Pop Culture Happy Hour - 2025 Emmy Nominations

Episode Date: July 16, 2025

This year's Emmy nominations are out, and it was a good year for familiar favorites like Hacks, The Bear, Abbott Elementary, The Last of Us and The White Lotus. There were also some newcomers that got some love as well including The Pitt, Adolescence, The Studio, The Penguin, and Paradise. We'll unpack this year's the notable nominees and make some predictions in the major categories. To access bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for Pop Culture Happy Hour, subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour+ at plus.npr.org/happy. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

This year's Emmy nominations are out, and it was a good year for familiar favorites, like hacks, the bear, Abbott Elementary, The Last of Us, and the White Lotus. But some newcomers got some love as well, shows like adolescence, the studio, the penguin, paradise, really, paradise? And, of course, the pit. The ceremonies in September and the Emmy race has officially begun. Will Gene Smart outsmart Iowa Debrie again? Will Uzo Adduba win for a show that has already been canceled? Will Grizzled TV veteran Noah Wiley win his first ever Emmy. I'm Glenn Weldon, and we're unpacking this year's Emmy nominations on Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR.

Joining me today are my fellow co-hosts, first Linda Holmes. Hey, Linda. Hello, Glenn. Also with us is Aisha Harris, Aisha. Hey, Glenn. All right, there's a lot to cover, so let's get right to it. We're going to stick to the major categories, beginning with outstanding drama series. First up, Severance, the Apple TV Plus series about employees of a sinister corporation who have undergone a process that separates their work life from their home life.

That is the most nominated series this year with 27 nominations. Next up is the Pitt, the Max Hospital Show that follows Noah Wiley and other doctors and nurses over the course of one long shift in a Pittsburgh emergency room. Then we got the White Lotus, the HBO Anthology series, this time about a resort in Thailand with a cast including Walton Goggins, Parker Posey, and Carrie Coon. Next up is The Last of Us. The HBO series is a fungus-based twist on the Zoneman. The Zambi Apocalypse, it follows the young girl, played by Bella Ramsey, who is mysteriously immune to the fungal

and her gruff taciturn protector-turned father figure, played by Pedro Pascal. Next up is Slow Horses, again, starring Gary Oldman, the Apple TV Plus series, is about a disregarded division of MI5, which serves as a dumping ground for British spies who've made huge mistakes. Next up is Andor, the Star Wars Disney Plus thriller that follows Diego Luna on his journey from scoundrel to Rebel Hero. Next up is The Diplomat, the Netflix political drama, stars Carrie Russell as an ambassador who is under consideration for the vice presidency. And finally, Paradise. Hulu's drama series follows a Secret Service agent played by Sterling K. Brown, who's caught up in a web of intrigue after the president is assassinated. Linda, you wrote up your thoughts. What's your first impressions about this group here?

I don't think there's anything on here that really shocks me except, like maybe Paradise was a show that I thought started off pretty good and then kind of lost a lot. lot of steam as it went along. But I know people really liked it and found it addictive. Sterling K. Brown is very beloved by the Emmys, I think, and for good reason. So I wasn't that surprised to see it there. I personally would vote for the pit. I really thought that was an extraordinary season of TV. I sort of both enjoyed it and thought it was good and has something to say about health care and things like that. So out of these, I would pick that. I know the love for and or I'm not a big Disney Plus Star Wars universe guy, but I know the love for that show. And a lot of people who I know are have very good taste in TV.

I've talked up that show to me. I loved the first season of The Diplomat, not as much this one. I think there are a bunch of good shows on here. I would go with The Pit just because it's the most special to me. Yeah. I mean, put me down for The Pit as well. I think it's, as Linda said, both entertaining and also, I think, very high quality. But I also think Paradise is a kind of silly.

show? Is it kind of ridiculous? Yeah, but I also am not at all surprised to see it here because it has gotten so much momentum. And it is kind of a great sort of popcorn show. So, you know, I'm, I'm kind of not mad at it being here, to be honest. And as for me, I mean, I am happy to see Andrew on here. I'm happy to see it get some love for its second season, which I thought was better, even better than the first, both for what it is and for what it represents, right? Because this is a genre story that delivers on every genre element you needed to. But it's, isn't content to do only that, which makes me sound like I'm talking about elevated science fiction. I'm not.

