Fez – “Severance,” fronted by Adam Scott and produced by Ben Stiller, returns with a second season that deepens its corporate mind-split premise at Lumon Industries.
The series was widely acclaimed in its debut but lost the 2022 top prize to “Succession,” a dynamic battle that fuels this year’s competition.
Its chief challenger, “The Pitt,” is the season’s breakout. The medical drama set in Pittsburgh emergency services unfolds one intense overnight shift across 15 episodes, touching hot-button issues from abortion rights to mass shootings and gaining traction through word of mouth.
In lead actors, Adam Scott and Noah Wyle are viewed as the category’s central duel.
Comedy appears more clear-cut. Apple’s “The Studio,” co-created by and starring Seth Rogen as a desperate film producer, enters the night as favorite after 23 nominations and a strong haul at the Creative Arts Emmys.
The show doubles as both a love letter to Hollywood and a sharp satire of its fears and moral blind spots.
Another limited series could deliver yet an additional British win for Netflix. “Adolescence,” a four-episode one-take drama about a 13-year-old accused of killing a classmate, has dominated water-cooler talk and logged 140 million views in three months. Many pundits call it the prohibitive favorite following last year’s “Baby Reindeer.”
Producers say the Television Academy wants a unifying, fast-moving broadcast.
Executive producer Jesse Collins promised a show focused on celebration, while host Nate Bargatze joked he will donate $100,000 to a youth charity and deduct $1,000 per second from that pledge if acceptance speeches run past 45 seconds. The ceremony begins Sunday night in Los Angeles, at 00:00 GMT Monday.
Key categories at a glance:
Best Drama nominees include “Severance,” “The Pitt,” “The White Lotus,” “The Last of Us,” “Andor,” “Slow Horses,” “Paradise,” and “The Diplomat.”
In comedy, contenders include “The Studio,” “The Bear,” “Hacks,” “Abbott Elementary,” “Only Murders in the Building,” “Shrinking,” “Nobody Wants This,” and “What We Do in the Shadows.”
Limited or anthology nominees are “Adolescence,” “Black Mirror,” “Dying for Sex,” “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” and “The Penguin.”
With “Severance” and “The Pitt” neck and neck, and “The Studio” poised to headline comedy, the Emmys’ biggest question is whether the night breaks for returning favorites or for the season’s buzziest new heavyweight.
