Last year for the first time in my
memory we had what amounted to an upset in this category as The Pitt managed
to sweep past the heavy favorite Severance and deservedly won Best
Drama. Now it is very much a critical and audience favorite and ever since then
the odds deservedly are on it repeating in this category.
That said we can't rule out the
possibility lightning could strike twice as this is a category full of
formidable contenders – especially one where the show begins with a force
taking over the world. So with that in mind let's run through the nominees for
Best Drama.
The Diplomat (Netflix) Pro: Each year The Diplomat keeps
getting more and more recognition from the Emmys. Last year it got just two
nominations. For Season 3, eight and six were critical ones. As Kate Wyler
finds herself in the position that the Vice President she was about to accuse
of treason has just become President – and that her husband has now taken the
job she spent two seasons being groomed for – the world of The Diplomat keeps
getting darker and yet somehow more entertaining. Keri Russell continues to
excel in her third classic drama and she is supporting by arguably the most
top-heavy class of actors any show has. This series was the 21st
century version of The West Wing even before Alison Janney and Bradley
Whitford became the President and First Gentleman and while the idealism of the
older series is absent, the realpolitik and sparkling dialogue is present. A
slow-building triumph. Con: I can see it winning some awards for acting
(see later articles) but not the big prize.
The Gilded Age (HBO) Pro: This was the year America stopped
hatewatching The Gilded Age and acknowledged what it had always been:
one of the best dramas of the decade. Perhaps the seven Emmy nominations it got
in 2024 helped it become clear as well. But Season Three upped the already
impressive gain by the writers, directors and the extraordinary cast as the
status quo became permanently disrupted in both the Russell household and the
Van Rijn one. In the former Bertha finally managed to achieve everything she
had always wanted in New York society but the result came at the cost of both
the family unit and the marriage that she'd increasingly sacrificed for her own
ends. In the latter Agnes and Ada spent much of the season trying to figure out
who was head of the household while Ada struggled with the loss of her husband.
Perhaps joining them together are Marion and Larry each of whom represent the
next generation much against the will of their society. Led by a cast of the
some of the greatest actresses in TV history from Carrie Coon and Christine
Baranski all the way down to an increasing guest cast (Claire Huxtable as an
antagonist? Who'd have believed it?) the show cemented its place among the best
dramas of the decade. Con: As incredible as The Gilded Age on its
network alone it features some of the greatest dramas of its era. The buzz is
building but it's not coming this year.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (HBO) Pro: I didn't think it was possible to
create a Game Of Thrones series for people who hated Game of Thrones.
And yet somehow this series, sent a century before the main one, is
basically the antithesis of the flagship series. It's episodes are short, all
average between half an hour and forty minutes. It has nothing to do with
palace intrigues but a humble man trying to become a knight. It's far more a
comedy and satire then anything we've gotten from Westeros in fifteen years and
two shows. And it never takes itself seriously as all the other version have.
That it became a popular sensation is not a surprise; that so many critics and
awards show found it entertaining – particular after Season Two of House of
The Dragon left them underwhelmed – shows there's still life in this
franchise yet. Con: Aside from its nomination for Best Drama, the series
received only technical nominations from the Emmys. And considering that it's
the mirror image of Task – which was nominated for acting, writing and
directing awards but not Best Drama – one wonders if the Emmys got its
wires crossed with which HBO series to nominate here.
Paradise (Hulu) Pro: It was a shock when this show managed
to get nominated for Best Drama last year as well as three other acting
nominations. This year no one was surprised when it got nine. Usually when most
mythology best dramas expand beyond their ordered world it frequently leads to
disaster. Paradise avoided the sophomore slump by remembering the reason
we all loved this series had nothing to do with the mystery at the center –
like all Dan Fogler shows, it was about the people. Starting by expanding the
story with the brilliant standalone episode 'Graceland', Paradise showed
us all the chaos that took place after the day while mirroring it with all of
the chaos that had unfolded after Xavier left the bunker in search of his
family. By comparing the real love that is at the center of the Collins family
and expertly mirroring it with the trauma Sinatra never got over Season 2
continued to build a new mission even as it destroyed the bunker it had so
painstakingly spend Season 1 building and sending us to the third and final
season with an argument: "Nothing is irreversible." No show since Lost
has equally matched mystery and humanity better and it is a triumph. Con:
You get the feel that if Paradise ends up taking the grand prize it
will probably be for its final season. Plus if any post-apocalyptic show wins
the Emmy this year, there's a far more likely contender a little down the road.
The Pitt (HBO MAX) EXPERTS PICK, MY PICK: Pro: Never has a series come around exactly
when America needed it then The Pitt did when it debuted last January
and Season 2 has just confirmed that its still everything we need. Watching the
title emergency room on July 3rd we watched the same chaos we saw
unfold last season with that same level of trauma. An old regular who'd been
there for years passed away on their watch. A victim of sexual assault came in
and painfully underwent a rape exam. We witnessed a terminally ill patient
decide to end her life in real time. A potential cyber attack forced the ER to
go analog – something none of its younger staff were used for. And through it
all Dr. Robby, the center of calm during Season 1, spend the day before going
on sabbatical increasingly showing signs of fraying patience with everyone
around him in a way that became increasingly obvious to his co-workers. Yet to
an extent every major staffer is dealing with this deeper PTSD from working at
this ER whether it is Langdon coming out of rehab, Mel not able to adjust to
her sister having more of a life then her or Dana still not over the assault
that happened last year. It is a triumph on every level. It's already won at
both the Astras and the TCA for Best Drama for Season 2. The coronation seems
close at hand. Con: As we all learned last year we can't take anything
for granted and there are quite a few formidable contenders. Such as…
Pluribus (Apple TV) DARK HORSE. Pro: Vince Gilligan returned to television
and gave us one of the greatest masterpieces of 2025. A series that showed us
the alien invasion in a way his work on The X-Files never did in a way
television has not demonstrated in almost 25 years of Peak TV. When a hive mind
takes over Eart leaving only thirteen people unaffected for most of Season 1 we
focus on Carol Sturka (played by the incomparable Rhea Seehorn) the angriest
woman on Earth before this began and perhaps the only woman left alive who
still knows what it means to be a human. Most of the series is done in long
segments of 'show, not tell', frequently with Carol one of the few characters
on the screen, then in the second half of the series focusing on Manousos in
Paraguay, perhaps the only unaffected person who shares Carol's views about the
hive. Pluribus is a series with all the touches were used to from the
man who brought us Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul with details
that any other showrunner would omit becoming small but vital parts to our
enjoyment of the show. (The first meeting between the two people who have to
save the world takes place over Google translate.) Next to The Pitt,
Pluribus is the most nominated drama with an impressive 19 and is likely to
go toe to toe with it in almost every major category. Throw in the fact the
Emmys really owes Gilligan for completely skunking Better Call Saul and
you can see why it might be chosen. Con: Every time Pluribus has gone head to
head with The Pitt, it has lost whether it is the first season (Golden
Globes, Critics' Choice)or second season (Astras, TCA) I really can't see that
changing on Emmy night.
Slow Horses (Apple TV) Pro: Over the last two years Slow Horses
has kind of become a sleeper agent at the Emmys, each year taking a
critical prize (Writing in 2024, Directing in 2025) from juggernauts that were
overly favored to win. Nearly simultaneously the entire world seems to have
fallen in love with the motley crew at Slough House who someone manages to keep
saving London from terrorist attacks with the reluctance of the Park and their
own boss Jackson Lamb. (Gary Oldman's going to get an Emmy someday.) And
honestly few series in the 2020s have dealt with such dark subject and have
been such fun to enjoy every moment. The current season which deals with terror
attacks, political assassinations and the fact that most of the Slow Horses are
still suffering PTSD from the fact their headquarters was invaded and one of
their own was killed in front of them. And yet every time you watch the show
you get the sense that everyone in the cast, from Oldman and Kristin Scott
Thomas down to Saskia Reeves and Jonathan Pryce, are having the absolute time
of their lives. I don't know how many seasons this show has in it but
considering that Mick Herron just wrote another novel for the series, I could
live with this strange, strange game going on forever – or at least until it
won Best Drama. Con: I can see it snatching one, maybe two small prizes
from The Pitt or Pluribus but when it comes to the grand prize,
well, let's just say there's a better chance of Lady Di giving Jackson Lamb a
knighthood.
Your Friends & Neighbors (Apple TV) Pro: Jonathan Topper's show about a former
hedge fund manager who becomes a cat burglar became a sleeper hit back in 2025
and it has all the makings of one of those shows that works well in Apple TV's
staples. It has an impressive cast headed by Jon Hamm, an interesting plot line
that looks like a more fun version of Breaking Bad and unlike far too
many dramas on both network it has never pretended to be anything other than
what it is. Con: The show made history in a bad way when it became the
first drama series in over thirty years when its nomination for Best Drama was
the sole nominee for the show. We've seen how this plays out for actors
over the years, it sure as hell isn't going to work for this series.
Prediction: You can't take anything for granted
but I'm pretty sure The Pitt will repeat as Best Drama. And despite my
preference for some of the other series in this category, I have no problem
with that.
Tomorrow I deal with Best Actor in a
Drama. It's going to be an honor to lose to Noah Wyle…and some of the nominees
already have.
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