2025 Emmy's predictions

The 77th Primetime Emmy Awards will take place this Sunday, September 14, on CBS. Here are Madison Rush’s predictions on who will take home awards for this year’s best television.

Starting with Outstanding Drama Series, the frontrunner appears to be “Severance.” However, a strong second contender, and my personal pick, is “The Pitt.” Other heavyweights such as “Andor,” “The Last of Us,” and “The White Lotus” add to the competition, but I think “Severance” will ultimately win out.

If “The Pitt” does not secure Outstanding Drama, its leading man Noah Wyle should absolutely win Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. His work is stunning, and he truly brings the heart of the show to life.

For Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, Britt Lower deserves the win for her nuanced portrayal of Helly R in “Severance.” And continuing the show’s strong presence, Tramell Tilman is expected to take home Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

The most unpredictable drama category is Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, which could go in many directions. My prediction is Carrie Coon for “The White Lotus,” but I could also see Katherine LaNasa from “The Pitt” or Parker Posey, another “The White Lotus” nominee, taking it.

Moving onto the comedy categories, things get tricky as I see no clear frontrunners. Outstanding Comedy Series could go to “Hacks,” repeating its win from last year, or “The Bear,” reclaiming its victory from 2023.

A newcomer like “The Studio” could even sweep for recognizing the comedy legends that bring hilarious performances in the show. And of course, don’t count out “Abbott Elementary” and “Only Murders in the Building."

For Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, Seth Rogen (“The Studio”) is a very solid pick. For Lead Actress, I predict Jean Smart is expected to win again for “Hacks,” though strong performances from Edebiri, Bell, Aduba, and Brunson are all deserving of this nomination and make this category highly competitive.

Supporting comedy categories prove the most challenging, making me not envy Emmy voters. For Supporting Actor, the nominees include Harrison Ford, Ike Barinholtz, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Bowen Yang, Colman Domingo, Michael Urie, and Jeff Hiller.

My prediction is Ford for his performance in “Shrinking,” though personally I’d love to see Moss-Bachrach win for “The Bear.” For Supporting Actress, the likely victors are either Catherine O’Hara (“The Studio”) or Hannah Einbinder (“Hacks”).

I haven’t had the chance to watch any of the nominees in the Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series category, so I won’t be making predictions there.

A particularly fun race is Outstanding Reality Competition Program, as the nominees include “The Amazing Race,” “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” “Survivor,” “Top Chef,” and "The Traitors.”

As a fan of all these shows, it is a difficult decision, but my prediction would be “The Traitors” as it stands out amongst its competitors as a show that everyone was invested in this year.

Overall, the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards seems to be shaping up to be an exciting night of television, and it will be fun to see which shows and performances will be recognized. -Madison Rush

Madison Rush is a fourth-year majoring in public relations. To contact her, email mkr5957@psu.edu.