Following a strong showing at the Creative Arts Emmys, Severance has a chance to take home the Outstanding Drama Series award. The sci-fi drama drew raves in its second season while also loading up on nominations. With wins in the bank for cinematography, production design, and Merritt Weaver taking the Guest Actress prize, there’s a golden opportunity for Severance to take the top prize.
Severance Primetime Emmy Nominations
Outstanding Drama Series
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series — Britt Lower
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series — Adam Scott
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series — Patricia Arquette
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series — Zach Cherry
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series — Tramell Tillman
Outstanding Supporting Ac tor in a Drama Series — John Turturro
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series — “Chikhai Bardo” – Jessica Lee Gagné
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Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series — “Cold Harbor” – Ben Stiller
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series — “Cold Harbor” — Dan Erickson
Supporting Actor Forces Castmates to Duel for the Win
With performers in all four drama acting categories, Severance has a unique chance to pull a full sweep. The weakest case for any of their contenders is Patricia Arquette, and she is an awards darling. Arquette is likely running fourth or fifth in the category, but if the White Lotus actresses cancel each other out, there’s a chance that Arquette could surprise. However, even with an episode to herself, Arquette’s cut in screen time likely means she’s missing a win here.
Scott and Lower feel like potential winners, and their categories are likely to be the thermostat to tell us if Succession is taking Outstanding Drama Series. Scott has to go head-to-head with Wyle. It is possible to imagine Severance taking the top prize without Scott coming along for the ride, but there’s no way that The Pitt is winning without Wyle winning. A Scott victory could clinch it.
Meanwhile, Lower overcoming that actress field could also signal incredible support. To win, she’d have to get the votes over Kathy Bates, Sharon Horgan, Keri Russell, and Bella Ramsey. Lower is the only first-time nominee of the batch, which could be a problem. However, her character was undeniably part of Severance‘s brilliance this season.
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The knife fight in Supporting Actor leads to entirely different conversations. Tillman should be the winner in my book, and if he does win, he will be the first Black performer to win this category. That is a depressing stat in 2025, but Tillman earns this prize with his incredible performance this season.
Turturro also has the tape and performance that could get him a victory. He was in the hunt for Season 1, so this could be the makeup win for the veteran actor. Cherry seems like he’s happy to be here, with the category also full of The White Lotus stars. While he’s a first-time nominee, he does not have the tape to win it. Still, Cherry getting this nom could bode well for future seasons.
Can Severance pull any of the other Emmy categories?
In short, yes, Severance is win competitive in both directing and writing. The finale, “Cold Harbor,” is nominated in both categories, while “Chikhai Bardo” is the second nominee in Directing.
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While I personally prefer “Chikhai Bardo,” it seems unlikely that the TV Academy will ignore a chance to reward Ben Stiller for this season. He’s been hitting the campaign hard, and with his general celebrity, he appeals to the actors’ branch. This could mirror the year that Jason Bateman actually pulled in the Best Director for Ozark.
Where does this leave Severance?
If Severance can pull in two of any of these awards, it has the inside track on Outstanding Drama Series. While the directing and writing winners do not always win the top prize, this year does not have the unrewarded auteur in line for a prize. They could go to Mike White again or reward Dan Gilroy on behalf of Andor, but in this case, Stiller makes the most sense of the nominees to give a prize to a creative who helped guide the show to success.
Add on a handful of actors that the series has helped set up as TV icons Severance can afford to have Scott lose and still overpower its way to the top of the drama field. This has heavy vibes of 2005, when Lost won it all, and this is the chance to crown Apple TV+’s showcase series in case it cannot stick the landing later.
The 77th Primetime Emmys air on September 14, 2025.
