To the surprise of no one, the big winner during Sunday night’s Emmys was Adolescence. The four-episode British drama, about a radicalised teenage boy who murders a female classmate, was met with wall-to-wall praise when it debuted on Netflix in March, dominating news headlines and instigating wide-ranging public debate. Last night it swept the US’s most prestigious TV awards ceremony, winning trophies in all six of the major categories for which it was nominated. It was a testament to the power and reach of the British TV industry, just one year after Baby Reindeer enjoyed a similarly prolific haul.
Look beyond Adolescence, however, and the 2025 Emmys paint a curious picture of the modern TV landscape. The best drama category went to frantic medical drama The Pitt, edging out the expected winner, Apple TV+’s twisty sci-fi show Severance. (Frustratingly, The Pitt is yet to be released in the UK, despite premiering on HBO Max more than eight months ago.) The comedy categories were, meanwhile, dominated by The Studio, Apple TV+’s glossy and propulsive satire about the upper echelons of a major Hollywood film company. What’s most telling is the shows that emerged from the night empty-handed: restaurant stress-fest The Bear, a serial winner last year, got nothing for its tepidly received third season, while year three of Mike White’s lampoon-the-rich anthology series The White Lotus won in just one category (Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music).
