The Television Academy opened Emmy Week at the Peacock Theater with the first Creative Arts ceremony, a night built for the artisans who shape how television looks, sounds and moves. The show kicks off the 77th Emmys with presenters from prestige series and hit franchises and will air as an edited special Sept. 13 on FXX (also streaming on Hulu through Oct. 7). The Primetime Emmys follow Sept. 14 on CBS and Paramount+.
Apple TV+ and HBO/Max split the evening’s biggest hauls thanks to three tentpoles: Apple TV+’s Hollywood satire The Studio led with nine wins, HBO/Max’s Gotham saga The Penguin collected eight, and Apple TV+’s Severance added six. Netflix made noise across genres with Arcane and Bridgerton, while Disney+’s Andor, Prime Video’s The Boys, Netflix’s Adolescence and Max’s The Pitt all stacked multiple victories.
Guest acting categories produced marquee moments. Julianne Nicholson took Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for Hacks and Bryan Cranston won the comedy guest actor race for The Studio. On the drama side, Merritt Wever prevailed for Severance and Shawn Hatosy was honored for The Pitt.
Animation delivers a statement and a little history. Netflix’s Arcane claimed Outstanding Animated Program, while Julie Andrews earned Character Voice-Over for embodying Lady Whistledown on Bridgerton. Juried Individual Achievement awards were spread among artists on Arcane and Love, Death + Robots, underscoring the breadth of craft within modern animation.
Below the line, the year’s biggest genre showcases dominated. Andor won Special Visual Effects in a Season or Movie, The Penguin took Special Visual Effects in a Single Episode for “Bliss,” and Severance captured Main Title Design—recognition for three series that build singular worlds before a word is spoken.
Sound and picture categories were widely shared. The Last of Us took home Sound Editing (one-hour). The Penguin swept Sound Editing and Sound Mixing for Limited/Anthology with its “After Hours” episode. Apple TV+ doubled up as The Studio won Sound Editing and Sound Mixing for a half-hour, and Severance earned Sound Mixing (one-hour). Editorial races were similarly competitive across formats, reflecting the precision driving today’s top episodic storytelling.
Music honors reinforced how score and song define television’s mood and momentum. Severance composer Theodore Shapiro won Original Dramatic Score (series). Cristobal Tapia de Veer’s indelible theme for The White Lotus reclaimed the Main Title Theme crown. The Penguin prevailed in score for limited/anthology, The Studio took Music Supervision, and The Boys snagged Original Music & Lyrics with the irreverent “Let’s Put the Christ Back in Christmas.”
Design departments had a busy night. Severance won Production Design (contemporary, one hour and up), The Studio claimed Production Design (half-hour), and Andor triumphed in Production Design (period/fantasy). Bridgerton and House of the Dragon split key makeup and hair honors in the period/fantasy lanes. Contemporary costume categories were divided between The Studio and The Penguin, while Andor captured fantasy/sci-fi costumes—evidence of how wardrobe can world-build as boldly as VFX.
Stunts found clear favorites. Prime Video’s The Boys scored Stunt Coordination (drama) and Stunt Performance for “The Insider.” At the same time, The Righteous Gemstones nabbed Stunt Coordination (comedy), spotlighting two shows that fuse choreography, comedy and chaos with precision.
Cinematography showcased distinctive visual signatures across platforms. Apple TV+ claimed both half-hour (The Studio’s “The Oner”) and one-hour (Severance’s “Hello, Ms. Cobel”) cinematography races, and Netflix’s Adolescence took the limited/movie category with a bold, film-forward aesthetic. Rounding out the program categories, Netflix’s Rebel Ridge was named Outstanding Television Movie.
Night 1 underscores a few trends heading into the Primetime Emmys telecast: Apple TV+ continues to punch above its weight in crafts with The Studio and Severance; HBO/Max remains a world-building juggernaut through The Penguin’s makeup, costumes, VFX and sound; Netflix’s animation slate is a force between Arcane and Love, Death + Robots; and genre storytelling—from Andor to The Boys—continues to drive technical innovation that voters reward. Those patterns, combined with the guest acting results, set compelling momentum for next weekend’s marquee races.
