We will update this article throughout the season, along with all our predictions, so make sure to keep checking IndieWire for the latest news from the 2025 Emmys race. The nomination round of voting takes place from June 12 to June 23, with the official Emmy nominations announced Tuesday, July 15. Afterwards, final voting commences on August 18 and ends the night of August 27. The 77th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards are set to take place on Sunday, September 14, and air live on CBS at 8:00 p.m. ET/ 5:00 p.m. PT.
The State of the Race
Spoilers for those who have not watched “Hacks” and plan to, but one of the most prescient moments on the latest season of the Max comedy was when Helen Hunt’s network boss revealed to Jean Smart’s Deborah Vance that her new job as a late night host was a last ditch attempt to not cancel their late night talk series programming altogether.
Talking about the Outstanding Talk Series category can be complicated because there are actually a lot of exciting developments within the talk series space. But the shows that land nominations are near immovable, and the winner for over two decades is almost always “The Daily Show” — especially with host Jon Stewart at the helm, even for just one day a week.
With that in mind, we can start with what the other nominees would be. Last year, the other series nominated alongside “The Daily Show” were “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” But the Emmys rules dictate that when a category has under 20 submissions (but over eight,) the number of nominees will be whatever number of submissions the category receives divided by four, and rounded to the nearest whole number. Right now, we know of 11 submissions, meaning the number of nomination slots would be three this year. Because of what it has been nominated for in the past, and its proximity to Jon Stewart’s “Daily Show,” one can assume “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” would get the other spot, meaning the last slot would be for Kimmel, Meyers, or a new show.
“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and “Real Time with Bill Maher” have been nominated in a version of this category before, so they are plausible contenders. And though “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” has never been nominated in this category, it has received a Primetime Emmy nomination before, with its network Bravo becoming a bigger awards player after the attention it received from the “Vanderpump Rules” scandal a couple years ago.
But even more than last year, where Netflix called an audible at the end of the Emmys eligibility window, and submitted his Netflix Is a Joke experiment, John Mulaney feels like the one to watch in this race for his new show “Everybody’s Live.” Mulaney already has several Primetime Emmys for his standup specials and work on “Saturday Night Live,” and has been praised for finally figuring out a late night concept that works for streaming.
If voters really want to dive into the innovative shows happening in this space, “Hot Ones” would be another one to highlight, with this being the second year YouTube is submitting the beloved hot wing interview series into the Emmys race. Dropout, another primarily digital platform, has been looking for ways to enter the Emmys race as well, with the latest effort being the comedic interview series “Very Important People,” where host Vic Michaels talks to guests in character, similar to “The Colbert Report” or “Ziwe.” Colbert actually won this category twice when he was playing a character on his Comedy Central, so there is a bit of hope that the Dropout series could break through if Television Academy members do give it a watch.
Current Contenders (In Alphabetical Order):
“The Daily Show” (Comedy Central)
“Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney” (Netflix)
“Hart to Heart” (Peacock)
“Hot Ones” (YouTube)
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC)
“Late Night with Seth Meyers” (NBC)
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS)
“Real Time with Bill Maher” (HBO)
“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC)
“Very Important People” (Dropout)
“Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” (Bravo)
More Category Predictions:
Outstanding Animated Program
Outstanding Scripted Variety Series
Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series
Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special
View IndieWire’s full set of predictions for the 77th Emmy Awards.Last Year’s Winner: “The Daily Show”
Still Eligible: Yes.
Hot Streak: “The Daily Show” is on the hottest of hot streaks, having won twice since alumni John Oliver’s show was moved to a different category. Combine those wins with the Emmys for “The Colbert Report” in 2013 and 2014, and it shows “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and his former correspondents have won this category every year since 2003.
Notable Ineligible Series: “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” (submitted as a Scripted Variety Series)
