Emmys 2025: Five key takeaways from the biggest night in televison
The Emmy Awards took place in Los Angeles, California, on September 14th. As is tradition, the event caused the television industry to reflect on an eventful 12 months, while determining the winners and losers from the event.
This year, it was an awards show that definitively lauded its frontrunners while simultaneously making a slight embarrassment of some popular shows that it allowed to walk away empty-handed. However, 2025 was also a year that saw longstanding Emmy records broken.
That precedent began in earnest when the nominations were previously revealed, with nods appearing for unlikely actors including Martin Scorsese and Ron Howard, who swapped their roles behind the cameras to venture in front of it for Seth Rogen’s The Studio, and were nominated for ‘Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series’.
Although the two filmmakers were ultimately unsuccessful when the award was handed out at the Creative Arts Emmys last weekend, it was still a sign of good things to come for The Studio as it headed into the main ceremony. In the end, it managed to break an Emmy record for the most wins for a comedy series, taking home 13 prizes.
Elsewhere, there were also wins in terms of the diverse representation of the TV landscape, with 15-year-old actor Owen Cooper becoming the youngest person to ever score ‘Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series’ for his breakout role in the Netflix critical hit Adolescence.
Tramell Tillman also became the first Black actor to win the award for ‘Supporting Actor in a Drama Series’ for his role in Apple TV+’s Severance, which was one of the most decorated shows of the night as a whole. Stephen Colbert similarly fought against the odds and the cancellation of The Late Show to win the award for ‘Talk Series’.
Emmys 2025: Five key takeaways from the awards:
Owen Cooper becomes the youngest person to win ‘Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series’
Ahead of the Emmys taking place, it seemed Owen Cooper had a strong chance to win the award for ‘Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series’. While Cooper taking home the prize is no real shock, it is a testament to the power of his performance in the Netflix series Adolescence, released in March this year, making him a rising star at just 15 years old.
The previously unknown actor said the experience of winning the award was “surreal”, before adding: “When I started these drama classes a couple of years back, I didn’t expect to even be in the United States, never mind here.” Sending a message to other young people like him, Cooper noted: “I think tonight proves if you listen, and you focus and you step out your comfort zone, you can achieve anything in life. Who cares if you get embarrassed? Anything can be possible. I was nothing about three years ago, I’m here now.”
‘The Studio’ creates Emmys history with 13 wins
The Studio cemented its place in Emmys history with the Seth Rogen series winning 13 awards and turning a few heads in the process. This feat makes it the most decorated comedy show in the entire history of the Emmys.
Holding a satirical looking glass up to the state of the Hollywood landscape, it is perhaps alarming that the show is making light of an industry somewhat imploding around them. But it clearly struck a chord with the Emmys committee – as director and lead actor Rogen went up to collect his umpteenth award of the night, he admitted: “I’m legitimately embarrassed by how happy this makes me.”
Stephen Colbert wins despite ‘The Late Show’ being cancelled
When Stephen Colbert announced that his long-running US talk show The Late Show would be cancelled after the conclusion of its current series, there was uproar as it became one of the biggest entertainment stories of the year so far. It was a controversial move made all the more suspicious by Colbert’s outspoken criticism of Donald Trump, and his network, CBS’ parent company Paramount, needing the president’s approval to sign off on its merger with Skydance.
However, Colbert decided to throw caution to the wind ever since then, a stance only emboldened by his win for ‘Talk Series’ at the Emmys. When accepting his award, he joked on stage: “Is anybody hiring?”, and also claimed on the red carpet that he had given Harrison Ford his headshot to pass to Steven Spielberg.
Tramell Tillman becomes the first Black person to win ‘Supporting Actor in a Drama Series’
The Apple TV+ hit Severance was hotly tipped for Emmys success before the night began, and it did deliver on this front by winning two awards. The first went to Britt Lower for ‘Best Actress in a Drama Series’, while Tramell Tillman became the first Black person to ever win ‘Supporting Actor in a Drama Series’.
“I am full, I am humbled, I am honoured,” Tillman noted in his acceptance speech, as he beat out competition in the form of Walton Goggins and Jason Isaacs to take home the prize. For his role as the antagonist Seth Milchick in the science fiction drama series, Tillman was not only the first Black person, but also the first openly gay person, to win the Emmy for his category.
‘The White Lotus’ and ‘The Bear’ walk away empty-handed
Despite promising signs in the nominations, with ten nods including ‘Best Drama Series’ and ‘Directing for a Drama Series’ for Mike White, The White Lotus faced a disappointing night and ultimately walked away not taking home any of the prizes it had been tipped for.
However, the cast and crew of the show were not alone in the fact that they didn’t win any awards, as The Bear also joined them on the misery heap. Although the show had six nominations to its name, including ‘Best Comedy Series’ and ‘Lead Actor in a Comedy Series’ for Jeremy Allen White, it too left empty-handed despite the hype that surrounded it. This year, at least in the comedy realm, it was The Studio’s time to shine.
