LOS ANGELES – With the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards here, “The Studio” is set to become a major success story, while the intricate narratives of “Severance” might see it join the ranks of top-tier TV shows. Plus, Noah Wyle could be on the verge of a significant awards milestone.
Comic Nate Bargatze will be a first-time host Sunday night when the ceremony at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles airs on CBS Sunday night.
Apple TV+ is set to have a standout year at the Emmys, led by “Severance” and “The Studio,” the two shows with the most nominations and favorites to secure the night’s top honors.
How to watch and stream the Emmys and its red carpet
The Emmys air live on CBS at 8 p.m. Eastern and 5 p.m. Pacific time.
Paramount+ with Showtime subscribers may stream the show live. Standard Paramount+ subscribers can stream it Monday through Sept. 21.
Coverage from multiple outlets includes live red carpet events, with E! starting at 6 p.m. Eastern and “Entertainment Tonight” following at 7 p.m. Eastern. People magazine and Entertainment Weekly will stream their red carpet shows live on social media platforms. Additionally, the Associated Press offers a delayed broadcast of celebrity arrivals and interviews on YouTube beginning at 5 p.m. Eastern.
How the competition is shaping up at Sunday’s Emmys
Spearheading a successful first season, “The Studio,” featuring co-creator Seth Rogen as the visionary new head of a film studio, is generating considerable buzz.
This show has tied the record for comedy series with 23 nominations and has already secured nine Emmys at the recent Creative Arts ceremony. It would be a shock if it doesn’t surpass the previous comedy season record of 11 Emmy wins.
It could win as many as 15, and Rogen himself could win four times, as an actor, a writer a director and an executive producer.
Previously dominant in the comedy category, “The Bear” and “Hacks” are once more contenders for best comedy series but now face the challenge of being outsiders.
“Severance,” the Orwellian office drama about people who surgically split their psyches into workplace “innies” and home “outies,” was the top overall nominee with 27 nominations for its second season. It won six at the Creative Arts ceremony.
Along with best drama — which would be a first for Apple — it’s nominated in all four dramatic acting categories, with stars Adam Scott and Britt Lower each looking for their first Emmys.
Its top competition for best drama could be “The Pitt,” HBO’s acclaimed drama about one shift in the life of an emergency room.
Its star Noah Wyle could be both the sentimental favorite and the actual favorite for best actor. He was nominated five times without a win for playing a young doctor on “ER” in the 1990s, and now could finally take his trophy for what is in many ways a reprise of the role.
HBO’s prestige resort soap “The White Lotus” could also be in the mix for best drama its Thailand-set third season and has three nominees apiece in each of the drama supporting acting categories.
Older women could shine in actress categories
It could be an unprecedented night of Hollywood recognition for older women in an industry known for discarding female actors.
Oscar-winner Kathy Bates at 78 could become the oldest winner ever in the best actress in a drama category for playing the title role in CBS’ “Matlock.” She’d be the first woman from a network series to win the award in a decade.
And Jean Smart at 73 could extend her own record for oldest winner of best actress in a comedy if she wins for “Hacks” as she has for all three previous seasons of the show.
‘Adolescence’ and ‘The Penguin’ headline limited series
Netflix’s “Adolescence,” the story of a 13-year-old in Britain accused of a killing whose four episodes each take place in one continuous shot, may be the year’s most acclaimed show and is the consensus favorite for best limited series. Fifteen-year-old Owen Cooper could become the youngest Emmy winner in more than 40 years for playing the accused.
But HBO’s dark Batman universe show “The Penguin” got the biggest number of limited series nominations and won eight times at the Creative Arts ceremony.
Colin Farrell is nominated for lead actor playing the title character, and Cristin Milioti is nominated for actress for playing his nemesis. Both are considered strong contenders.
A send-off for Stephen Colbert
Not all of the CBS attention Sunday night may be positive.
Voters could give “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” the Emmy for best talk series for the first time as a sort of protest vote and tribute to its host, weeks after its cancellation by the network.
Many perceived the end of the show as punishment of Colbert and placation of President Donald Trump after Colbert was harshly critical of a legal settlement between the president and Paramount, which needed administration approval for a sale to Skydance Media. Executives called the decision strictly financial.
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