18 Emmys contenders premiering before the eligibility deadline this spring
The 2025 Primetime Emmy Awards eligibility period ends May 31, which means that the next two months will be packed with high-quality television as streaming services and cable networks release late awards contenders to keep them top-of-mind during voting. April is always a packed month for Emmy contenders, and 2025 is no different. Three past Best Drama Series nominees (The Handmaid's Tale, The Last of Us, and Andor) and one Best Comedy Series winner (Hacks) will premiere in April, as well as new contenders like FX’s limited series Dying for Sex, Apple TV+’s drama series Your Friends and Neighbors, and Prime Video’s drama étoile.
These upcoming contenders want to compete with likely nominees already premiered, including Severance, The White Lotus, and The Penguin.
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Here are 18 Emmy contenders premiering before May 31 that you need to know. Some are longshots, some are locks, and all are worth checking out.
Everybody’s Live With John Mulaney (March 12)
Twenty-time Emmy nominee and three-time winner John Mulaney is looking to shake up the Best Talk Series field with his live weekly comedy show on Netflix. This show’s predecessor, the somewhat one-off Everybody’s in L.A., got a nomination for picture editing last year. Still, with a more focused awards approach this year, Mulaney and Netflix could potentially join the traditional late-night shows that are perennially nominated. This category only had four nominees last year, so there’s room for Mulaney to get in without forcing anyone out.
Long Bright River (March 13)
Past Best Movie/Limited Actress winner Amanda Seyfried (The Dropout) returns to the category with Long Bright River, a Peacock crime drama based on a bestselling novel by Liz Moore. Seyfried stars as Mickey, a beat cop patrolling the streets of a Philadelphia neighborhood plagued by the opioid crisis. After three women are found dead in rapid succession in a way that seems connected, Mickey’s sister, an addict living on the streets, is missing, so Mickey sets out to find her. It’s in the vein of Mare of Easttown and Sharp Objects. Peacock has no history of competing in the category, and there’s not much buzz around the series. Still, the limited series field is unusually weak this year, and Seyfried is always good, so Long Bright River could be Peacock’s limited series breakthrough.
Dope Thief (March 14)
Another Philly-set crime drama limited series, this one stars Emmy nominee Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta) and Wagner Moura (Narcos) as guys who pose as DEA agents to rob a stash house they don’t realize is part of a much bigger operation. It was created by blockbuster screenwriter Peter Craig (Top Gun: Maverick, The Batman), and Ridley Scott directs the pilot.
Good American Family (March 19)
Ellen Pompeo stars in this based-on-a-true-crime Hulu limited series about the case of Natalia Grace. Pompeo stars as Kristine Barnett, who suspects Natalia (Imogen Faith Reid), the 7-year-old with dwarfism she and her husband Michael (Mark Duplass) adopted from Ukraine, is actually an adult. Barnett was inspired by the movie Orphan, not the other way around. It’s a sensational series, but the notability of Pompeo’s first role since Grey’s Anatomy could draw the interest she needs to get a nomination. Patricia Arquette won an Emmy for her performance in a similar Hulu series, The Act, in 2019, so there’s precedent for Pompeo here.
The Residence (March 20)
Shonda Rhimes executive-produces this Netflix mystery comedy starring two-time Emmy winner Uzo Aduba as an eccentric detective investigating a murder at the White House. The cast includes Giancarlo Esposito, Randall Park, and Jason Lee, in his highest-profile live-action role in a decade. The comedy category is packed with returning shows like Hacks, The Bear, and the somewhat similar Only Murders in the Building, but there are a couple of open slots for new shows, and The Residence is the kind of show the Emmys like.
Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light (March 23)
This Masterpiece Theater period drama about Thomas Cromwell (Mark Rylance) and Henry VIII (Damian Lewis) is a very long-shot contender in drama categories. British reviews were highly positive for its initial BBC run last year, the first Wolf Hall earned five limited series nominations in 2015, and having scripts by Peter Straughan, reigning screenplay Academy Award winner for Conclave could give it some pop. But now that it’s competing in drama, it will have a more challenging time. This will be more of a BAFTAs contender than an Emmys one, but it will be worth checking out.
The Studio (March 26)
Seth Rogen’s star-studded Apple TV+ comedy is perhaps the new series most likely to break into the crowded comedy category. Reviews have been glowing so far, and there’s a lot of goodwill for Rogen. He plays the newly appointed head of a movie studio, trying to navigate present-day Hollywood's social and economic chaos. Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for Martin Scorsese?