I just like and or a whole lot. But I do think, I agree with you. Even though I don't watch the pit, I got two ears and I hear the buzz and I see the buzz. This is the pit's year. This has the wind at its back. I mean, this year the pit has 13 nominations. It feels like a sweep. I'm just sensing that building.

It would be. All right. Let's continue with outstanding lead actor in a drama series. First up, Noah Wiley for the Pitt. Wiley plays Dr. Rabinovich or Dr. Robbie, who runs an emergency room. Next up is Adam Scott for Severance. He plays Mark, one of the employees at Lumen,

who has severed his work life from his home life. Next up is Gary Oldman for Slow Horses. Oldman plays the slovenly burnt out head of a rundown disregarded division of MI5 that serves as a dumping ground for British spies. Next up is Pedro Pascal for The Last of Us. He plays Joel.

Briefly enough, the grizzled smuggler turned father figure responsible for protecting Bella Ramsey's character, Ellie. And finally, we've got Sterling K. Brown. for Paradise. He plays a no-nonsense secret service agent Xavier Collins, who is investigating the death of the president of the United States. What do you guys think? There are a bunch of actors I like in this category. Some of them I have liked them more either doing other things or in other seasons of these shows. I was not as hot on this season of severance as I was previous severance,

but I love Adam Scott. I was not as hot on this season of The Last of Us as I was other ones, but I love Pedro Pascal. And I've spoken about Paradise, but I love Sterling K. Brown. So, but again, I go back to Noah Wiley. I know it's boring to do that, but I think he is really extraordinary in this part. I think he holds down that whole show.

I think it's been fascinating to see him kind of expand on a kind of work that he did when he was a younger actor, obviously on ER, heard of it. And I just think there's a ton to recommend. I think he's excellent. I would pick him. But listen, a bunch of guys I like in this category. Yeah, I don't have anything.

to add to the Noah Wiley fan camp here. But I do think Sterling K. Brown, Paradise is kind of the closest thing. This in the pit feel the closest to like an old school network TV drama. And despite the fact that Paradise is kind of silly, I think he's doing something really interesting here that we don't usually see him get to do. We see him get to be kind of like, he gets into his like action hero mode. And I've been wanting to see that for a while. I'm very happy to see that here.

it's a flush category, regardless of how I feel about some of the other shows or performances. I think it's a good assortment of performances, I would say. Yeah, because I react instinctively to things I thought to myself, Noah Wiley does not get another bite of the apple, but he hasn't had any. It turns out this would be his first Emmy if he wins it. He was nominated five times for ER, but he never won. So that has transformed me. I'm not pulling for Noah Wiley, even though I don't watch the damn show, but he's got the best story. Nice. Good job.

Yes. All right. Next up, outstanding lead actress in a drama series. First up is Kathy Bates for CBS's reboot of Matlock. Bates plays Madeline Maddie Matlock, a 70-something woman who charms her way into working at a high-powered law firm and quickly starts winning cases by capitalizing the fact that she's widely underestimated and even ignored. Next up is Britt Lauer. For Severance, she plays Helly, one of the employees at the Corporation Lumen, who has undergone the severance process.

Next up is Bella Ramsey for The Last of Us. Ramsey plays Ellie, who is immune to the mysterious plague and is seeking vengeance. And then Carrie Russell for the diplomat. She plays Kate Weiler, a diplomat to the UK, who was under consideration for the vice presidency. And finally, this surprised me. But I'm happy with it, Sharon Hogan for the Apple TV Plus series Bad Sisters, which follows the aftermath of the death of her abusive brother-in-law. Aisha, would you make of this?

