2025 Emmy nominations predictions: All the acting contenders from “Abbott” to “The Pitt”

On June 12, voters will begin casting their ballots to determine what shows, performers, and behind-the-scenes talent will compete for this year's Emmy awards. And you know what that means, TV fans: The 2025 Emmy campaign season is already in progress!

As the actors and actresses from this year's biggest comedies, dramas, and limited series start making the rounds to talk about their projects, Entertainment Weekly and The Awardist podcast will keep you up to date with the latest predictions in all the major categories. Here are our picks for which performers (in series and TV movies airing between June 1, 2024 and May 31, 2025) are leading the key acting races.

Lead Actress in a Drama

Kathy Bates, Matlock (CBS)
Keira Knightley, Black Doves (Netflix)
Britt Lower, Severance (Apple TV+)
Melanie Lynskey, Yellowjackets (Showtime)
Bella Ramsey, The Last of Us (HBO)
Keri Russell, The Diplomat (Netflix)

Two-time Emmy winner Kathy Bates already earned a pair of nominations (SAG Awards and Golden Globes) for her role as Madeline Matlock, and for now she’s on the case as this category’s frontrunner. With Shōgun and The Morning Show sitting this Emmy season out, it makes room for first-time nominees Britt Lower, who did some mind-bending work this year as Severance’s Helly/Helena, and Black Doves’ killer spy Keira Knightley.

Also in the mix: Nicola Coughlan, Bridgerton (Netflix); Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)

Lead Actor in a Drama

Sterling K. Brown, Paradise (Hulu)
Lee Jung-jae, Squid Game (Netflix)
Gary Oldman, Slow Horses (Apple TV+)
Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us
Adam Scott, Severance
Noah Wyle, The Pitt (Max)

Not only is five-time nominee Noah Wyle back in the Emmys race for the first time in 26 years, he’s a frontrunner — alongside Adam Scott, who is poised to get his second nomination as Severance’s innie/outie hero Mark. And Sterling K. Brown, a previous winner in this category for This Is Us, is back after a four-year break thanks to his latest Dan Fogelman project, Paradise.

Also in the mix: Eddie Redmayne, The Day of the Jackal (Peacock); Billy Bob Thornton, Landman (Paramount+); Jon Hamm, Your Friends and Neighbors (Apple TV+); Jake Gyllenhaal, Presumed Innocent (Apple TV+)

Supporting Actress in a Drama

Patricia Arquette, Severance
Carrie Coon, The White Lotus (HBO)
Kaitlyn Dever, The Last of Us
Allison Janney, The Diplomat
Parker Posey, The White Lotus
Natasha Rothwell, The White Lotus
Aimee Lou Wood, The White Lotus

As expected, any actor who didn’t travel to Thailand for season 3 of Mike White’s acclaimed HBO drama is going to have a tough time squeezing into the supporting actor categories this year. But the Lotus ladies will have some tough competition, including seven-time winner Allison Janney, two-time winner Patricia Arquette, and potential double nominee Kaitlyn Dever. (See below).

Also in the mix: Julianne Nicholson, Paradise; Leslie Bibb, The White Lotus; Kristin Scott Thomas, Slow Horses

Supporting Actor in a Drama

Walton Goggins, The White Lotus
Jason Isaacs, The White Lotus
Jack Lowden, Slow Horses
Jonathan Pryce, Slow Horses
Sam Rockwell, The White Lotus
Tramell Tillman, Severance
John Turturro, Severance

The Walton-aissance is upon us! After earning his first Lead Actor nomination last year for Fallout, Goggins — who unleashed a slew of very meme-able reaction shots in episode 5 of The White Lotus — is a top supporting contender this year. And Jonathan Pryce should earn a back-to-back nomination in this category after last year’s nod for his role as Prince Philip on The Crown. But it’s Severance star John Turturro (a guest actor nominee last year for Mr. & Mrs. Smith) who currently holds frontrunner status. (Justice for Irv’s innie!)

Also in the mix: Jeffrey Wright, The Last of Us; Patrick Schwarzenegger, The White Lotus; Zach Cherry, Severance

Lead Actress in a Comedy

Kristen Bell, Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Ayo Edebiri, The Bear (Hulu)
Bridget Everett, Somebody Somewhere (HBO)
Kathryn Hahn, Agatha All Along (Disney+)
Jean Smart, Hacks (Max)

It only took about 22 years, but Kristen Bell is finally poised to earn her first Emmy nomination thanks to Netflix’s breakout romcom Nobody Wants This. At the moment, it seems probable that Jean Smart will take a fourth win for Hacks, and we’re also pulling hard for Peabody Award winner Bridget Everett, the heart and soul behind HBO’s little miracle of a show, Somebody Somewhere.

Also in the mix: Selena Gomez, Only Murders in the Building (Hulu); Natasha Lyonne, Poker Face (Peacock); Tina Fey, The Four Seasons (Netflix); Uzo Aduba, The Residence (Netflix)

Lead Actor in a Comedy

Adam Brody, Nobody Wants This
Steve Martin, OMITB
Seth Rogen, The Studio (Apple TV+)
Jason Segel, Shrinking (Apple TV+)
Martin Short, OMITB
Jeremy Allen White, The Bear

If the SAG Awards and Golden Globes are any indication (and they are), Adam Brody will join his Nobody Wants This costar Kristen Bell in the first-timers club this year. Now that SAG voters crowned OMITB’s Martin Short the winner over Jeremy Allen White in January, it’s possible that The Bear star’s Emmy three-peat could be in jeopardy.

