The propulsive medical drama “The Pitt” dominated the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards nominations Wednesday, racking up 25 nods to edge the final season of “Hacks” for the year’s top haul.
“The Pitt” was joined by “The Diplomat,” “The Gilded Age,” “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” “Paradise,” “Pluribus,” “Slow Horses” and “Your Friends & Neighbors” in the best drama series field. Liza Colón-Zayas and Jeff Hiller presented the nominees on Wednesday morning in Los Angeles.
After breakout first season of “The Pitt” cleaned up at the 2025 Emmys, the HBO Max series’ sophomore campaign nearly doubled its nomination total. The nods included 13 acting nominations — one short of the record held by “Succession” — as the likes of Gerran Howell, Fiona Dourif, Taylor Dearden and Patrick Ball earned their first nods alongside returning winners Noah Wyle, Katherine LaNasa and Shawn Hatosy.
With 24 nominations, “Hacks” set the record for a comedy series in a single year — edging “The Bear” and “The Studio,” which each earned 23. Its 10 acting nominations — including nods for previous winners Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder — also tied a record for a comedy series.
“Hacks” will compete against “Abbott Elementary,” “The Bear,” “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” “Nobody Wants This,” “Only Murders in the Building,” “Shrinking” and “Widow’s Bay” for best comedy series.
The contenders for best limited or anthology series are “All Her Fault,” “The Beast in Me,” “Beef,” “DTF St. Louis” and “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette.”
Double nominees included Colman Domingo for “Euphoria” and “The Four Seasons,” Jason Bateman for “Black Rabbit” and “DTF St. Louis,” Matthew Rhys for “Widow’s Bay” and “The Beast in Me,” and Nick Offerman for “Death by Lightning” and “Margo’s Got Money Troubles.”
Mariska Hargitay will host the ceremony, broadcast on NBC, Sept. 14 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
Snub: ‘Rooster’ for comedy
A messy but well-liked series about the sexual politics of campus life, “Rooster” was almost entirely excluded from the nominations. Steve Carell managed a nod for lead actor in a comedy. For Carell, a 12-time nominee, it could be a consolation prize. Maybe voters struggled with its depiction of academia. Or they were sick of seeing Dr. Cox from “Scrubs” (John C. McGinley, who plays a blithe college dean here) after the mediocre reboot. Either way, a single nomination was unexpected.
Surprise: Zendaya for actress in a drama
Every time Zendaya has been nominated for her role as Rue in “Euphoria,” she has won. But she faced headwinds this round because of the show’s final season, which received largely negative reviews for its miserable conclusion. Still, Zendaya’s star power peeked through, landing her a third nomination for best actress in a drama series. It’s difficult to predict whether she’ll go three for three this fall, though, as she’s up against Keri Russell’s titular role in “The Diplomat” and Rhea Seehorn’s live-wire act for “Pluribus.”
Surprise: Brittany Allen for guest actress in a drama
When HBO decided not to include an Emmy submission for Brittany Allen, whose performance in “The Pitt” as a dying mother garnered raves, she decided to take things into her own hands. After self-submitting, which a handful of other actors from “The Pitt” also did, Allen ran a campaign on her social media — which was shared by Emmy-winning actress Sarah Paulson. This morning, Allen found out that she was an Emmy nominee for “The Pitt.” “You have to fight for yourself,” she told Variety about the process. “You have to believe in your work, and you can’t expect other people to do that for you.”
Snub: Jeremy Allen White and Ebon Moss-Bachrach for ‘The Bear’
The onetime Emmys juggernaut earned plenty of love, including nods for outstanding comedy series (cue the annual category-fraud-induced eye rolls) and actors Ayo Edebiri, Jamie Lee Curtis and the late Rob Reiner. But Jeremy Allen White, a two-time winner who was nominated for each of the show’s first three seasons, missed out on a lead actor recognition. The same went for Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who earned two statuettes as a supporting actor. Just as the writing stagnated for Chef Carmy and Cousin Richie in a wheel-spinning fourth season, so did the actors’ Emmys momentum.
Surprise: ‘Nobody Wants This’ for comedy
Emmy voters were warm to the first season of “Nobody Wants This,” a rom-com about a rabbi and an agonistic woman, offering nominations for its leads (Kristen Bell and Adam Brody) and outstanding comedy series. But even as the show’s second season trailed off in quality — The Washington Post’s then-TV critic Lili Loofbourow said that “the way it innovates on old formulas set[s] it up for failure” — its return was rewarded with another nod for comedy series. The residual good will, combined with a need to find eight nominations for this category, might explain why.
Snub: ‘Stranger Things’
The first four installments of Netflix’s sci-fi fantasy nostalgia trip earned best drama series nods, but the send-off season — which proved so polarizing that it launched conspiracy theories about a secret unreleased finale — was blanked from the above-the-line categories. That meant no nods for past nominees David Harbour and Millie Bobby Brown (though Harbour did get in for “DTF St. Louis”) or scene-swiping baddie Jamie Campbell Bower. This, from the same awards body that went on autopilot and gave the maligned final season of “Game of Thrones” the best drama series win.
Surprise: Laurie Metcalf for ‘Hacks’
It’s hard not to love Laurie Metcalf. She’s extraordinary in “Lady Bird.” It’s always a pleasure to realize that it’s her when watching “JFK” or “Bulworth,” or spotting her on an old episode of “Monk.” Her Tony for “Death of a Salesman” is well-deserved. But for her return to “Hacks,” where she plays a tour manager, she’s barely in the episode. Talk about a reputation nomination.
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