MobLand (March 30)
Guy Ritchie directs, and Tom Hardy stars in this British crime thriller from Yellowstone producer 101 Studios for Paramount+. Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren also star. It’s a longshot contender, but Ritchie was nominated last year for directing The Gentlemen, and Hardy is always worth paying attention to. Hardy plays a fixer hired by a crime family to protect them during a war with a rival syndicate.
Dying for Sex (April 4)
Michelle Williams is going for her second Best Movie/Limited Series Actress win for this FX dramedy series. She plays a woman who is diagnosed with Stage IV cancer and ends her 15-year marriage to explore her sexuality and her spirit before she passes. Jenny Slate costars as her best friend, with Rob Delaney, Jay Duplass, and Sissy Spacek in supporting roles.
The Handmaid’s Tale (April 8)
Hulu’s dystopian thriller — the first streaming show to win a series award — returns for its sixth and final season. The series doesn’t have much awards momentum anymore. Still, Elisabeth Moss has been nominated for lead actress four out of five times and won once, so she might earn a legacy nomination, especially after fighting her way back to a nom for Season 5 after missing in Season 4. And, unfortunately, the show’s themes of sexism and oppression are as timely as ever.
Hacks (April 10)
The reigning Best Comedy Series winner is doing something nearly unheard of in the streaming era and returning less than a year after the previous season ended. In Season 4, the saga of Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) continues, with Smart looking to pick up her fourth Emmy for playing the comedian and Einbinder trying to pick up a supporting actress win after three nominations finally. Hacks is against The Bear’s divisive third season, so its odds of going back-to-back are better than average.
Black Mirror (April 10)
Netflix’s satirical anthology series, which has been winning Emmys since 2017, is expected to return this spring for its seventh season. This batch includes a sequel to its most-awarded episode, “U.S.S. Callister,” which won Outstanding Television Movie in 2018 (somewhat controversially, as it was an episode of an anthology series). Season 7’s cast includes Awkwafina, Emma Corrin, Rashida Jones, and Paul Giamatti, among many others.
Your Friends and Neighbors (April 11)
Moss’ old friend Jon Hamm’s first series regular role since Mad Men ended. The Emmy winner plays a hedge fund manager who loses his job and turns to crime to maintain his standard of living. It’s created by Jonathan Tropper (Warrior) and directed by Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya). Outside of Hamm, it doesn’t have much of an Emmys profile, but Apple TV+ is high on it, having already renewed it for a second season. Hamm could get the last drama actor slot if it lives up to its potential.
The Last of Us (April 13)
As this 2023 drama series nominee returns for its long-awaited second season, it looks to be one of this year’s top contenders. The Last of Us was nominated for 24 Emmys for Season 1 and won eight, the most of any series, and it’s hoping to increase both totals this season. This season of HBO’s video game adaptation introduces Abby (Kaitlyn Dever, Emmy nominee for Dopesick), who becomes an essential foil for Ellie (Emmy nominee Bella Ramsey).
The Rehearsal (April 20)
HBO’s epic, experimental, unscripted comedy series was snubbed for its first season in 2022, but it could come back in a big way in Season 2. Nathan Fielder, a previous nominee for Who Is America? and How to with John Wilson, helps regular people prepare for difficult moments in their lives by building elaborate simulations, including exact replicas of the buildings where the conversations will take place, and hiring actors to play the people they’re talking to. It’s hard to categorize and not the kind of show that typically gets Emmy attention, but it deserves to.
Andor (April 22)
The best Star Wars show and arguably the best Star Wars thing in decades returns for its second and final season. Season 1 was nominated for eight Emmys, including Best Drama Series, and chances are it will be nominated again. It tells the story of thief Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), who transforms into a revolutionary who fights against the Galactic Empire. It’s the gold standard for mature Star Wars storytelling, not in terms of R-rated content, but in the sophistication of its themes.
étoile (April 24)
Two years after wrapping their Emmy-winning series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino are returning to Prime Video with another dramedy, their second set in the world of ballet after Bunheads. It’s about two ballet companies, one in Paris and one in New York, that swap their most talented stars to stay in business. The cast includes Emmy winner Luke Kirby, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Gideon Glick.
Poker Face (May 8)
Peacock’s mystery dramedy is the biggest mystery of the season, as its 12-episode second season has yet to be dated beyond “spring 2025,” but it’s also slated to premiere at PaleyFest. If it premieres under the wire, it could get nominations for comedy series, comedy actress for Natasha Lyonne, and an armful of nods for its army of guest stars (Judith Light won in 2023). The series follows Lyonne’s Charlie Cale, a woman who has the ability to tell when a person is lying, as she travels around the country getting caught up in strange, mysterious situations, which she solves Columbo-style.
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