Also in the mix: Ted Danson, A Man on the Inside (Netflix); Matt Berry, What We Do in the Shadows (FX); Steve Carell, The Four Seasons; Nathan Lane, Mid-Century Modern (Hulu)

Supporting Actress in a Comedy

Liza Colón-Zayas, The Bear
Hannah Einbinder, Hacks
Janelle James, Abbott Elementary
Sheryl Lee Ralph, Abbott Elementary
Meryl Streep, OMITB
Jessica Williams, Shrinking

This category is likely to be filled with several (deserving) repeat nominees from last year, with Jessica Williams taking the sixth slot for her increasingly indispensable performance as Gaby on Shrinking. If she does make the cut, here’s hoping her costar Harrison Ford is sitting behind her at the ceremony.

Also in the mix: Catherine O’Hara, Kathryn Hahn, The Studio; Meg Stalter, Hacks; Patti LuPone, Agatha All Along

Supporting Actor in a Comedy

Ike Barinholtz, The Studio
Paul W. Downs, Hacks
Harrison Ford, Shrinking
Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Bear
Michael Urie, Shrinking
Tyler James Williams, Abbott Elementary

With Ted Lasso gone (for now), Shrinking and The Studio should hold down the fort as the most awards-friendly Apple TV+ comedies. Please give consistent comedy standouts Michael Urie (never nominated for Ugly Betty!) and Ike Barinholtz (never nominated for The Mindy Project!) a long overdue welcome to the Emmys race!

Also in the mix: Bowen Yang, Saturday Night Live (NBC); Colman Domingo, The Four Seasons; Timothy Simons, Nobody Wants This

Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Cate Blanchett, Disclaimer (Apple TV+)
Kaitlyn Dever, Apple Cider Vinegar (Netflix)
Cristin Milioti, The Penguin (HBO)
Michelle Williams, Dying for Sex (Hulu)
Renee Zellweger, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (Peacock)

So far, six different voting bodies (including the Globes, SAGs, and Independent Spirits) have honored Cristin Milioti’s commanding turn as The Penguin’s Sofia Falcone — and the Emmys will almost certainly be the seventh. Renee Zellweger, who received her first Oscar nomination in 2002 for Bridget Jones’s Diary, will likely get her first Emmy nod for playing the same character in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy.

Also in the mix: Lola Petticrew, Say Nothing (FX); Ellen Pompeo, Good American Family (Hulu); Julianne Moore, Sirens (Netflix)

Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Gael García Bernal, La Máquina (Hulu)
Cooper Koch, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story (Netflix)
Colin Farrell, The Penguin
Brian Tyree Henry, Dope Thief (Apple TV+)
Kevin Kline, Disclaimer

Fun fact: Kevin Kline was last nominated for an Emmy seven years ago for his voice-over performance as Mr. Fischoeder in Bob’s Burgers. He and fellow 2024 Golden Globe nominees Cooper Koch and Colin Farrell are locks in this category, which could mean Bernal — who is excellent in the woefully under-watched La Máquina — could squeak in there as well, alongside two-time Emmy nominee Brian Tyree Henry. (Hey, I’m manifesting!)

Also in the mix: Stephen Graham, Adolescence (Netflix); Robert De Niro, Zero Day (Netflix), Nicholas Alexander Chavez, Monsters

Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie

Angela Bassett, Zero Day
Erin Doherty, Adolescence
Betty Gilpin, Three Women (Starz)
Lesley Manville, Disclaimer
Deirdre O’Connell, The Penguin
Jenny Slate, Dying for Sex
Sissy Spacek, Dying for Sex

With so many qualified contenders for only seven slots, this category is currently the hardest to predict. Time for some more manifesting! Jenny Slate is laugh-and-cry good as Michelle Williams’ feisty, fiercely devoted best friend/caregiver in Dying for Sex, and Betty Gilpin is absolutely staggering — again! — in the long-delayed adaptation Three Women. Make room for them both on your ballot, voters!

Also in the mix: Leila George, Disclaimer; Chloë Sevigny, Monsters; Edie Falco, The Parenting (Max); Christina Hendricks, Good American Family

Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie

Javier Bardem, Monsters
Owen Cooper, Adolescence
Brian Cox, The Parenting
Rob Delaney, Dying for Sex
Diego Luna, La Máquina
Jesse Plemons, Zero Day
Liev Schreiber, The Perfect Couple (Netflix)

Adolescence star Owen Cooper has entered the chat. The teenage newcomer and star of the chilling Netflix hit is having a big year — and it will only get bigger when nominations are announced in July. While Diego Luna is also in the Lead Actor in a Drama conversation for Andor, attention must also be paid to his frantic and funny turn as a plastic-surgery-obsessed boxing manager in La Máquina. (Manifesting!)

Also in the mix: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Disclaimer; Ving Rhames, Dope Thief

The 2025 Emmy nominations will be announced on Tuesday, July 15 at 11:30 a.m. ET / 8:30 a.m. PT.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly