Those of you follow my column
know that since it was started in 2021 I may be the biggest single booster of
what is now known as the Astra TV Awards. They rival only the Critics Choice
Awards in terms of both the quality of their nominating process and the awards
that they tend to give.
If you followed my column over
the year you might also know that it has been increasingly difficult for
the Astras, after their nominations, to have a proper awards show. In 2023
there were outside circumstances – the creative strike that fundamentally
disrupted Hollywood for four months that ended up pushing the Astras to the day
after the 2024 Golden Globes. In 2024 for reasons I have been unable to
discover the ceremony was postponed within hours of its scheduled start time
and didn’t end up taking place until December when most of its awards for
television were buried under film.
Apparently in an attempt to try
and get rid of both of these obstacles, the Astras have decided to jump to the
head of the line. Their nominations, which have over the past few years come
out in late June or early July, were announced just yesterday. The ceremony
itself has been pushed forward to June 10th, no doubt as an attempt
to try and find territory unoccupied by any awards show and also to get a jump
before even the Emmy nominations themselves come out the following month.
They’ve also made some minor
modifications. As you know if you’ve read my columns, for the first four years
of their existence the Astras have divided the majority of their awards between
network television, cable and streaming with the first two sharing the majority
of their awards. But in 2025, they have decided to come closer to what every
awards show does and group them altogether in the same categories. Sort of.
All three major categories:
drama, comedy and limited series will all compete against each other in the
same categories overall. However, there will also be a special award within
drama and comedy for Best Ensemble for each version: broadcast, cable, and
streaming. There were signs this was going to happen last year, as in 2024 all
limited series and TV movie awards were given with no separations between them.
While I won’t deny I’m slightly
disappointed by a somewhat more traditional format the number of nominations in
all the major categories has been extended to ten in drama and comedy. (It is
at six for limited series but I’m not really disappointed there.) And while
there are slightly fewer nominees the Astras still remain very capable of
keeping a good balance even between all of the groups of series, particularly
with network television. Best of all, for the first time we may have a clear
perspective of what the Emmys will be nominating in just two months’ time.
So without further ado, here are
my reactions to the 2025 Astra nominations. I’m going to try and fit them into
one giant article this time.
I’ll start with comedy.
Best Comedy Series
Well, Abbott Elementary,
Hacks, Nobody Wants This, Only Murders in the Building, Shrinking and What
We Do In The Shadows were almost certainly going to contend. The Studio is
more than deserving, I will gladly watch Poker Face, Ghosts has always
been a contender here and I’m pleased to see The Righteous Gemstones.
But note what won’t win Best
Comedy Series: The Bear. Now they didn’t omit from consideration entirely,
as you’ll see very soon, but is intriguing that one of the most nominated
comedies by the Astras isn’t a nominee for Best Comedy series overall.
BEST CAST ENSEMBLE IN A BROADCAST
COMEDY
No surprise to see Abbott and
Ghosts here or Animal Control which was nominated before.
Overjoyed to see St. Denis Medical here though it’s overlooked in the
major categories. Shifting Gears and The Neighborhood is here but
not the Connors.
BEST CAST ENSEMBLE IN A CABLE
COMEDY
This only has four nominees: Righteous
Gemstones and What We Do In The Shadows are included and I’m glad to
see Somebody Somewhere and The English Teacher. However the latter,
an early favorite for nominations is basically ignored. The allegations to
Brian Jordan Alvarez may hurt this.
BEST CAST ENSEMBLE IN A STREAMING
COMEDY
What repeats from above: Hacks,
Nobody Wants This, Only Murders, Shrinking, Poker Face and The Studio. The
Bear is nominated in this category as are Agatha All Along, Mid Century
Modern and Cobra Kai. Only the first two have a real presence in the
categories to come. Tellingly we don’t see either A Man on the Inside or
The Four Seasons
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Three winners of Outstanding Lead
Actor in a Comedy are present: Adam Brody, Jeremy Allen White and Martin Short.
Steve Martin and Jason Segel are present as is Seth Rogen from the studio.
These six are the most likely candidates for Emmy nominations. We also see Tim
Allen, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Matt Berry and John Goodman – but no sign of Ted Danson,
Brian Jordan Alvarez or Steve Carrell. The former two received multiple
nominations from the Golden Globes or Critics Choice awards; their exclusion
may be a sign their Emmy nomination prospects are dropping.
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Ayo Edebiri, Jean Smart and
Quinta Brunson will face off yet again along with Selena Gomez, Natasha Lyonne
and Kristen Bell. Kathryn Hahn, who has been nominated for some awards down the
road is here for Agatha All Along as in Natasia Demetriou who has
contended for Emmys in the past. Rose McIver is here for Ghosts and Kat
Dennings makes the list for Shifting Gears. I would have preferred to
see Alison Tolman listed for St. Denis Medical, but honestly nine out of
ten ain’t bad.
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A
COMEDY
Shrinking is the big leader in this
category with Michael Urie (who won the Critics Choice Award this January)
Harrison Ford and dark horse Brett Goldstein all in the running. As you’d
expect Ebon Moss-Bachrach is here for The Bear and we see Paul W. Downs
for Hacks and Tyler James Williams for Abbott Elementary. Asher Grodman
and Roman Zaragoza are here for Ghosts; there chances for nominations
are slim. Ike Barinholtz is here for The Studio he might well have a chance.
And Walton Goggins is the first double dipper in the Astras as you’ll see.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A
COMEDY
Three series have two nominees
each. As expected Sheryl Lee Ralph and Janelle James are back for Abbott
Elementary. Hannah Einbinder might very well make it four Astras out of
four tries for Hacks and her comic partner in arms Meg Stalter is in the
running again. Catherine O’Hara also joins the double dippers for The Studio
as does co-star Chase Sui Wonders.
Jessica Williams and Lisa Colon Zayas
will be in the Emmy hunt again. It is unlikely that Edi Patterson or Shelia Carrasco
will. Nothing for SNL in either category. Interesting.
BEST WRITING
Ten nominations. The Studio is
the only one with two. I am thrilled beyond measure to see Bridget Everett
nominated for writing Somebody Somewhere. Most of the others are not
surprises: Abbott Elementary, the
Bear, Only Murders in the Building and Hacks. Will Shrinking contend?
(Brett Goldstein co-wrote this episode) or will it be Nobody Wants This. I’m
pretty sure Ghosts won’t.
DIRECTING
There’s some correlation between
the two, particularly with Shrinking, The Bear, Hacks and Only
Murders. Abbott, The Studio and Ghosts are nominated for different episodes
then writing and What We Do In the Shadows, Poker Face and Righteous Gemstones
don’t have writing nominations at all.
BEST GUEST ACTOR
Bradley Cooper is nominated
twice, for playing himself in Abbott Elementary and his work in the
prelude of Righteous Gemstones. Christopher McDonald is back for hacks
as in Jon Bernthal for The Bear. Martin Short doubled dips for his
hosting SNL where Timothee Chalamet is. Martin Scorsese and Ron Howard
are nominated for the cameos in The Studio and Adam Scott will also
double dip.
BEST GUEST ACTRESS
Kaitlin Olson will triple dip,
nominated for her work in Abbott and Hacks. Jamie Lee Curtis back
for the second straight year for The Bear. Cynthia Erivo the only guest
actress from Poker Face with a showing. Quinta Brunson gets her third
nomination for hosting SNL and will compete against Ariana Grande for SNL.
(Yes it’s another Elphaba-Glinda face off.) Melissa McCarthy is here for Only
Murders, Sarah Polley and Zoe Kravitz for The Studio and Mary
Holland for Ghosts. I haven’t seen the majority of these performances so
I have no comment on their quality. (Except Kaitlin Olson: she’s awesome in
everything.)