I was also shocked by Sharon Hogan here. Look, this is for the second season, right? Right? Yeah. It is the second season. Yeah. Right, right. So catastrophe to me is one of the best TV shows of the 21st century. I will say it right here right now. I love that show. I loved her in it. And I also loved her in the first season of Bad Sisters. The second season, though, was rough. And I didn't even finish it, to be honest. And I was kind of shocked to see her here. But I think, you know, it's always a toss up with these categories because people who are voting on these categories are people in Hollywood who have presumably jobs that aren't like ours, which is to actually watch. these things. So I'm always questioning how many people have actually seen these shows and how much of it is just goodwill or affection for previous performances. I'm not saying that Sharon Horgan isn't good in Bad Sisters. Most of my issue is with the writing and the plotting of that second season. But yeah, this is a strange category. I personally will root for Britt Lauer here just because

this is no fault of Bella Ramsey's, but I think the character of Ellie in the second season just kind of did it go where I thought it should go. And so I think Britt Lauer is doing a lot with a very opaque season of severance. Yeah. But Linda, this is Kathy Bates as to win, right? You know, that's the thing Aisha was talking about, about, you know, you have to account for how much people have loved other performances by this person, which is not to say I don't think Kathy Bates is great in this show because I do think she is. These are all performances I have liked, but not this season as much as the previous ones. Britt Lauer, too, a little bit.

So I guess I would root for Kathy Bates just because these are all performances I would have voted for in other seasons, but I don't know that I would vote for them for these seasons. It's a good point. I will just say that if Kathy Bates does win, she will at 77 be the oldest winner

in this category, which says a lot more about the state of roles for women on TV than it doesn't necessarily say about Kathy Bates' performance, although it's a lot of fun. She is a lot of fun. Yeah.

All right. Next up is Outstanding Comedy Series, kicking off with hacks, which follows the relationship of a legendary stand-up comic and the young writer she hires to freshen up her act. That one airs on HBO Max. Next up is The Studio, Apple TV Plus's funny, very funny satire starring Seth Rogan as a Hollywood studio head desperately trying to do a job he's afraid of failing at that led the comedies with 23 nominations. Next up is the wacky hijinks of the Bear FX's Intent.

tense and fast-paced series about a fine dining chef who takes over his family Chicago Italian beef sandwich shop. Next up, yet again, is only murders in the building. Martin Short, Steve Martin, and Selena Gomez, star as true crime fans who investigate a real murder and make a podcast about it. It's streaming on Hulu. Next up is Abbott Elementary, ABC's sitcom set in a Philadelphia public school created by the great Quinta Brunson.

Next up is Nobody Wants This, a romantic comedy from Netflix that stars Kristen Bell as an agnostic podcast host and Adam Brody as a rabbi. I'm going to ask if you guys saw that one coming. Next step is shrinking, which a lot of people saw coming. Apple TV Plus's series with a big heart and lots of jokes starring Jason Siegel, Harrison Ford, and Jessica Williams, all of whom play therapists, all of whom were nominated to this year. And finally, always the dark brides made, never the dark bride. What We Do in the Shadows, FX's satirical take on bloodthirsty vampires who also happen to be roommates. Linda, what did you make of this? Yeah, a lot of shows I love, particularly I would highlight the studio, which I think is a very, very successful showbiz comedy. There's a reason why it made a tear through the guest actor category in particular, picking up all kinds of nominations for Ron Howard and Anthony Mackie and Martin Scorsese and, you know, people playing themselves in some cases. The bear is not a comedy. I'm tired of talking about how the bear is not a comedy. This in particular, these nominations are for its third season, not the fourth season that just came out, which had maybe a little more.

comedy, but the third, which was very grim, not a comedy. But the third had a lot more facts than the freak. The fact family, they kind of threw them in to try to be comedy. None of it felt integrated with the rest of the show. I love Abbott Elementary. I really, really love shrinking. They did not nominate shrinking in its first season for very much. They nominated just Jason Siegel and Jessica Williams, who are both nominated again.

But they nominated it for comedy series, and I was so glad because I love it. love the show and I think it's so good this season just getting into it. I think it's such a sturdy, solid comedy. So I think I'm going to root for that, even though I think this is the studios year, probably. As for nobody wants this. I liked it. I thought it was a little slight. I was interested to see when I looked up first-time nominees that this is the first time being nominated for both Kristen Bell and Adam Brody, who I feel like have been on television for a gazillion years. So I wonder how much of this is accumulated kind of goodwill, again, toward people. People also, I think, really liked to this show, liked how kind of laid back it was.

