Can anyone beat “The Traitors”?
This year? Probably not. The Peacock breakout made the top 10 of Nielsen’s streaming programs for the first two months of 2025. That’s an incredible accomplishment. Millions of people who have never watched a “Housewives” franchise, “Survivor,” “The Amazing Race,” “The Bachelorette,” “Big Brother,” or “RuPaul’s Drag Race” became addicted to “The Traitors” and this All-Stars of Reality Competition programs already took the top Emmy last year. Oh, and Alan Cumming won the Outstanding Host Emmy trophy breaking RuPaul Charles’ record-breaking eight-year run. But the season did peak early. And the last third sort of floundered. Will Television Academy members care? Or will they just remember the highlights? Cumming was already campaigning at the PGAs last month so you know they are going for it.
Will Prime Video even try to campaign “Beasts Games”?
The other big reality streaming hit this quarter wasn’t Netflix’s “Love is Blind” (which, yes, did earn massive viewership), but Prime Video’s pricey “Beast Games” from social media influencer and candy bar tycoon Jimmy Donaldson, aka MrBeast. The series was full of controversy over its production decisions (and dangers), but, again, it was a hit. Prime Video had surprise success with surprise players in this category such as “Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls” which shocked when it won in 2022 (it still hasn’t returned for season two, but that’s another story). If anyone could sneak “Beasts Games” into the field, it’s Prime Video. Do they even want to go there?
Is your TV Movie category winner…”Bridget Jones Mad About The Boy”?
So, a movie that has earned $114 million overseas is being submitted for TV Movie category consideration. And, considering what a mess this category is every year, it will likely get nominated. And then in January, it will earn a Best British Film nomination at the 2026 BAFTA Film Awards. Make it make sense. Make. It. Make. Sense.
Will “Presumed Innocent,” “Disclaimer,” “Industry,” “Lord of the Rings” and “House of the Dragon” be forgotten?
Peak TV is over, but it feels like there are more big series from the early Emmy consideration window that are in danger of being forgotten by the time nomination voting begins in June. The limited series “Presumed Innocent” was such a hit for Apple TV+ that they are turning it into an Anthology Series, but it was pretty much ignored by the guilds. At a minimum, Alfonso Cuaron’s “Disclosure” felt like guaranteed acting noms for Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline, but with new players in the mix that’s uncertain. “Industry” had its highest-rated and most critically acclaimed season to date, but it may be the one HBO series besides “Somebody Somewhere” (sigh) that Television Academy voters continue to ignore. Considering viewer discourse, are key nominations for “House of the Dragon” still a given? Will “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” even be in the mix for below-the-line recognition? And those aren’t the only deserving shows that won’t earn voters’ attention either.
Can “Landman” give the Taylor Sheridan-verse an Emmy foothold?
Despite massive television ratings and streaming numbers, the Taylor Sheridan-verse has not had the best luck when it comes to the Television Academy. That’s despite a slew of prestige talent including Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, Kelly Reilly, Nicole Kidman, and Zoe Saldana, among others, peppering the Paramount dramas. The question now is whether the biggest non-“Yellowstone” hit of them all, “Landman,” can break that trend. Star Billy Bob Thorton already landed a Golden Globe nomination (I mean, sure) and isn’t out of reach in the Best Actor in a Drama Series category. Watch this space.
Can Peacock turn “The Day of the Jackal” into a serious Emmy player?
As noted, the NBCUni streamer already had made Emmy headway with “The Traitors” and a guest actress win for the first season of “Poker Face” (season two arrives just in time to qualify for 2025). Can it build on that success with their winter hit? Considering “Jackal” surprised by landing in SAG’s Ensemble Drama Series category and star Eddie Redmayne earned a Male Actor in a Drama Series nomination, it seems that some traction is likely (especially if Redmayne campaigns). That being said, outside of a Casting Director’s Guild nom, “Jackal” bombed with guild nominations across the board. Without any below-the-line love can it earn Peacock’s first Drama Series nomination? Can it crack that ceiling?
Is HBO Max set for an Emmy nomination tally comeback or will Netflix repeat?
After two down years, Netflix made an unexpected comeback to lead all networks/streamers with 107 nominees in 2024. That followed HBO Max’s and 127 and 140 in 2023 and 2022 respectively. This year may be an extremely tight fight. HBO should earn multiple hauls from “The Last of Us,” “The White Lotus,” “The Penguin, “House of the Dragon” (at least below the line), and newcomer “The Pitt,” among others. Netflix has guaranteed players in “Squid Game” and “Adolescence” and is hoping for traction with “The Diplomat,” “Nobody Likes This,” “A Man on the Inside,” and “The Four Seasons.” The latter also can even things out in the animation, non-narrative, and doc series categories. We expect HBO to retake the crown, but if Apple TV+ pulls off what FX did last year, where it was no. 2 overall, it might be closer than many think.
Mark your calendars, Emmy Awards nomination voting begins on June 12.
Editor-at-Large Gregory Ellwood is one of Hollywood's most respected awards journalists, covering the Oscars and Emmys beat with the access and institutional knowledge that comes from decades reporting at the center of the industry. Based in West Hollywood, he has written for the LA Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, HitFix, and Vox, among others.
