2025 Emmy Episode Submissions: ‘The White Lotus’ Cast Goes Deep on the Finale But Who Will It Pay Off For?
With voting on the 77th Primetime Emmy nominations just a few weeks away, episode submissions for actors and series nominees are rolling in but as each new year does, it begs the question…
…do submissions even matter? For a long time they did. In previous years, small groups of voters (‘blue ribbon panels’) voted on each category and watched the episodes together. It gave us locked in winners like Edie Falco’s “Whitecaps” and surprises like Patricia Arquette’s out of nowhere win for Medium.
As the television academy continued to change and evolve its voting rules, while an episode submission is still required for each nominee, it’s not clear that watching them all is a priority. It’s definitely not a requirement. It could be why, in recent years, we’ve seen more sweeps than we used to. If voters overwhelmingly have nominated just a handful of shows to giant numbers (like Severance, The Studio and The White Lotus this year) it’s how we often see down ballot voting.
With that, let’s take a look at some of these submissions, some of which may be surprising.
The Pitt‘s Noah Wyle opted for the finale (“9:00 P.M., just like his co-stars Katherine LaNasa and Shawn Hatosy) and not “6:00 P.M.,” which has his emotional breakdown, and for many, the moment of the season in terms of his performance.
The men of Severance only diverted slightly, with first time nominees Zach Cherry and Tramell Tillman picking the ninth and penultimate episode of the season, “The After Hours.” A smart choice for Cherry, where he resigns from Lumen after discovers his wife has been “seeing” his innie. For Tillman, most probably expected him to submit the dance party episode, his most-talked about of the season. But “The After Hours,” in which he oversees the completion of the Cold Harbor files and fires Miss Huang, is pure serious drama acting. Their co-star John Turturro submitted “Woe’s Hollow,” the snowy field trip where his character Irving attempts to drown Helly, which ends up with his firing.
Of the eight nominated performances in The White Lotus (three in supporting actor, four in supporting actress and one in guest actor), five of them – Carrie Coon, Natasha Rothwell, Aimee Lou Wood, Jason Isaacs and Walton Goggins – all submitted the same episode, the season finale “Amor Fati.” There is a shrewdness to this decision as it puts everyone on the same playing field vs multiple submissions giving voters a wider look at more work. Both Parker Posey and Sam Rockwell opted for “Full Moon Party.” It’s a great submission for Rockwell, as it’s his wild, much talked about introduction episode as an old friend of Goggins. For Posey, it has her viral “Piper, noooo!” and “Buddhism!” catchphrases, focusing on the comedy of her role and performance, much like Jennifer Coolidge, who won twice for the show.
In the comedy supporting categories there is no crossover between actors from the same show nominated with Harrison Ford and Michael Urie from Shrinking, Kathryn Hahn and Catherine O’Hara from The Studio, and Janelle James and Sheryl Lee Ralph from Abbott Elementary all submitted different episodes. In guest actress, Olivia Colman and Jamie Lee Curtis have different submissions for The Bear (“Forever” and “Ice Chips,” respectively) as do Hacks‘ Julianne Nicholson and Robby Hoffman (“A Slippery Slope” and “Cover Girls.”) It’s a different story in guest actor, where The Studio nominees make up five of the six spots and two sets of them – Bryan Cranston and Dave Franco (“CinemaCon”) and Anthony Mackie and Ron Howard (“The Note”) opted for the same episodes.
Nominees in the lead acting categories for limited or anthology series or movie so not submit single episodes but instead automatically include the entirety of the series (or movie). In the supporting categories two sets of actor and actress submissions from the same limited series chose the same episode: Erin Doherty and Owen Cooper both selected “Episode 3” of Adolescence, no surprise there as it’s their big standoff against each other and arguably the most talked about episode of anything this season. For Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny both chose “Don’t Dream It’s Over,”which takes the attention away from the boys and puts it all on the marriage of their parents through therapy sessions.
Here are the submissions for the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards as they come in.
OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
The Diplomat – “When a Stranger Calls,” “St. Paul’s,” “The Ides of March,” “The Other Army,” “Our Lady of Immaculate Deception,” “Dreadnought”
The Last of Us – “Future Days,” “Through the Valley,” “Day One,” “Feel Her Love,” “The Price,” “Convergence”
Paradise – “Wildcat Is Down,” “Sinatra,” “Agent Billy Pace,” “In the Palaces of Crowned Kings,” “The Day,” “The Man Who Kept the Secrets”
The Pitt – “7:00 A.M.,” “10:00 A.M.,” “2:00 P.M.,” “6:00 P.M.,” “7:00 P.M.,” “9:00 P.M.”
Severance – “Hello, Ms. Cobel,” “Woe’s Hollow,” “Attila,” “Chikhai Bardo,” “Sweet Vitriol,” “Cold Harbor”
Slow Horses – “Identity Theft,” “A Stranger Comes to Town,” “Penny for Your Thoughts,” “Returns,” “Grave Danger,” “Hello Goodbye”
The White Lotus – “Same Spirits, New Forms,” “Special Treatments,” “Full-Moon Party,” “Denials,” “Killer Instincts,” “Amor Fati”
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Kathy Bates, Matlock – “I Was That, Too”
Sharon Horgan, Bad Sisters – “Boom”
Britt Lower, Severance – “Attila”
Bella Ramsey, The Last of Us – “Convergence”
Keri Russell, The Diplomat – “St. Paul’s”
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Sterling K. Brown, Paradise – “The Day”
Gary Oldman, Slow Horses – “Identity Theft”
Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us – “The Price”
Adam Scott, Severance – “Cold Harbor”
Noah Wyle, The Pitt – “9:00 P.M.”