I would have loved to see something like a man on the inside nominated. That was another show I really loved, that I was sad, was left out. There are a bunch of really good shows on this list. I liked this season of Only Murders. Hacks is hacks. I didn't think the season was as good as the last ones. But, I mean, so many good shows on this list. Abid Elementary and Trinking.

granted, Abbott Elementary has a few more seasons or a couple more seasons on shrinking. But I think they both came into their own and improved. And it makes me happy to still see Abbott Elementary getting recognition. Granted, again, the way the Emmys work is like oftentimes, especially if you are, well, in the old days, especially if you were in a network sitcom or TV show, it's like, once you get in, you're probably going to get nominated a lot of times. I do have to say, I really, really hope that the studio, to me, that is, it seems like the one. one that will probably be the big winner for comedy just because it is about Hollywood. It does have a lot of people involved who are beloved. It's really fun.

And I think a lot of people are just excited to have a fun show that can poke fun at Hollywood, but also still has a clear reverence for Hollywood at the end of the day. I love this list. I don't begrudge any of them. I do look at this list and just see three shows that I wish were on it. The residents, which we'll have a chance to talk about. very soon. Colin from accounts

and mostly somebody somewhere. We're talking about this show. All true. It has aired for three seasons on Max slash HBO slash Max. It has gotten only

two nominations in its history. Both of them are this year. One is for writing and one is for supporting actor Jeff Hiller. Jeff Hiller. Yeah.

He plays Joel and that's richly deserved. But that show, if it had gotten earlier major nominations, that show is exactly the kind of show that could benefit

from an Emmy nomination. Yeah, absolutely. show's profile. Got more people to watch. That's what an Emmy nomination is for. I love what an Emmy nomination is useful. Yeah. But congratulations to that show because it did a great job.

And we will miss it. Here, here. 100%. Here. Here. Amen. Next up is lead actress for a comedy series. Gene Smart for Hacks.

Smart play as comedy legend Deborah Vance. Iowa Debrie for The Bear. She plays Sydney and ambitious young chef. Next up is Quinta Brunson. For Abbott Elementary. Brunson plays Janine, an educator in the Philadelphia a public school system. Next up, as you mentioned, is Kristen Bell for Netflix's Nobody Wants

This. She plays an agnostic podcast host who faces obstacles to love when she meets a rabbi. And finally, Ouzoo-Aduba for Netflix's already canceled the residence. She plays Detective and Avid Birdwatcher Cordelia Cup, who's called to the White House to investigate a death. The Emmy sometimes does this. They nominated a show that it has already been axed. What do you guys make of this list?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the nominations, or like the votes, voting period happened before the show is officially canceled. Probably. But either way, Uza Duba loved her in this. I very much enjoyed this show. We had a whole episode on it. I loved how it was a murder mystery, but it was a murder mystery that focused on, yes, it was in the White House, but it mostly focused on the people who work in the White House.

So it was very much a upstairs, downstairs is the focus. In a world where we have so many murder mysteries like the White Lotus that are all about the rich and the insufferable, I love this turn and I want more of it. And I'm happy to see her here. I think she was so great playing this sort of very nerdy bird watching, bird lover detective. And everyone in this category is very talented. I enjoy them. But I'm rooting for Uza, even though now the show's canceled.

So the chances of her winning. Who knows? Who knows? This is a category with five performances I like very much. I would vote for Uzo Aduba easily, for all the reasons Aisha said, I love her wardrobe in this. I love her kind of whole style in this. I think there's so much to love about this performance, but most of it is just her particular skill at kind of getting into this character and figuring out how to make her both silly and kind of make sense. This category also illustrates the kind of slidiness of some of these categories.

because Iowa Debris competed as supporting for the bear in the first season. She won that year. Then the next season, she competed as lead actress against Gene Smart. She lost to Gene Smart. This is the same setup this year. You know, hacks has been around for a while. It maybe wasn't the bear's strongest season for Sydney's character. I'll be interested to see what happens here.

