” is a show that has been recommended to me to check out for a while. With summer here and fewer extracurricular activities to take kids to, I finally decided to give it a chance. I fell utterly in love with this uplifting comedy about grief, loss, friendship, family, love, redemption and hope. There has not been a television show since NBC’s “Friends” that has had characters I would love to meet and hang out with in real life. The writers have done an incredible job of making a show full of complex, complicated, realistic and relatable characters. We, as viewers, are eager to accompany them on their journeys. For the first season of this show, the Emmys only nominated Jason Segel for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series and Jessica Williams for Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series. While it was exciting to see the show get some recognition, it deserved more. I was hoping the Emmys would give “Shrinking” more love for its second season and it did. Segel and Williams picked up repeat nominations, but the show also received nominations in Supporting Actor for both Harrison Ford and Michael Urie AND for Outstanding Comedy Series. My favorite nominations of the morning were the love for this outstanding show. I’m hoping the Emmys will now decide to reward the show with some Emmy gold. TG
​

Photo: AppleTV+

---

Adolescence for Outstanding Limited Series
One of the most stunning and shocking series on television this year was Netflix’s four-episode limited series, “Adolescence,” which told the story of a murder case of a teenager by a teenager and saw it through from the arrest, the investigation and the aftermath. Each of the four episodes of the series was told in one continuous take, making it one of the most harrowing shows on television in some time. “Adolescence” was nominated for 10 Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Limited Series, which it’s likely a shoo-in to win, and it saw five nominations for its excellent cast. JS

Photo: Netflix

---

Surprise Nominations for "Paradise"
For weeks, it was becoming more of a possibility that Emmy winner Sterling K. Brown could get a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series for Hulu’s “Paradise.” It seemed like the show would have to settle for that being its biggest nomination. It appeared to be on the bubble for an Outstanding Drama Series nomination and had a significant chance of missing. However, Emmy morning came, and “Paradise” was nominated for Drama Series and Lead Actor for Brown. What was even more surprising is that it picked up surprise nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series for James Marsden and Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series for Julianne Nicholson. I had just finished watching this show the evening before the nominations were revealed, and I thought it just got better as it went on. I wasn’t too shocked at Brown getting in (deservedly), but I am so glad that the series, Marsden and Nicholson got to join him. “Paradise” is a thrilling and suspenseful show that truly leaves you on the edge of your seats, and I cannot wait for season two. I am hoping now that “Paradise” can surprise even more by bringing home some Emmy gold. TG
​

Photo: Hulu

---

Noah Wyle for Outstanding Lead Actor for "The Pitt"
Noah Wyle isn’t a stranger to Emmy nominations, but he hasn’t been nominated this millennium, with all his prior nominations coming in the heyday of “ER” in the ‘90s. He came back to his sweet spot of medical dramas with HBO Max’s stunning “The Pitt” this year and his performance as a grieving, hard-working emergency room doctor having a tough and tragic day at the office was one of the most touching dramatic performances on television in recent years. Not only is he back to being an Emmy nominee, but he might also be the favorite to win Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.  JS
​

Photo: HBO Max

---

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR "tHE LAST OF US" - Stop Reading If You Haven't & Intend to See Season Two

Pedro Pascal for Outstanding Lead Actor in "The Last of Us"
I am a major fan of HBO’s “The Last of Us.” I thought the first season of the show was some of the most compelling television I have ever watched. I have watched shows like “Game of Thrones,” so I am accustomed to watching shows where characters who do not appear to be expendable meet their end right before our shocked eyes. While “The Last of Us” gives us the sense that no one is safe, you do have a sense of security that some people are safe. You could not be more wrong. At the end of episode two, the LEAD of the SHOW, Pedro Pascal’s Joel, meets an untimely end. I was devastated and heartbroken by this loss. Because of Emmy rules that state once you are nominated in Lead for a role, you cannot be dropped to Supporting or Guest Actor, the only spot Pascal could have been nominated for Joel in “The Last Of Us” was in Lead Actor. I was worried he could miss out on a nomination, and I was elated to know that the Academy still made a spot for him. Pascal’s performance as Joel is so brilliant. Joel is not a saint by any means of the word, but Pascal manages to make you love him so much that you feel he was justified in actions that are inexcusable. TG
​