Now on to Drama
Severance, Last of Us, White
Lotus, Andor, Slow Horses and
The Pitt are the most likely leaders for outstanding drama. Will Trent
is a perennial contender here and Matlock very well might be. Bridgerton
has no chance and Daredevil less of one. What isn’t in this
category: House of the Dragon, Yellowjackets (they both get mentioned so
they haven’t been ruled out) and no presence of The Old Man or for any
real purposes Day of the Jackal. Their early hopes of contending for
drama are getting slimmer.
BEST ENSEMBLE IN A BROADCAST DRAMA
Matlock and Will Trent are here
and yea, so is High Potential. The Cleaning Lady, 9-1-1 and Elsebeth are
here.
ENSEMBLE IN CABLE DRAMA
The Last of Us and White Lotus are here
as is House of The Dragon and Industry. Former still has a chance;
the latter’s hopes are dimming. Interview with a Vampire is a dark horse,
Outlander has no chance. Where the hell is Dark Winds?
ENSEMBLE IN STREAMING DRAMA
I don’t know why Yellowjackets
is here; I’m just glad it is.
Andor, Severance, Bridgerton and The Pitt are here, but
strangely Slow Horses isn’t. Paradise deserves to be here and may
contend. Rings of Power and The Boys have no chance. The Handmaid’s
Tale is running on fumes. Why is Landman here and not say, Day of
the Jackal or The Diplomat?
BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Five of the likely front runners
for Emmys are here: Adam Scott, Sterling K. Brown, Gary Oldman, Pedro Pascal
and Eddie Redmayne. Noah Wylie’s chances are still good. Glad to see Raymond
Rodriguez is here, this is as close as he’ll get. Also glad to see Joshua
Jackson here for Doctor Odyssey. Why are Charlie Cox and Jacob Anderson
here instead of Jeff Bridges, Diego Luna or Zahn McClarnon?
BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Five frontrunners for Outstanding
Lead Actress in a Drama. Kathy Bates, Bella Ramsey, Melanie Lynskey, Keri
Russell and Britt Lower for Severance. I am overjoyed to see Carrie
Preston here and over the moon to see Kaitlin Olson here for High Potential.
Angela Bassett has no realistic chance for 9-1-1, neither does Nicola
Coughlan. Elisabeth Moss might get in on institutional memory. Can’t fault any
of the choices here.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
The three you’d expect would get
it for The White Lotus are here and they’re three of my favorites: Jason
Isaacs, Sam Rockwell and Walton Goggins. John Turturro is here for Severance
but not Christopher Walken, they chose Tramell Tillman instead. James Marsden’s
chances for Paradise are pretty solid. I’m glad to see Vincent D’Onofrio
here and I’m thrilled to see Jason Ritter and Daniel Sunjata here for High
Potential. But nothing for John Lithgow or Stellan Skarsgard?
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A
DRAMA
Thrilled to see Carrie Coon and
Parker Posey here for The White Lotus would really have preferred Natasha
Rothwell over Aimee Lou Wood. Isabella Merced is here for Last of Us. Skye
P. Marshall for Matlock and Alison Janney for The Diplomat have
real shots at nominations and I think Julianne Nicholson does for Paradise. Dechen
Lachman was chosen for Severance but no one else. Hmm. Not sure about
Taylor Dearden for The Pitt. Jennifer Love Hewitt has no real chance.
Good work.
BEST WRITING AND DIRECTING IN A
DRAMA
Severance is nominated for two writing
awards and is also nominated for directing for the Season finale. Andor is
nominated for writing and directing for the season premiere. The White Lotus
is nominated for both writing and directed for ‘Full MOON-Party.’ The Last of Us for both in ‘Through the
Valley’ The Pitt, Matlock and Will Trent are nominated for both
but for different episodes.
High Potential was nominated for the writing of
the pilot and Slow Horses and The Diplomat for writing. Yellowjackets
was nominated for ‘Croak’. No argument.