I think the best thing that could happen is if Uzu Aduba takes it home that night. Next up is lead actor. a comedy series. First up is Seth Rogan for the studio. He plays Matt Remick, a Hollywood studio head, desperately trying not to fail, and failing at that. Martin Short, for Olin Murders in the Building, short plays Oliver,

an ambitious Broadway director turned a true crime podcaster. Next up, her to him, Jeremy Allen White for the Bear. White plays Carmi, a hot shot chef who is transforming his family's sandwich shop into a fine dining restaurant. Adam Brody, for Nobody Wants This, he plays a rabbi who sparks a relationship with

Kristen Bell's agnostic podcast host. And finally, Jason Siegel for the Apple TV Plus series Shrinking. He plays a widowed therapist to adopt some unexpected methods for his therapy patients. Aisha, what did you make of this? Well, podcast hosts, having a moment at the end. Really? I didn't notice that, you're absolutely right. Yeah, no. I mean, for me, it comes down to either Seth Rogen or Jason Siegel, which is funny because, like, they both kind of come from the same sort of Apatau universe. Yeah, that's true. Of course, they both start in freaks and geeks together. early on in their careers. I think these are two very different performances. I mean, Jason Siegel, it's a comedy, but it's also very much a comedy about grief and

trying to transcend grief. And he is so vulnerable and especially in the second season, I think he takes what can be easily like Guy Mourns's dead wife, like blah, blah, blah, and very mowblin and kind of hacky and makes it something that just feels so beautiful and relatable, but also he's not perfect. And Seth Rogen is playing another, I think, hard to capture character, which is a self-absorbed, very ambitious guy who loves movies and claims to love art, but then also wants to, you know, be at the top of the chain. And that means having to deal with all the business side and the icky side and the compromise. And so I think they both do a really good job of giving these

characters way more layers than I think you would ever expect them to have. So I want either of them to win. I would be very happy for you to win. I sort of assume that this is going to be Jeremy Allen White again. That appears to be institutional at this point, which, listen, I love him. I admire and respect the work he does on this show. It is not a comedy performance. That's my thing.

I'm not even on the, is the show a comedy. I'm like, he is not funny. He is not funny on this show. This is not a comedy performance. I won't say never, never, but almost never, in my opinion. And that's not to say comedy performances can't have notes of drama. I'm talking about the balance of this performance. I do not think qualifies this comedy performance.

I agree with Aisha. I admire this Jason Siegel performance so much. I can't remember if I already told you this, Aisha, but I was at an event on stage that Jason Siegel was at when it suddenly occurred to him that the second season should have been called How I Killed Your Mother. He's really great in this. I also just think Seth Rogen, the line that you have to draw to be that guy who, as Aisha says, loves movies, really loves movies.

And you have to have some sympathy for him or else. the show doesn't work, but you also have to understand him to be completely cynical in a way or else the show doesn't work. I think that balance is really quite tough. I think he's terrific in this. I think he's terrific in Plotonic, which is the other show he's doing for Apple. Good for him. I think he's really hitting an interesting gear at this point in his career. So I'm happy to have it be Seth Rogan. I would be maybe a tiny bit happier if it was Siegel just on a personal level. but that's, I suspect it's going to be Jeremy Allen White again. Okay, we're going to take a break.

When we come back, we're going to be hitting the weirdest category we'll be talking about today. Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series and in some cases or movie. And we're back. Okay, next up is Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series. No movies. We're talking about movies when it comes to acting. But for this, this is just Outstanding Limited or Anthology series. First up is Adolescence from Netflix.

This series tells the story of a 13-year-old boy who is accused of murdering a teenage girl at his school. Next up is The Penguin, HBO's spinoff of the movie The Batman, starring Colin Farrell as the ruthless mobster Oswald Oz Cobb. Next up is Dying for Sex, the FX on Hulu series starring Michelle Williams as a woman who attempts to finally own her sexuality following a terminal cancer diagnosis. Next up, the odd man out here, Monsters, the Lyle and Eric Menendez story, the latest installment of the anthology series, co-created by Ryan Murphy. And finally, Black Mirror, Netflix's latest installment of the terrifying speculative fiction anthology series about technology. Linda, what do you think? I will say I was really pleased to see Black Mirror here.

