Character Actors, Diversity Wins and A-List Snubs

The Emmy Awards closed the curtain on a season that stretched longer than last year’s strike-delayed marathon, revealing a television industry grappling with its evolving identity. Where film’s Academy Awards capture cultural moments through star power, this year’s Emmys reflected TV’s decisive pivot away from A-list obsession toward voices, communities and performances voters deemed essential to the medium’s survival.

The night’s most telling narrative emerged in the systematic rejection of movie stars once positioned as Emmy frontrunners. Colin Farrell, heavily favored for “The Penguin,” Michelle Williams for “Dying for Sex,” Harrison Ford for “Shrinking” and Kathy Bates for “Matlock” all departed empty-handed. Instead, trophies flowed to television veterans and character actors who’ve spent years crafting the medium’s backbone: Stephen Graham for “Adolescence,” Cristin Milioti for “The Penguin,” Jeff Hiller for “Somebody Somewhere” and Britt Lower for “Severance.”

Was it intentional? No, but I think it points to a generational recalibration of Emmy taste, where prestige no longer comes from recognizable faces parachuting into television. Rather, from performers deeply embedded in the medium. In a landscape saturated with content, voters appear to value endurance, authenticity and craft over the lure of red-carpet cachet. That sentiment echoed across multiple categories, as television’s lifers reclaimed space from Hollywood royalty.

Hiller’s supporting comedy actor victory stands among Emmy history’s most shocking upsets, joining the ranks of Merritt Wever’s speechless “Nurse Jackie” triumph and Katherine Heigl’s surprise “Grey’s Anatomy” win. His defeat of 82-year-old Harrison Ford crystallized the Academy’s wholesale rejection of celebrity currency in favor of embedded, touching work.

Apple’s “The Studio” dominated the evening with 13 trophies, including lead comedy actor for Seth Rogen, directing for Rogen and Evan Goldberg, and the comedy series crown. The satirical workplace comedy entered as a frontrunner and delivered spectacularly, with voters embracing its structural audacity. Yet even amid such dominance, surprises emerged. Ike Barinholtz, the series’ anchor as fictional right-hander Sal Saperstein, and Catherine O’Hara’s vulgar former studio chief, left trophy-less.

The Emmys’ cyclical nature manifested starkly in FX’s “The Bear” collapse. Last year’s record-breaking 11-win kitchen dramedy suffered a complete shutout, losing all 13 nominations. This Academy fatigue echoes familiar patterns seen with previous Emmy darlings like “Modern Family,” “Homeland” and “The Handmaid’s Tale.” With its fourth season receiving mixed reviews, the former powerhouse now faces uncertain nomination prospects heading into next year. HBO Max’s “The Last of Us” also missed out on trophies, even with Pedro Pascal’s departure season.

Meanwhile, overdue recognition finally arrived for Hannah Einbinder, who after four “Hacks” seasons claimed her first Emmy for supporting comedy actress. Her impassioned acceptance speech highlighted the stakes of the cultural moment and reminded viewers of the power comedy holds in framing real-world issues.

Historic breakthroughs punctuated the ceremony with seismic significance. Tramell Tillman’s supporting drama actor win for “Severance” shattered the Television Academy’s final racial barrier for Black people in acting categories, making the 40-year-old performer the first Black man to claim the honor in the organization’s 77-year history. His chilling portrayal of Seth Milchick helped propel the Apple TV+ psychological thriller to eight total wins, matching Netflix’s “Adolescence” and NBC’s “SNL50: The Anniversary Special.”

Now, the hope is to see similar breakthroughs for Asian, Indigenous and Latino acting communities, which remain vastly underrepresented in Emmy history.

Britt Lower’s lead drama actress victory for “Severance” further cemented Apple’s cross-category dominance, while producer and writer Frida Perez achieved multiple firsts with “The Studio” team. She became the first Latina winner for comedy writing, the first Latina executive producer of a winning comedy series and the first Latina recipient in any comedy category. Her triumph makes her only the second Latino in Emmy history to win a top series prize, following Celia D. Costas’ producing victory for HBO’s “Angels in America” in 2004.

The Academy’s appetite for unconventional choices surfaced repeatedly in drama categories. For the second consecutive year, Apple TV+’s “Slow Horses” shocked industry observers, this time through Adam Randall’s directing victory over heavyweights Ben Stiller (“Severance”), Mike White (“The White Lotus”) and John Wells (“The Pitt”). The espionage drama seems to thrive on Emmy unpredictability, having previously upset in writing. Next year, let’s pencil it in for a Jack Lowden victory, shall we?

Speaking of “The White Lotus,” the HBO anthology escaped infamy by eking out a single creative arts win for main title theme. Without it, the series would have tied “The Handmaid’s Tale” as the biggest Emmy loser of all time, which infamously went 0-for-21 in 2021.

Netflix’s “Adolescence” claimed eight awards in limited series competition, including outstanding directing for Philip Barantini and lead limited actor for Stephen Graham. The streamer became the first to win the top miniseries prize three years in a row.

Dan Gilroy’s writing win for “Andor” was a striking surprise, as the “Star Wars” series edged out heavyweight competition and reminded audiences that genre programming can still earn prestige recognition.

When you analyze “The Pitt’s” victory over “Severance” in drama series, it felt like one of the great Emmy matchups in recent memory, with one edging past the other by the narrowest of margins. Both shows claimed three acting awards, both lost in directing and writing (the last show to win drama without those was the “Game of Thrones” final season) and both arrived with strong critical support. In the end, “The Pitt” pulled ahead thanks to Katherine LaNasa’s joyful supporting actress victory and Noah Wyle’s long-awaited Emmy win after five previous losses.

Reality television also entered a new era as Peacock’s “The Traitors” swept its five categories, including reality competition program. The result signals the Academy has moved on from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” as its default winner, anointing a new genre leader.

And then there was “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” which earned talk series in its penultimate season. With the show canceled, Colbert’s emotional win played like a farewell tour stop, one almost certain to be repeated in next year’s swan song.

The Television Academy’s challenge now centers on maintaining this momentum. For every barrier broken, others remain. The industry will watch closely to see whether next year’s nominees and winners will expand the circle even further.