The Studio and Adolescence sweep the 77th annual Emmy Awards

3 hours ago 3

The streaming series The Studio and Adolescence swept the 77th annual Emmy Awards, scooping up almost everything that was not already taken by the beloved comedy Hacks and gruesome new medical drama The Pitt.

Where was The White Lotus? Remember The Bear? Shogun? Baby Reindeer? Turns out a year is a long time in TV, with an almost entirely new guard of TV mega-hits carving up the spoils. For The Studio, in the comedy category and as a first season show, it wrote itself into the Emmy history books.

Seth Rogen, winner of the awards for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series, outstanding directing for a comedy series, outstanding writing for a comedy series, and outstanding comedy series for The Studio.

And despite a robust presence in the nominations, Australia’s moment of glory at the 77th annual Emmy Awards was not to be. Cate Blanchett, nominated for her dazzling performance in Disclaimer, and director Shannon Murphy, nominated for her brilliant work on Dying for Sex, both came away empty-handed.

As the telecast for the Emmys opened, host (and comedian) Nate Bargatze made a Faustian pact with the night’s winners – a $US100,000 ($150,000) donation to the US non-profit organisation The Boys and Girls Clubs of America, which would be stung for $US1000 for every second the acceptance speeches went overtime.

It was a shrewd play. Bargatze is a relatively new face in the realm of awards show telecast hosts – remember, this is a space typically populated by Conan, Kimmel and, historically, Ellen or Whoopi – and the dark twist to the skit discreetly shifted the stakes, pulling focus from the host to a macabre game of dollars and egos.

The next-to-final tally, including reimbursements, was $US60,000. Until the network CBS tipped in, lifting it back up to $US350,000. Did it work? As a fundraiser? Sort of. As a tool of control, by and large maybe, thought it was at times a tiring distraction to a trying telecast.

Stephen Colbert accepts the outstanding talk series award for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Owen Cooper (supporting actor in a drama for Adolescence) and Jean Smart (lead actress in a comedy for Hacks) were the least surprising wins. Hannah Einbinder (supporting actress in a comedy for Hacks) was a genuine surprise. And Seth Rogen (lead actor in a comedy for The Studio) and Noah Wyle (lead actor in a drama for The Pitt) were well deserved.

The winning comedy series: unsurprisingly, The Studio. The winning limited series: unsurprisingly, Adolescence. The winning drama series: unsurprisingly, The Pitt.

The “in memoriam” segment included acknowledgments of the passing of actors Julian McMahon, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Teri Garr, Loni Anderson, Loretta Swit and the iconic Dame Maggie Smith, producer/director David Lynch, his Twin Peaks collaborator/composer Mark Snow, director, choreographer Judith Jamison, agent Larry Auerbach, musician Ozzy Osbourne and American journalist Bill Moyers.

Noah Wyle accepts the outstanding lead actor in a drama series award for The Pitt.

Between the Creative Arts Emmys, held last weekend in LA, and the Primetime Emmys, an astonishing 123 Emmys are given out – 26 at the former and 97 at the latter – plus a handful of assorted additional “special” Emmys, such as the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award, which was awarded this year to actors Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen, in recognition of “a lifetime of extraordinary philanthropy”.

The Governors Award, another special Emmy, was presented to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the non-profit organisation that supports America’s public broadcasters, the TV network PBS and the radio network NPR, in acknowledgement of programming “that informs, educates, and unites us”. The organisation is expected to close in 2026 following President Trump’s decision to cut its federal funding. (When reminded of this by Television Academy chairman Cris Abrego, the audience booed loudly.)

Ted Danson (left) and Mary Steenburgen accept the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award.

This year’s awards were held in the Peacock Theatre in downtown Los Angeles. The winners of the Emmys are determined via ballot, by the more than 25,000 members of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences; members vote only in their area of expertise.

Key winners from last weekend’s Creative Arts Emmys included the team behind the Australian and US versions of Love on the Spectrum; producers Karina Holden and Cian O’Clery won Emmys for outstanding unstructured reality program and outstanding casting for a reality program.

Erin Doherty accepts the award for outstanding supporting actress in a limited or anthology series or movie for Adolescence.

Other winners included actors Bryan Cranston (guest actor in a comedy series for The Studio) and Shawn Hatosy (guest actor in a drama series for The Pitt), former US president Barack Obama (narrator for Our Oceans) and Julie Andrews (character voice-over performance for Bridgerton).

And like all American awards shows, the curtain may have come down, but the show isn’t really over.

Next stop: the 52nd annual Daytime Emmy Awards, on October 17. Australia’s nominees include Australian cinematographers Tony Gardiner and Heath Kerr (technical direction, camerawork, video) and Field Trip with Curtis Stone (travel and adventure program).

What did you think of the 2025 Emmy winners? Who would you have voted for? Please tell us in the comment below.

Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.