I did think there were several strong episodes in this season. I think the one with Rashida Jones and Chris O'Dowd is very good. I think the one with Paul Giamatti is exceptional. So I was happy to see this kind of make a run back in here. And as to the rest of these, I will absolutely defer. to you guys for that conversation. I completely forgot about the penguin, even though I really liked the penguin. We talked about it on the show, Gladly.

As a very much, I don't really care about superheroes or superhero adjacent things, I was delighted by Colin Farrell's performance and the whole vibe of that show. But this came out like months ago. So it does make me wonder, you know, it's here. It made it to the nominations, but I do think, like, recency bias. Canon will probably play a really big role in what actually winds up winning. Dying for sex, I think, is probably the one that I root for the most here. I think it was such a, it is a very difficult subject, and it is a very difficult thing to get

right. And I think it strikes the right tone between drama and comedy and the macabre. And, you know, Michelle Williams is so, so wonderful here. So I'm rooting for that. Look, I thought the penguin was one of the best, if not the best shows in the year so far. I was convinced that it was going to get a nomination, if not take it home. And then adolescence dropped. And I was like, okay, shows over.

People who haven't watched the penguin are going to be comparing adolescence, which is just so raw and powerful and quote-unquote real. It's such a singular accomplishment that people are going to go from that to the penguin. they're going to look at the prosthetics. They're going to listen to Callen Varel's D's Doze accent. And they're going to register the fact that this is, you know, a Batman villain. And they're just going to dismiss it as a comic book. And they're not going to watch the damn thing.

The wind is that adolescence is back. I don't begrudge that. If it had landed next year, I think the penguin would have gotten some flowers. And I don't think it's going to get the flowers it deserves. Yeah. All right. One of the reasons I think the penguin should have got the flowers it deserves is because of the lead actress in it. So let's do outstanding lead actress in a limited or anthology series

or movie. First up is, who I spoke about before, Christian Miliotti for the penguin. She plays Sophia Falcone, the daughter of a Gotham mob boss with some scores to settle in this Batman spin-off series, but it's more than that. Next up is Michelle Williams for dying for sex. She plays Molly, who, after being diagnosed with stage four breast cancer, re-evaluates the unsatisfying relationships in her life and her own sexuality. Next up is Kate Blanchett for disclaimer. She plays a woman who is terrified when she's anonymously sent a novel that seems to be based on a chapter of her past that she's desperate to keep secret.

Next up is Rashida Jones for Black Mirror. She plays a woman who, after falling into a coma, is kept alive by a procedure with a subscription model. And finally, Megan Fahey for Netflix's Sirens. In this mysterious dark comedy, she plays a woman trying to reconnect with her sister who has an odd relationship with her socialite boss.

Aisha, kick us off. What do you think? Okay, so Kristen Amelia, was great. I agree with you, Glenn. For me, yes, Colin Farrell also great, but I think she was just doing something very, very fun and dark and scary. I do think this could be Michelle Williams's to lose just because I think it's such a, like, it's not personal to her, but it's a personal story based on a real person. It also deals with something so many people have had to deal with, which is cancer and death. And perhaps. being a caretaker for someone who was very ill.

I don't know. I feel like Michelle Williams, she also just has, people love her for good reason. She's great. And so I would not be sad at all if Michelle Williams was the winner here. Yeah. I think Kate Blanchett's very good in disclaimer. I don't know how well that show holds up as a whole piece, but I think she's good in it. I am probably the only person in this conversation who has watched Sirens, I'm willing to guess.

And listen, I love Megan Fahey. she's definitely the best thing about Sirens. I am a little baffled by this just because I don't think the show is very good. But listen, if you want to like Megan Fahy, watch her in Drop, watch her in The Perfect Couple. There's a bunch of things to love Megan Fahey and I don't know that I would pick this,

but I also think she's good in this. It's very weird. This is just a group of actors who I have loved in various things. So who can be against Christa Miliani, nobody. So, you know, or Michelle Williams, who I also think has a very good chance at this partly just because she's not in that many things. She doesn't show up constantly.

