With the Primetime Emmys scheduled to be aired on September 14th (as well as the Guest Acting categories and Outstanding Television Movie announced during the Creative Arts Emmys on September 6th and 7th), the two month window has allowed me the time to buckle down and give each season/program my full attention to put together a fun article such as this and give my personal choices for what should win each award. These will be published in three parts (Drama, Comedy, and Limited Series/TV Movie), while categories in the realm of Reality TV, Variety, and Talk Show will be excluded only due to my lack of awareness/interest in investing such time to have a preference (Saturday Night Live the only variety program I watch on a weekly basis). Despite that, my best wishes are with Stephen Colbert, a potential win that due to unfortunate circumstances seems all but sewn up. My final winner predictions are set to be released in the coming weeks as well.

As I type, I still have one and a half limited series to watch, as well as two movies, with the only category block I have completely checked off being Outstanding Comedy Series. With that said, let’s jump in!

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES

“Abbott Elementary”	(ABC)
“The Bear”	(FX)
“Hacks”	(HBO Max)
“Nobody Wants This”	(Netflix)
“Only Murders in the Building”	(Hulu)
“Shrinking”	(Apple)
“The Studio”	(Apple)
“What We Do in the Shadows”	(FX)

Abbott returned this year, back with a full slate of episodes compared to last year’s strike-affected season, as network TV’s best comfort food comedy series. The charming Nobody Wants This made a surprise impression last fall, though I admit, still feels lightweight compared to its competition. The Bear‘s third season is better than most give it credit for, but is the weakest of the series overall. Only Murders returned with a Hollywood-set season that, once again, invited a host of fun guest stars, though didn’t quite hit the magic of the Broadway-themed third season. What We Do in the Shadows ended its run in glorious form, with an unconventional but genius finale. The Studio landed like an atomic bomb for Apple, likely to dominate awards season here forward, while Shrinking finally cracked Comedy Series in its second season. The Studio is brilliantly produced and full of inside-baseball dialogue, while Shrinking is a show I want to love, but I just don’t find funny enough or emotionally affecting enough. Hacks continues to be a hoot and a half as we transition into Deborah Vances’ late-night career storyline, though some of the bickering competition between her and Ava has spun its wheels longer than necessary.

My Pick: “What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)

Should Be Nominated: “The Rehearsal” (HBO)

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Adam Brody	“Nobody Wants This” (Netflix)
Seth Rogen	“The Studio” (Apple)
Jason Segel	“Shrinking” (Apple)
Martin Short	“Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
Jeremy Allen White	“The Bear” (FX)

Brody is as charming as he always is as a conflicted rabbi in love with a non-Jewish woman in Nobody Wants This. Segel is fine as Shrinking’s lead, though his performance is more eclipsed by his costars this season. Short continues to shine as the battery charging the trio of Only Murders, winning a surprise SAG award this year. White is inarguably great and devastating as Carmy fights his worst impulses and demons in The Bear‘s third season, despite it being the least comedic performance here by a mile. Despite being the behind-the-scenes creative vision of The Studio, when Rogen steps in front of the camera, he is locked-in and leads the show under pressure in all the best ways. Matt Remick is an instantly memorable anchor, torn between his righteous ambitions and his knack for caving to the easiest solutions.

My Pick: Seth Rogen, “The Studio” (Apple)

Should Be Nominated: Nathan Lane, “Mid-Century Modern” (Hulu)

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Uzo Aduba	“The Residence” (Netflix)
Kristen Bell	“Nobody Wants This” (Netflix)
Quinta Brunson	“Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
Ayo Edebiri	“The Bear” (FX)
Jean Smart	“Hacks” (HBO Max)

Aduba, despite her eccentric look in The Residence, gives an impressibly low-key performance as the bird-watching detective. Bell, like her costar, is reliably fun in her rom-com series. Brunson and Edebiri continue to be great as always, but unfortunately, this category cannot find a single performance that matches the weight of Jean Smart, destined to win her fourth(!) Emmy for playing Deborah Vance, as she somehow delivers her best season to date.

My Pick: Jean Smart, “Hacks” (HBO Max)

Should Be Nominated: (TIE) Bridget Everett, “Somebody Somewhere” (HBO) and Edi Patterson, “The Righteous Gemstones” (HBO)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Ike Barinholtz	“The Studio” (Apple)
Colman Domingo	“The Four Seasons” (Netflix)
Harrison Ford	“Shrinking” (Apple)
Jeff Hiller	“Somebody Somewhere” (HBO)
Ebon Moss-Bachrach	“The Bear” (FX)
Michael Urie	“Shrinking” (Apple)
Bowen Yang	“Saturday Night Live” (NBC)

Barinholtz makes a meal out of his sleazy and chaotic Sal Saperstein. Domingo, coming off of two back-to-back Oscar nominations, adds the most complex weight to the ensemble The Four Seasons. Ford and Urie get plenty of solid emotional beats in Shrinking, Ford annihilating his last episode. Yang, a constant here, is one of SNL’s most reliable cast members, though with limited appearance-time this year due to Wicked press, male cast members like Marcello Hernandez and Andrew Dismukes carried this season on their backs. Bachrach’s Richie in The Bear has his most mature and stable season of the first three, though doesn’t get a stand-out, praise-worthy episode on the level of the second season’s “Forks”. The greatest nomination surprise of the year is also the most worthy winner here in Jeff Hiller, whose dainty, dorky, but lovable Joel, entering challenging new phases in his life from relationships to past church-related trauma, while being the emotional rock for Bridget Everett’s Sam in HBO’s Somebody Somewhere.

My Pick: Jeff Hiller, “Somebody Somewhere” (HBO)

Should Be Nominated: Walton Goggins, “The Righteous Gemstones” (HBO)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Liza Colon-Zayas	“The Bear” (FX)
Hannah Einbinder	“Hacks” (HBO)
Kathryn Hahn	“The Studio” (Apple)
Janelle James	“Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
Catherine O’Hara	“The Studio” (Apple)
Sheryl Lee Ralph	“Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
Jessica Williams	“Shrinking” (Apple)

Four seasons in and Janelle James and Sheryl Lee Ralph haven’t missed a beat, with James getting to quietly add some new emotional layers to Ava Coleman this past season. Hahn and O’Hara are over-the-top in all the best ways in The Studio, though I was most impressed with Chase Sui Wonders out of the supporting cast, who sadly isn’t here. Jessica Williams continues to be a fun presence on Shrinking, though like most of the show and to no fault of hers, relies on comedic dialogue that tries a bit too hard for the joke. Einbinder is stellar, and should have won last year for her best work, despite still being enormous category fraud (she is LEAD!!!). Instead the win went to Colon-Zayas, whose episode this season landed during the voting for the previous season and likely secured her win there, so I am retroactively flipping my preference for this year. “Napkins” is one of the best episodes of The Bear to date and mostly due to Colon-Zayas’ tremendous work.

My Pick: Liza Colon-Zayas, “The Bear” (FX)

Should Be Nominated: Martine Gutierrez, “Fantasmas” (HBO)

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Jon Bernthal	The Bear (FX), “Napkins”
Bryan Cranston	The Studio (Apple), “CinemaCon”
Dave Franco	The Studio (Apple), “CinemaCon”
Ron Howard	The Studio (Apple), “The Note”
Anthony Mackie	The Studio (Apple), “The Note”
Martin Scorsese	The Studio (Apple), “The Promotion”

Bernthal is both the only previous winner in this category for this character and the only performance nominated for a series that isn’t The Studio. His gentle monologue to Liza Colon-Zayas is a magical moment in a divisive season of The Bear. I would support a second win, though it’s hard to argue that Cranston doesn’t do so much comedically in “CinemaCon” (and in a comedy category) that is somehow both intimidating and also harkening back to the manic energy of Hal in Malcolm in the Middle. Franco and Mackie are amusing and hilarious playing themselves, as are Scorsese and Howard (who both get to put the fear of God into Seth Rogen’s Matt Remick with scorching fury). Scorsese in particular would be an adorable win, but based on substance, Cranston makes enough of a meal of his brief turn, he feels arguably more a Supporting performance than Guest, despite his limited screentime.

My Pick: Bryan Cranston, “The Studio”

Should Be Nominated: Bradley Cooper, “The Righteous Gemstones”

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Olivia Colman	“The Bear” (FX), “Forever”
Jamie Lee Curtis	“The Bear” (FX), “Ice Chips”
Cynthia Erivo	“Poker Face” (Peacock), “The Game is a Foot”
Robby Hoffman	“Hacks” (HBO Max), “Cover Girls”
Zoe Kravitz	“The Studio” (Apple), “CinemaCon”
Julianne Nicholson	“Hacks” (HBO Max), “A Slippery Slope”

Colman and Curtis returning for their always heavyweight appearances on The Bear seemed like given nominations, Colman a soft and warm-hearted presence, Curtis an unpredictable ball of emotion. Kravitz has a lot of fun unexpectedly stuck in in a state of paranoid blitz after ingesting an inordinate amount of mushrooms. Robby Hoffman, who seemed to have made a splash in the last year with television appearances, offers some painfully-funny zingers as Kayla and Jimmy’s new assistant. But few performances this year in any category felt as large and iconic as “DANCE MOM!” Julianne Nicholson in Hacks. A comedic tour de force we’ve rarely seen Nicholson capable of, bringing frighteningly real unstable energy to a riotously funny character.

My Pick: Julianne Nicholson, “Hacks” (HBO Max)

Should Be Nominated: Andrene Ward-Hammond, “English Teacher” (FX)

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES

“The Bear” (FX), “Napkins”	Ayo Edebiri
“Hacks” (HBO Max), “A Slippery Slope”	Lucia Aniello
“Mid-Century Modern” (Hulu), “Here’s To You, Mrs. Schneiderman”	James Burrows
“The Rehearsal” (HBO), “Pilot’s Code”	Nathan Fielder
“The Studio” (Apple), “The Oner”	Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg

Edebiri’s delicate direction shines just as brightly as Colon-Zaya’s performance in “Napkins”. Aniello continues to be the singular voice of Hacks‘ brand of chaotic humor and melancholy resonance in the entertainment world. Rogen & Goldberg direct a oner about a oner called “The Oner”, in what is the sharpest-paced episode of The Studio. Burrows handles an impossible task, directing the emotional “Here’s to You, Mrs. Schneiderman”, which was assembled beautifully and tastefully in memory of star Linda Lavin, who was not able to complete filming the season due to her sudden passing. In what may be one of the most insane episodes in 2025 television, Nathan Fielder delivers a jaw-droppingly wacko tribute to Sully Sullenberger in his masterpiece of a series The Rehearsal, an episode only bested by its stunning, unbelievable finale.

My Pick: “The Studio” (HBO) “Pilot’s Code”, Nathan Fielder,

Should Be Nominated: “The Righteous Gemstones” (HBO) “Prelude”, Danny McBride,

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES

“Abbott Elementary” (ABC), “Back to School”	Quinta Brunson
“Hacks” (HBO), “A Slippery Slope”	Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, Jen Statsky
“The Rehearsal” (HBO), “Pilot’s Code”	Nathan Fielder, Carrie Kemper, Adam Locke-Norton, Eric Notarnicola
“Somebody Somewhere” (HBO), “AGG”	Hannah Bos, Paul Thureen, Bridgett Everett
“The Studio” (Apple), “The Promotion”	Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory, Frida Perez
“What We Do In the Shadows” (FX), “The Finale”	Sam Johnson, Sarah Naftalis, Paul Simms

What We Do In the Shadows closes out with a wildly unconventional ending, though just bizarre enough to work (and even better when watched with the extended endings). Abbott’s cute season opener got us comfortably back into the Philadelphia-set school setting with new relationship dynamics while Hacks brought Deborah Vance’s career to a brilliant breaking point. Somebody Somewhere‘s heart-aching, but emotionally cleansing finale brought beautiful and simple closure to Bridgett Everett’s cozy series. It really comes down to The Studio‘s pilot episode and The Rehearsal’s absolutely demented “Pilot’s Code”. Despite having many of its own brilliant, near-iconic moments, particularly with Martin Scorsese and introducing us to its fantastic ensemble of characters, it isn’t even the best written episode of the season. “Pilot’s Code” is the work of a mad genius. Nothing else to be said or spoiled.

My Pick: “The Rehearsal” (HBO) “Pilot’s Code”, Nathan Fielder, Carrie Kemper, Adam Locke-Norton, Eric Notarnicola

Should Be Nominated: “The Studio” (Apple) “Casting”, Alex Gregory

Thoughts and opinions? Your own personal choices? Sound off in the comments below. Stay tuned for more personal picks in the coming days! The 77th Emmys air Sunday, September 14th on CBS.