The 2025 Emmy nominations delivered meaningful gains in representation across race, gender and identity, with a few concerning declines.
A total of 94 actors were recognized in the main acting categories — lead, supporting and guest. Of those 24 are POC, a decline from the past five years. In 2024, 30 were performers of color, making up 31% of the nominees, which was an increase from 2023 (25 of 102, or 24%) and 2021 (25 of 97, or 26%), though it fell short of the 2022 peak, when 42 of 108 nominees (39%) were people of color, the most in Emmys history. Look at the last decade of numbers to see how this year compares:
“Abbott Elementary” creator, executive producer and star Quinta Brunson continues her historic Emmy run for hit ABC mockumentary. After becoming the first solo Black woman to win for comedy writing in 2022, and the second Black woman to win lead comedy actress in 2023, she now ties Stefani Robinson (“Atlanta” and “What We Do in the Shadows”) for the most writing nominations by a Black woman — three in total — and becomes the first to achieve all three for a single series.
With her fourth acting nomination, Brunson now ranks as the third most-nominated Black woman in lead comedy actress, trailing only Isabel Sanford (“The Jeffersons”) and tied with Tracee Ellis Ross (“Black-ish”).
The lead comedy actress category is a majority of women of color, with Brunson, Uzo Aduba from the now-cancelled “The Residence,” and Ayo Edebiri. This marks the second consecutive year this achievement has occurred.
Edebiri, 29, now holds the record as the youngest Black woman to receive three Emmy acting nominations. She’s also nominated for directing the episode “Napkins,” becoming the first woman to be nominated for acting and directing in the comedy categories in the same year. She is also only the second Black woman to be nominated for comedy directing after Millicent Shelton for “30 Rock” in 2009.
Sterling K. Brown made some notable Emmy history. His lead drama actor nomination for Hulu’s “Paradise” marks the seventh different series for which he’s been recognized — tying Don Cheadle for the most among Black male performers. Brown’s past nominations include “This Is Us,” “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Lincoln: Divided We Stand (The Dogs of War)” and “Invincible.” He was previously tied with André Braugher. Alfre Woodard remains the overall leader with a staggering — and likely unbeatable — 17, none for the same series more than once.
Latino performers continue to face hurdles at the Emmys.
Pedro Pascal earned his second nomination for HBO Max’s “The Last of Us,” making him only the second Latino ever nominated more than once (and still only among two overall) in lead drama actor, after Jimmy Smits’ four consecutive nods for “NYPD Blue” (1996–99).
Superstar Selena Gomez continued her Emmy run with a fourth consecutive nomination as executive producer of “Only Murders in the Building,” extending her record as the most-nominated Latina producer in history. Her fellow executive producer Dan Fogelman, who is also nominated for “Paradise,” is the first person since David E. Kelley in 1999 to be nominated for drama and comedy series. Kelley was nominated for “Ally McBeal” and “The Practice,” for which he won both categories.
Liza Colón-Zayas, who made history last year as the first Latina to win supporting comedy actress for “The Bear,” was once again nominated. She’s joined by Jessica Williams (“Shrinking”), Janelle James and Sheryl Lee Ralph (“Abbott Elementary”) — tying another record from 2023 for the most women of color nominated in a single acting category.
Afro-Latino Colman Domingo continues his dominance on awards shows with his second career nod for Netflix’s “The Four Seasons.” A previous winner for guest drama actor for “Euphoria,” he’s the first person since Andre Braugher’s nom for “Men of a Certain Age” to be the sole nomination for a comedy series.
Asian actors and creators have gained significant ground in recent years with “Squid Game,” “Beef” and “Shogun.” This year, Bowen Yang is the standout, becoming the most-nominated Asian male performer in history with his fourth nomination for NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” Only Sandra Oh has more among Asian performers.
However, several notable AAPI names were snubbed, including Dichen Lachman (“Severance”), Chase Sui Wonders (“The Studio”) and Tayme Thapthimthong (“The White Lotus”).
Notably, “The Last of Us” also missed out on nominating its large ensemble of diverse talent, including Latino stars Isabela Merced, Gabriel Luna and Danny Ramirez, along with AAPI performers Young Mazino and Tati Gabrielle.
And still, neither CBS’ “Ghosts” nor its star Utkarsh Ambudkar have received Emmy recognition yet, perplexing the minds of passionate admirers of that show everywhere.
In a tough time for the LGBTQ community in the U.S., there were some milestones to celebrate. Bella Ramsey, star of “The Last of Us,” became the first openly nonbinary performer to be nominated twice. At the age of 20, they are the fourth-youngest lead drama actress nominee in Emmy history and the youngest to receive two nods in the category.
Carl Clemons-Hopkins, who made history in 2021 as the first nonbinary acting nominee, was not recognized this year, still holding just a single nomination for “Hacks.”
Breakout star Tramell Tillman earned his first nom for supporting drama actor as the mysterious wordsmith Milchik in Apple TV+’s “Severance,” alongside his worthy co-star Zach Cherry. If either of them wins, they would be the first Black actor ever to win in this category — the only acting category still without a Black winner in the Emmys’ 77-year history.
Age proved no barrier for two Hollywood legends: Kathy Bates, 77, became the oldest lead drama actress nominee ever for CBS’ “Matlock,” while Harrison Ford received his first career nomination for Apple TV+’s “Shrinking.” At 82, he’s the second-oldest nominee in the supporting comedy actor category, behind Alan Arkin, who was 86 when nominated for “The Kominsky Method.”
Women made some progress in the directing and writing categories.
Outstanding directing for a limited series/TV movie included four women: DGA President Lesli Linka Glatter for “Zero Day,” Helen Shaver and Jennifer Getzinger for episodes of “The Penguin,” and Shannon Murphy for “Dying for Sex.” Jessica Lee Gagné (“Severance”) and Amanda Marsalis (“The Pitt”) are representing in the drama race while Edebiri and previous winner Lucia Aniello (“Hacks”) are holding it down in comedy.
For the first time in Emmys history, there is at least one woman who is part of each of the comedy writing nominees. That’s not the case for drama writing unfortunately, with no women being among the six nominated series including the snubbed Debora Cahn, who many projected to make the cut for “The Diplomat.” Three of the five nominated limited series — “Black Mirror,” “Dying for Sex” and “The Penguin” — have women represented.
This year’s Emmy nominations were announced by actors Harvey Guillén, of “What We Do in the Shadows,” and Brenda Song, of “Running Point,” from the Television Academy’s Wolf Theatre in North Hollywood.
The 77th Emmy Awards will be hosted by Nate Bargatze and broadcast live Sunday, Sept. 14 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS, as well as stream live and on demand via select packages on Paramount+.
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