So I think, you know, her goodwill kind of gets banked. So there's no one on this list where I'm like, I would be like, what? Like, no. They're all great actors. Yeah, my heart says Kristen Miliotti. My Emmy Spitey Sense says Michelle Williams. Yeah. All right.

We're going to close out here with lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie. First up is Colin Farrell for the penguin. He plays ruthless monster Oswald Oz Cobb, scheming to become kingpin by any means necessary. Next up is Stephen Graham for adolescence. He's the father of a teenage boy accused of murdering his classmate. Graham is also one of the co-creators of the show. Next up is Cooper Koch for Monsters, the Lyle and Eric Menendez story. He plays Eric Menendez, who is convicted of murdering his parents with his brother Lyle.

Next up is the great Brian Tyree Henry for dope thief. In this Apple TV Plus series, he plays a man robbing small-time drug dealers by posing as a DEA agent until he messes with the wrong house. And finally, Jake Gyllenhaal for presumed innocent. He plays Rusty, a Chicago prosecutor, accused of the murder of the colleague he'd been having an affair with. It's a lot. I don't think people expected presumed innocent to be on this list in any capacity, but

go. Again, it premiered over. I had to go back and look, and it premiered over a year ago. So it's like, what? So here's the thing. I rarely find myself in the position of being too. too annoyed by Emmy nominations that happen because I am pretty good at if I'm not covering it and I know it's probably not going to be my speed, I just kind of don't watch things, right?

That's often what my approach is. However, I did watch presumed innocent because it should be my speed and I thought it was a mess. And I do not even think his performance is very good in it. I must say this is not a performance from him that I liked. I don't think he ever figured out this character. I am baffled by this as anything other than. You know, people love Jake Gyllenhaal. Ruth Nega is also in this. People like her. I will say, Peter Sarsgaard was nominated for this and he was the one thing I liked about it. So good for him, question mark. Other than that, these are not my things. So have at it. I would love to see Brian Tyree Henry win just because I love him. For me, I'm rooting for Brian Tyree Henry all the way. This was the one Emmy nomination that I have been constantly think about because I don't really like, there are Emmys, whatever. But unabashedly, this was his first lead role in a show.

And so to see him be able to take that role and it goes to a lot of places. It is both a very, like, thoughtful drama, but then it also gets a little bit kind of, not supernatural, but like kind of trippy in some parts of it. And so he has to hold it all together while he is, you know, dealing with a bunch of thugs and racists and skinheads and whatever. I just think he's so great. And it's his time. and I want him to take it, but I can also see the adolescence train chugging along here. So, yeah, I'm just glad he's nominated. Yeah, I think the adolescence train is pulling into the station.

And I think I think it's what's going to take it. Yeah. That's it for the major nominations. Is there anything that stuck up to you guys that kind of below the fold? Anything else you wanted to comment about this year's nominations? To me, what is always, like, enjoyable about the Emmy nominations and what I always try to keep my eye on is all of those first-time nominations. sometimes really like famous people like Harrison Ford and Colin Farrell and, you know, Javier Bardem and Chloe Sevenie, who are both nominated for Monsters and it's their first Emmy nominations.

But also like Tremel Tillman and Zach Cherry from Severance and Michael Yuri for shrinking, which I'm so excited about and so happy for him. He's been wonderful forever. Obviously, Kristen Miliotti. So I do try to keep my mind on kind of the positive, which is you do always know. that a bunch of people whose work that you admire are having a really good day, and that always makes me really happy. I take your point. That makes sense. We want to know what you think about this year's Emmy nominations.

Find us at Facebook.com slash PCHH, and that brings us to the end of our show. Aisha Harris, Linda Holmes, thank you so much for being here. Thank you, Glenn. Thank you, buddy. And just a reminder that signing up for Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus is a great way to support our show and public radio. Also, you get to listen to our episodes. Sponsor-free.

So please go find out more at plus. NPR.org slash Happy Hour. or visit the link in our show notes. This episode was produced by Mike Katzif and edited by our showrunner, Jessica Reedy, and Hello, Come In, provides our theme music. Thank you all for listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR. I'm Glenn Weldon, and we'll see you all next time.