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Patricia Arquette, Severance – “Sweet Vitriol”
Carrie Coon, The White Lotus – “Amor Fati”
Katherine LaNasa, The Pitt – “9:00 P.M.”
Julianne Nicholson, Paradise – “Sinatra”
Parker Posey, The White Lotus – “Full-Moon Party”
Natasha Rothwell, The White Lotus – “Amor Fati”
Aimee Lou Wood, The White Lotus – “Amor Fati”
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Zach Cherry, Severance – “The After Hours”
Walton Goggins, The White Lotus – “Amor Fati”
Jason Isaacs, The White Lotus – “Amor Fati”
James Marsden, Paradise – “The Day”
Sam Rockwell, The White Lotus – “Full-Moon Party”
Tramell Tillman, Severance – “The After Hours”
John Turturro, Severance – “Woe’s Hollow”
OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jane Alexander, Severance – “Sweet Vitriol”
Gwendoline Christie, Severance – “Cold Harbor”
Kaitlyn Dever, The Last of Us – “Through the Valley”
Cherry Jones, The Handmaid’s Tale – “Exile”
Catherine O’Hara, The Last of Us – “Future Days”
Merritt Wever, Severance – “Who Is Alive?”
OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Giancarlo Esposito, The Boys – “Beware the Jabberwock”
Scott Glenn, The White Lotus – “Killer Instincts”
Shawn Hatosy, The Pitt – “9:00 P.M.”
Joe Pantoliano, The Last of Us – “The Price”
Forest Whitaker, Andor – “I Have Friends Everywhere”
Jeffrey Wright, The Last of Us – “Day One”
OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
The Bear – “Tomorrow,” “Next,” “Doors,” “Napkins,” “Ice Chips,” “Forever”
Hacks – “Big, Brave Girl,” “Cover Girls,” “I Love L.A.,” “Mrs. Table,” “Witch of the Week,” “A Slippery Slope”
Nobody Wants This – “Pilot,” “A Shiksa Walks Into a Temple,” “The Ick,” “WAGS,” “Rebecca’s Box”, “Bat Mitzvah Crashers”
Only Murders in the Building – “Once Upon a Time in the West,” “Gates of Heaven,” “Adaptation,” “Blow-Up,” “Valley of the Dolls,” “My Best Friend’s Wedding”
Shrinking – “Jimmying,” “In a Lonely Place,” “Last Drink,” “Full Grown Dude Face,” “Changing Patterns,” “The Last Thanksgiving”
The Studio – “The Promotion,” “The Oner,” “Casting,” “The Golden Globes,” “CinemaCon,” “The Presentation”
What We Do in the Shadows – “The Return of Jerry,” “Sleep Hypnosis,” “The Railroad,” “Nandor’s Army,” “Laszlo’s Father,” “The Finale”
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Uzo Aduba, The Residence – “The Mystery of the Yellow Room”
Kristen Bell, Nobody Wants This – “Pilot”
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary – “Strike”
Ayo Edebiri, The Bear – “Legacy”
Jean Smart, Hacks – “I Love LA”
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Adam Brody, Nobody Wants This – “Pilot”
Seth Rogen, The Studio – “The Pediatric Oncologist”
Jason Segel, Shrinking – “The Drugs Don’t Work”
Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building – “Escape from Planet Klongo”
Jeremy Allen White, The Bear – “Tomorrow”
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Liza Colon-Zayas, The Bear – “Napkins”
Hannah Einbinder, Hacks – “Mrs. Table”
Kathryn Hahn, The Studio – “Casting”
Janelle James, Abbott Elementary – “Music Class”
Catherine O’Hara, The Studio – “The Promotion”
Sheryl Lee Ralph, Abbott Elementary – “100th Day of School”
Jessica Williams, Shrinking – “Changing Patterns”
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Ike Barinholtz, The Studio – “The War”
Colman Domingo, The Four Seasons – “Eco Resort”
Harrison Ford, Shrinking – “The Last Thanksgiving”
Jeff Hiller, Somebody Somewhere – “As Much as I Like Not Feeling”
Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Bear – “Doors”
Michael Urie, Shrinking – “Full Grown Dude Face”
Bowen Yang, Saturday Night Live – “Host: Jean Smart”
OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Olivia Colman, The Bear – “Forever”
Jamie Lee Curtis, The Bear – “Ice Chips”
Cynthia Erivo, Poker Face – “The Game Is a Foot”
Robby Hoffman, Hacks – “Cover Girls”
Zoe Kravitz, The Studio – “The Presentation”
Julianne Nicholson, Hacks – “A Slippery Slope”
OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jon Bernthal, The Bear – “Napkins”
Bryan Cranston, The Studio – “CinemaCon”
Dave Franco, The Studio – “CinemaCon”
Ron Howard, The Studio – “The Note”
Anthony Mackie, The Studio – “The Note”
Martin Scorsese, The Studio – “The Promotion”
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
Erin Doherty, Adolescence – “Episode 3”
Ruth Negga, Presumed Innocent – “The Verdict”
Deirdre O’Connell, The Penguin – “Gold Summit”
Chloe Sevigny, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story – “Don’t Dream It’s Over”
Jenny Slate, Dying for Sex – “It’s Not That Serious”
Christine Tremarco, Adolescence – “Episode 4”
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
Javier Bardem, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story – “Don’t Dream It’s Over”
Bill Camp, Presumed Innocent – “The Burden”
Owen Cooper, Adolescence – “Episode 3”
Rob Delaney, Dying for Sex – “You’re Killing Me, Ernie”
Peter Sarsgaard, Presumed Innocent – “The Elements”
Ashley Walters, Adolescence – “Episode 2”
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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