Photo: HBO

---

Jean Smart & Hannah Einbinder in Outstanding Lead Actress and Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series for "Hacks"
There isn’t a more exciting duo than Jean Smart’s Deborah Vance and Hannah Einbinder’s Ava Daniels on television right now. The stars of “Hacks” have managed to garner nominations for every season of the show so far. (Smart has turned all of those into Emmy wins.) It would still have been a crime to miss an opportunity to give these two amazing and hilarious actresses recognition for their complex and hilarious performances. The writers of “Hacks” have a difficult job of trying to put these characters in situations that test their relationship but also keep them in each other’s orbit. They have done this to near perfection. That is probably why the show pulled off a surprise win for Outstanding Comedy Series last year. The biggest blunder the Emmys haven’t corrected so far is not giving Einbinder an Emmy. The show has won the Series award, Smart has won the Actress award, and now it's time for Einbinder to get her due. If they keep on denying her the Emmy for too much longer, we might start thinking that they are just “hacks.”  TG
​

Photo: HBO Max

---

Zach Cherry for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series for “Severance” 
Don’t get me wrong, I am very excited about all of the nominations for Apple TV+’s magnificent drama series, “Severance.” However, it had long been anticipated that it would be the leader in nominations. It was anticipated to get into Drama Series, Actor for Adam Scott, Actress for Britt Lower, Supporting Actor for Tramell Tillman and John Turturro, and for Patricia Arquette to get another nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress. One nomination that I felt deserved and needed to happen was for Zach Cherry to be nominated for his portrayal of Dylan G./Dylan George. Cherry’s performance is a little more subtle than the others but not less deserving. The scenes where Dylan G. gets to interact with his “outie’s” spouse, played by Emmy nominee Merritt Wever, are some of the most emotional moments of the series thus far. Cherry plays the nuances and complications of the moment to perfection. Cherry broke my heart this season by showing us his. It would have been a missed opportunity not to give Cherry a nomination, so I am so glad that the Academy made it a priority to not let Cherry get missed in all of the love they showed for “Severance” today. TG
​

Photo: AppleTV+

---

Bridget Everett for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series for "Somebody Somewhere"  
One of my hopes for the 2025 Primetime Emmy Awards was that Bridget Everett would finally get the love she deserves for her role as Samantha in HBO’s “Somebody Somewhere.” I’d hoped that love would come with a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. It didn’t. But fortunately, she was nominated along with Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen for writing the fantastic series finale of the show, titled “AGG.” It’s wonderful to see this hilarious little slice-of-life comedy get some love, even if it wasn’t enough and came late in the run. JS
​

Photo: HBO

---

"SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night" for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series  
“Saturday Night Live” is one of my biggest pop culture fascinations, and I was really pumped up for the milestone 50th anniversary season. While the season of new, live episodes as a whole was hit and miss like most ‘SNL’ seasons are, I was blown away by the documentary specials produced by the show, most importantly Peacock’s “SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night,” a four-episode docuseries highlighting the writing process of the show, the audition process of the show, the behind the scenes of the Cowbell Sketch (perhaps the greatest sketch in the show’s history) and a look into the show’s strange 11th season when the show was hanging on by a thread. My only criticism is that I wish there had been more than four episodes of this series. I hope this one comes out on top. JS

Amir “Questlove” Thompson & Oz Rodriguez for Outstanding Directing for a Documentary or Non-Fiction Program 
From the moment I saw the extraordinary “Ladies and Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music,” directed by Amir “Questlove” Thompson and Oz Rodriguez – really the first 10-minute or so opening montage that’s everything a music lover could want – I wanted the documentary special to be nominated for an Emmy. I was bummed it didn’t crack the Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special, but at least Thompson and Rodriguez garnered a nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program. In hindsight, I wonder if they even submitted for the big prize (they likely did) with Thompson’s other high-profile work of the year, “Sly Live! (Aka The Burden of Black Genius)” for Hulu receiving a nomination in the Documentary or Nonfiction Special field. JS