BEST GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA
No arguments for Jeffrey Wright
for Last of Us; I haven’t seen Joe Pantoliano’s episode yet and I don’t
recall Danny Ramirez. Glad to see John Noble in the hunt again. And I’m
thrilled to see Yul Vazquez nominated for his work in Will Trent, Ethan
Slater’s for Elsbeth and Joel McHale for Yellowjackets. I didn’t
see Squid Game or Doctor Odyssey so I’ll be neutral on them.
BEST GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Catherine O’Hara and Kaitlyn
Dever will face off against Alanna Ubach in a Last of Us Grudge match.
Gwendoline Christie, the goatkeeper is up against Merritt Wever in Severance.
Overjoyed to see Mary Louise Parker for Elsbeth and Hilary Swank for
Yellowjackets. Always glad to see Angela Bassett, Tracy Ullman and D’Arcy
Carden nominated for anything. (BTW, Bassett double dipped as well and black
Doves is basically shutout.)
Now to wrap it up with Limited
Series which is as six nominees in every category.
BEST LIMITED SERIES
Adolescence, The Penguin and Dying for Sex are not
shocks, I’m glad to see Presumed Innocent and Black Mirror has
been a contender. But why is Dope Their here and nothing for Disclaimer
which has dominated many of the nominations to this point? An aberration?
(The Astras ignored Capote Vs. The Swans last time too.)
CAST ENSEMBLE
Stranger. Adolescence, Dying
for Sex, The Penguin and Black Mirror are here and I can understand Bridget
Jones: Mad About the Boy. But G20? Viola’s Davis’s action movie for
ensemble? Over Presumed Innocent? And Disclaimer? And Monsters?
(I didn’t mention that above because it did get some nominations.)
I’ll deal with TV movie if its
relevant
BEST ACTOR IN A TV MOVIE/LIMITED
SERIES
Colin Farrell, Stephen Graham and
Jake Gyllenhaal make sense and I can sort of see the logic in Brian Tyree Henry
being here. But Miles Teller for The Gorge and Aaron Pierce for Rebel
Ridge over Kevin Kline and Cooper Koch? This keeps getting weirder
BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR
TV MOVIE
All right Cristin Milioti and
Michelle Williams are here. Thrilled to see Amanda Seyfried for Long Bright
River. Renee Zellweger was a contender for her work and Kaitlyn Dever makes
sense for Apple Cider Vinegar.
But Anya Taylor-Joy for The
Gorge? Over Cate Blanchett? Ari Gaynor? This is weird.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A
LIMITED SERIES OR TV MOVIE
Ashley Walters and Owen Cooper
for Adolescence is logical. Glad to see they acknowledged Javier Bardem
and I’m pleased to see Clancy Brown recognized for The Penguin. I would
have preferred Peter Sarsgaard over Dan Stevens for Zero Days or Hugh
Grant but I can live with this.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRES IN A
LIMITED SERIES/TV MOVIE
Jenny Slate makes sense as does
Ruth Negga. Cristin Milioti can never get enough recognition and Diedre O’Connell
deserves it to. Erin Doherty logical; I’ll withhold comment on AnnaSophia Robb.
WRITING AND DIRECTING
Well, they nominated Monsters for
‘The Hurt Man’ which makes perfect sense. Adolescence is up for Episode
3. Dying for Sex, the series finale for writing. The Penguin, both
the right episodes. Black Mirror is nominated for its ‘Eulogy’ episode. Perhaps
Rebel Ridge will contend for awards down the road.
I’ll leave aside the remaining
awards because I either don’t know enough or care enough. But there are some
exceptions:
For Best Comedy or Stand-up
special: glad to see Brett Goldstein and Seth Meyers here. Look forward to
seeing you lose to Ali Wong. Saturday Night Live is nominated three
times in variety special, glad for all three. And as always glad to see both Jeopardy
Masters and Celebrity Jeopardy compete for Best Game Show.
I’ll be back with my predictions
and hopes in early June. Hopefully I can actually see the Astras this time.
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