Warner Bros. Discovery’s HBO Max was the most nominated platform at the 2025 Emmy Awards with 142 noms, paced by HBO’s limited series The Penguin (24), The White Lotus Season 3 (23) and The Last of Us Season 2 (16) as well as HBO Max originals Hacks Season 4 (14) and The Pitt Season 1 (13). This marks the most Emmy nominations for HBO in a single year, topping its previous high mark of 137 in 2019, before the launch of streamer HBO Max.“Ultimately it’s a great validation of all the creative people that we work with,” said Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO and HBO Max Content. “The Emmys are not the reason why we do the shows we do, but it’s a nice recognition of the hard work that goes into each and every one of these shows.”He gave shoutout to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav who “has always been very, very supportive of everything we’re trying to do,” and his creative heads, Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller (documentaries), Nina Rosenstein (late-night and specials), Amy Gravitt (comedy), Francesca Orsi (drama), Sarah Aubrey (Max originals).“Everybody put up nominations, which is really, really exciting, but also, I think it’s a really nice validation of the culture at HBO and HBO Max,” Bloys said. “it’s not just how we develop, it’s how we make deals, it’s how we handle publicity, talent relations, it’s kind of everything.”On the dealmaking side, “if you asked around, most people in town would feel good about the deals that they make with [BA execs] Glenn Whitehead and Susanna Fellerman. They may not always be the best deals, but they feel like they’ve gotten a fair deal and they have been treated respectfully, and that’s important.”Mike White’s The White Lotus matched its Season 2 Emmy nomination haul with 23 nominations. Once again, Season 3 proved an acting showcase with eight cast members recognized, including first-time Emmy nominees Scott Glenn, Jason Isaacs and Aimee Lou Wood. All but previous nominee Natasha Rothwell are new to the anthology franchise.“I’m really excited the way Mike has set up this show, the way he gets to highlight a new cast and some returning cast, how he really gets to work with really interesting and exciting talents, and that there’s something new every year,” Bloys said. “I think it’s a really great model.”While White was not on hand to celebrate The White Lotus’ latest strong Emmy performance as he is in Fiji competing on the new season of Survivor, when he is done, he will start working on Season 4 of The White Lotus, beginning with picking a location.“I don’t know exactly his Survivor schedule, but I do know they are going to start scouting locations, and that process is very important for Mike to get a feel of the location, not just the country, but also the physical location, the building,” Bloys said. “He’s going to start that process soon.”In an interview with Deadline in February, Orsi indicated that Season 4 would be set in Europe where also Season 2 took place. Is that still the case?“I want to be careful, because a lot changes when he scouts so I could say yes, I think he will be looking to Europe, but it’s possible he ends up somewhere else,” Bloys said of White. “It really is about what excites him, and what makes the most sense. So Europe is on the table, how about that?”As for Fiji where White is currently, “maybe he was scouting while he was on Survivor, I don’t know,” Bloys quipped.Post-apocalyptic drama The Last of Us received 16 Emmy nominations for its second season, the last with both of its co-creators, Carig Mazin and Neil Druckman, at the helm as the latter, who was also behind the acclaimed video game the TV series is based on, has departed ahead of Season 3.“Obviously having both Craig and Neil is great,” Bloys said. “One thing people forget is Neil is a really, really talented and in-demand game designer and creator. So he does have a day job, but we’ve been so fortunate to have him and his perspective to establish the show. It’s been invaluable, but he does create video games, and that is his passion, I understand that.”As for whether The Last of Us will last one or two more seasons, “Craig is really thinking about that now, I’ll probably talk to him soon about what he’s thinking,” Bloys said. “We really leave that up to him in terms of what the best storytelling model is, so I don’t know yet where he’s landed on — whether it’s two shorter seasons or one longer season.”Did Bloys try to dissuade Mazin and Druckman from killing off Pedro Pascal’s popular character Joel even though that’s in the games?“Well, if you know the games, you know that that’s coming. So no, I didn’t,” Bloys said. “We really do take the creatives’ lead. Once you’re in for the show, you kind of know where you’re going with the blueprint. So I knew it was coming.”Medical drama The Pitt for HBO Max, from the ER trio of John Wells, R. Scott Gemmill and Noah Wyle, was done under a different business model emulating a broadcast drama: a larger order, 15 episodes, produced at a lower price point than a typical streaming drama with a shorter turnaround, delivering a new season yearly. Given the concept, was Bloys surprised that the show did so well at the Emmys where broadcast dramas have been shunned for years, landing 13 nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series and Lead Actor In a Drama Series for Wyle?“I will say, not surprised, but really heartened to see a first-season show of any kind, it’s always great when it breaks through, but especially one that some might call old-fashioned,” he said. “It’s sometimes harder to compete with platforms, including ours, doing eight episodes and taking a lot longer. If you work in television, you know that it can be more challenging to do a show like The Pitt on that timeline. They’re shooting Season 2 right now as we speak. It can definitely be harder to knock it out of the park like John and Scott did, I’m so pleased for them, for Noah, for the cast, it’s just a really nice validation.”The Pitt was launched as a test case for HBO Max to build on with other broadcast-type procedural drama series. There has been chatter about hot scripts in development but no greenlights yet. Will we start to see orders soon?“With the success of The Pitt, anticipating that, we’ve been developing other — I use the term procedural, but it’s kind of a generic term, basically, for that model of more episodes, a financial model that allows you to do that more of the broadcast model,” Bloys said. “Sarah Aubrey has been spearheading that, and I think you will see some announcements over the next few months about other endeavors in that kind of procedural market.”Hacks co-creators Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky had initially envisioned a five-season arc for the series but have indicated recently that they may need a sixth installment to wrap the story.Will Season 5 will be the last for the reigning Emmy winner for Outstanding Comedy Series?“I don’t know. We leave that up to them,” Bloys said. “With all shows, to the extent we can, I like to leave it to the creators and let them feel, have they told all the story they want to tell? Does it feel like the right place to end it? So I’ll really leave that to the team there.”While HBO Max original Hacks has been flying the flag for the company in the Emmy comedy race for the past two years, Bloys has high hopes for the upcoming crop of new comedy series on HBO proper, highlighting the new Tim Robinson and Rachel Sennott series, the Steve Carell and Bill Lawrence show as well as the The Comeback revival.HBO’s The Penguin was conceived as a limited series spinoff from Matt Reeves’ 2022 film The Batman. The show’s 24 Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Limited Series and nods for stars Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti, may change that.“It’s definitely possible,” Bloys said about the prospects of a Penguin followup. “Obviously, Matt has the film that he needs to work on. But there’s definitely a possibility. I think probably what’s most important in that world right now is getting the movie started, and I know they’re dealing with that now.”While the next installments of The White Lotus and The Last of Us will be likely for Emmy 2027 consideration, HBO’s Euphoria should be back in time for the 2026 Emmys. Filming on its third season is still going on.“I want to say September,” Bloys said, “but going well, very, very happy with everything.”Euphoria Season 3 would be joined in 2026 Emmy contention by Season 3 of The Gilded Age; the new seasons of The Pitt and Hacks; Task, the new crime drama from Mare of Easttown creator Brad Ingelsby and the Bill Lawrence-Steve Carell comedy, among others.“We’ve got a mix of old and new,” Bloys said.
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