The landscape of theEmmy Awards has seen a significant shift, with a growing phenomenon of “Emmy sweeps” where a single series dominates multiple major categories. Unlike the Oscars, which allow all eligible members to vote in the final round, the Emmys restrict both nomination and winner selection to specific peer groups, such as actors, writers, and editors, a structure that significantly influences the voting outcomes and fosters these broad wins.

Historically, a full sweep of the seven major categories (series, acting, writing, and directing) was rare, with HBO’s“Angels in America”in 2004 being the sole instance before 2020. However, the COVID-era ushered in a new trend, starting with Pop TV’s “Schitt’s Creek” in its final season (2020), which unexpectedly swept the board. This was followed by Netflix’s “The Crown” Season 4 in 2021, which also secured seven major wins. While full sweeps have remained elusive since, domination has continued: HBO’s “The White Lotus” (Season 1, then a limited series) won five of seven eligible categories, and the final season of HBO’s “Succession” at the 2023 Emmys (held in January 2024) took six of seven.

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FX’s “The Bear” debuted by sweeping all six of its major comedy categories, and Netflix’s “Beef” earned five of its seven major awards. More recently, at the September 2024 ceremony, “Hacks” achieved a significant upset by winning comedy series over the favored “The Bear,” though “The Bear” still set a record with 10 wins overall, including five of six acting prizes. FX also excelled with “Shōgun” setting a new high for drama wins, and Netflix’s “Baby Reindeer” secured five of its six nominations.

Looking ahead to the 77th Emmy Awards, several shows are poised to continue this trend of dominance. Apple TV+’s cerebral drama “Severance,” the high-concept satire “The Studio,” and the gritty British crime miniseries “Adolescence” are considered strong candidates for major sweeps. Success in these broad wins often correlates with strong support across the Television Academy’s four largest branches: Executives, Actors, Writers, and Editors.

HBO Max enters the race with a record-breaking 142 nominations, featuring drama contenders like “The Last of Us” (sophomore season), “The Pitt,” and Mike White’s “The White Lotus” (third outing). “The Pitt,” despite fewer nominations, might have a clearer path to drama series gold, with Noah Wyle in a tight battle for lead drama actor against “Severance’s” Adam Scott, whose show garnered a staggering 27 nominations. “The White Lotus” also shows strong writing potential for its “Full-Moon Party” episode, featuring Sam Rockwell’s monologue, and strong supporting contenders in Walton Goggins and Carrie Coon.

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In the lead actress categories, Britt Lower (“Severance”) could benefit from Kathy Bates being the sole nomination from CBS’s “Matlock,” though Bates faces a steep historical challenge as the oldest lead drama actress nominee ever. Patricia Arquette, with her Emmy royalty status and no co-stars to split votes in supporting drama actress for “Severance,” is a strong contender. The comedy race sees “The Studio” tying “The Bear” for the most comedy nominations ever, with Ike Barinholtz facing Harrison Ford (“Shrinking”) in supporting actor. “The Rehearsal” also emerged as a surprise player in writing.

Meanwhile, genre shows like HBO Max’s “The Penguin” (24 nominations) face off against Netflix’s “Adolescence” (13 nominations). “The Penguin” could buck the trend of genre shows struggling to convert nominations into major wins, with Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti as serious threats in lead acting, and Stephen Graham as a strong supporting candidate.

The Creative Arts Emmy Awards, held across two nights, provided an early indication of frontrunners. Night one, focusing on scripted programming, saw HBO Max’s “The Penguin” secure eight trophies and Apple TV+’s “The Studio” lead with nine total wins. Apple TV+’s “Severance,” the year’s most-nominated show, nabbed six wins, including Merritt Wever for guest actress in a drama series.

Other notable winners included Disney+’s “Andor” (four wins), Netflix’s “Bridgerton” (three wins, including Julie Andrews for character voice-over performance), and Amazon Prime Video’s “The Boys” (three wins, including two stunt honors and a surprise victory for original music and lyrics). Individual guest acting awards went to Bryan Cranston for comedy (“The Studio”), Julianne Nicholson for comedy (“Hacks”), Shawn Hatosy for drama (“The Pitt”), and Merritt Wever for drama (“Severance”). The craft community particularly favored “The Penguin,” which cleaned up in makeup, hairstyling, production design, and visual effects categories.

“Andor’s” creative leader, Tony Gilroy, was praised as the series won for fantasy costumes, production design, picture editing, and special visual effects. Netflix’s “Arcane” won for animated program, and “Rebel Ridge” for TV movie. Jessica Lee Gagné made Emmy history by becoming the first woman to win in the outstanding cinematography for a series (one hour) category for her work on “Severance’s” “Hello, Ms. Cobel” episode, a significant achievement given the challenges she faced earlier in her career due to gender bias.

Night two of the Creative Arts Emmys, dedicated to unscripted, reality, and documentary programs, saw NBC’s “SNL50: The Anniversary Special” dominate with seven awards, pushing the entire “Saturday Night Live” universe to eleven wins. Peacock’s “The Traitors” earned four Emmys, including one for host Alan Cumming. Conan O’Brien also had a strong night, winning for hosted nonfiction series or special (“Conan O’Brien Must Go”) and variety special (pre-recorded) for “Conan O’Brien: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize For American Humor.” Netflix’s “Love on the Spectrum” won for unstructured reality program and casting, while “Queer Eye” won for structured reality program.

“Pee-wee As Himself” received three awards, including outstanding documentary or nonfiction series and directing, and “100 Foot Wave” won for documentary or nonfiction series and cinematography for a nonfiction program. “The Daily Show” secured multiple wins, including short form comedy, drama or variety series for “The Daily Show: Desi Lydic Foxsplains” and writing for a nonfiction program. Individual awards went to “Jeopardy!” for game show, President Barack Obama for outstanding narrator (“Our Oceans”), and Jimmy Kimmel for game show host(“Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”). Additionally, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting was honored with the 2025 Governors Award, despite facing significant funding cuts.

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Adding to the prestigious honors, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen have been selected to jointly receive the Television Academy’s Bob Hope Humanitarian Award during the 77th Emmy Awards ceremony. This marks the first time the award, established in 2002, has been given since 2022 and the first time it has been presented to a couple. They are being recognized for “a lifetime of extraordinary philanthropy, activism and unwavering commitment to global good.”

Danson is celebrated for his environmental and ocean conservation activism, co-founding the American Oceans Campaign and serving on Oceana’s board. Steenburgen has championed organizations such as Artists for a Free South Africa, theElizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and No Kid Hungry,and advocates for arts funding in schools.

Together, they co-founded Angels at Risk in 2007, focusing on drug and alcohol abuse prevention for youth, and have actively promoted LGBTQ+ rights, earning the Nancy Pelosi Equality Ally Award. The 77th Emmy Awards, hosted by Nate Bargatze, will broadcast live on Sunday, September 14, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS, with streaming available live and on demand via select Paramount+ packages. Highlights from the Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremonies will air on September 13 at 8 p.m. PT on FXX and stream on Hulu through October 7.