An edited Creative Arts Emmys presentation airs Saturday, Sept. 13 at 8 p.m. PT on FXX and streams on Hulu through Oct. 7. The 77th Emmy Awards air live Sunday, Sept. 14 on CBS and stream on Paramount+.
Full List of Winners Below:
Acting & Casting
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
Julianne Nicholson as Dance Mom — Hacks, “A Slippery Slope” — HBO | MAX
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
Bryan Cranston as Griffin Mill — The Studio, “CinemaCon” — APPLE TV+
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series
Merritt Wever as Gretchen George — Severance, “Who Is Alive?” — APPLE TV+
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
Shawn Hatosy as Dr. Jack Abbot — The Pitt, “9:00 P.M.” — HBO | MAX
Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series
The Pitt — Cathy Sandrich Gelfond, CSA (Casting by); Erica Berger (Casting by) — HBO | MAX
Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series
The Studio — Melissa Kostenbauder, CSA (Casting by); Francine Maisler, CSA (Casting by) — APPLE TV+
Outstanding Casting for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Adolescence — Shaheen Baig (Casting by) — NETFLIX
Makeup, Hair & Costumes
Outstanding Contemporary Makeup (Non-Prosthetic)
The Penguin, “Cent’anni” — HBO | MAX
Martha Melendez (Department Head Makeup Artist), Kim Collea (Key Makeup Artist), Maria Maio (Makeup Artist)
Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup (Area Award)
The Penguin, “After Hours” — HBO | MAX
Mike Marino (Prosthetic Designer), Michael Fontaine / Crystal Jurado / Diana Choi / Claire Flewin / Jerry Constantine / Yoichi Art Sakamoto / Bobby Diehl (Special Makeup Effects Artists)
Outstanding Period or Fantasy/Sci-Fi Makeup (Non-Prosthetic) (Area Award)
House of the Dragon, “The Red Dragon And The Gold” — HBO | MAX
Amanda Knight (Makeup Designer), Sara Kramer / Harriet Thompson (Makeup Supervisors), Bonny Monger / Helen Currie / Natalie Wickens / Vickie Ellis (Makeup Artists)
Outstanding Period Costumes (Area Award)
Bridgerton, “Into The Light” — NETFLIX
John Walter Glaser III (Costume Designer), Amanda McLaughlan (Costume Supervisor), Dougie Hawkes (Associate Costume Designer), George Sayer / Anthony Brookman (Assistant Costume Designers)
Outstanding Contemporary Costumes for a Series
The Studio, “CinemaCon” — APPLE TV+
Kameron Lennox (Costume Designer), Betsy Glick (Costume Supervisor), Tyler Kinney (Assistant Costume Designer)
Outstanding Contemporary Costumes for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
The Penguin, “A Great Or Little Thing” — HBO | MAX
Helen Huang (Costume Designer), Kate Smith (Costume Supervisor), Austin Wittick / Becca Freund / Esther J. Han (Assistant Costume Designers)
Outstanding Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes (Area Award)
Andor, “Harvest” — DISNEY+
Michael Wilkinson (Costume Designer), Kate O’Farrell (Costume Supervisor), Richard Davies / Paula Fajardo (Assistant Costume Designers)
Outstanding Period or Fantasy/Sci-Fi Hairstyling (Area Award)
Bridgerton, “Old Friends” — NETFLIX
Erika Ökvist (Hair Designer), Farida Ghwedar / Grace Stella Gorman / Emma Rigby / Hannah Forbes (Hairstylists), Laura Sim (Barber)
Outstanding Contemporary Hairstyling
The Penguin, “Cent’anni” — HBO | MAX
Brian Badie (Department Head Hairstylist), Jenn Vasilopoulos (Key Hairstylist), Mariko Miyagi (Hairstylist)
Production Design
Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program (One Hour or More) (Area Award)
Severance, “Chikhai Bardo” — APPLE TV+
Jeremy Hindle (Production Designer), Chris Shriver / Ann Bartek (Art Directors), David Schlesinger (Set Decorator)
Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Program (Half-Hour) (Area Award)
The Studio, “The Note” — APPLE TV+
Julie Berghoff (Production Designer), Brian Grego (Art Director), Claire Kaufman (Set Decorator)
Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Period or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More) (Area Award)
Andor, “Who Are You?” — DISNEY+
Luke Hull (Production Designer), Toby Britton (Supervising Art Director), Rebecca Alleway (Set Decorator)
Stunts
Outstanding Stunt Coordination for Comedy Programming
The Righteous Gemstones — Cory DeMeyers (Supervising Stunt Coordinator) — HBO | MAX
Outstanding Stunt Coordination for Drama Programming
The Boys — John Koyama (Supervising Stunt Coordinator) — PRIME VIDEO
Outstanding Stunt Performance
The Boys, “The Insider” — PRIME VIDEO
Jennifer Murray, River Godland, Alec Back, Moses Nyarko (Stunt Performers)
Animation
Outstanding Animated Program
Arcane, “The Dirt Under Your Nails” — NETFLIX
Christian Linke / Alex Yee (Executive Producers/Written by), Marc Merrill / Brandon Beck / Shauna Spenley / Brian Wright / Melinda Wunsch Dilger / Hervé Dupont / Ken Basin / Jérôme Combe / Pascal Charrue / Arnaud Delord (Executive Producers; Charrue & Delord also Supervising Directors; Delord Directed by), Christine Ponzevera / Amanda Overton (Co-Executive Producers), Bart Maunoury (Directed by), Amanda Wyatt (Voice Director)
Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance
Julie Andrews as Lady Whistledown — Bridgerton, “Into The Light” — NETFLIX
Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation (Juried)
Bruno Couchinho (Background Designer) — Arcane, “The Dirt Under Your Nails” — NETFLIX
Faustine Dumontier (Colorscript & Color Keys Artist) — Arcane, “The Message Hidden Within The Pattern” — NETFLIX
Daryl Graham (2D Animation Supervisor) — Love, Death + Robots, “400 Boys” — NETFLIX
Robert Valley (Character Design) — Love, Death + Robots, “400 Boys” — NETFLIX
Gigi Cavenago (Art Director) — Love, Death + Robots, “How Zeke Got Religion” — NETFLIX
Edgar Martins (Storyboard Artist) — Love, Death + Robots, “How Zeke Got Religion” — NETFLIX
Outstanding Picture Editing for a Single-Camera Comedy Series
Eric Kissack, ACE (Editor) — The Studio, “The Promotion” — APPLE TV+
Outstanding Picture Editing for a Multi-Camera Comedy Series
Russell Griffin, ACE (Editor) — Frasier, “My Brilliant Sister” — PARAMOUNT+
Outstanding Picture Editing for a Drama Series
Yan Miles, ACE (Editor) — Andor, “Who Are You?” — DISNEY+
Outstanding Picture Editing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Peggy Tachdjian, ACE (Editor) — Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story, “Blame It On The Rain” — NETFLIX
VFX, Titles & Motion Design
Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Season or a Movie
Andor — DISNEY+
Mohen Leo (VFX Supervisor), TJ Falls (VFX Producer), Luke Murphy (Special Effects Supervisor), Neal Scanlan (Special Creature Effects by), Scott Pritchard (ILM VFX Supervisor), Joseph Kasparian (Hybride VFX Supervisor), Sue Rowe (Scanline VFX Supervisor), Paolo D’Arco (In-House VFX Supervisor), Jean-Clément Soret (Digital Colourist)
Outstanding Title Design
Severance — APPLE TV+
Oliver Latta (Creative Director/Designer/Animator/Compositor), Teddy Blanks (Typographer)
Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Single Episode (Area Award)
The Penguin, “Bliss” — HBO | MAX
Johnny Han (Overall VFX Supervisor), Michelle Rose (Overall VFX Producer), Alexandre Prod’homme (On-Set VFX Supervisor), Erin Sullivan (VFX Editor), Goran Pavles / Emanuel Fuchs / Ed Bruce / Nathaniel Larouche / Adrien Saint Girons (Vendor VFX Supervisors)
Outstanding Motion Design (Juried)
Octopus! — PRIME VIDEO
Michaela Olsen (Creative Director), Hayley Morris / Julie Gratz (Art Directors), Anthony Galante (Cinematographer), Minkyung Chung (Designer), Sabrina Chaney (Compositor)
Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour)
The Last of Us, “Through The Valley” — HBO | MAX
Michael J. Benavente (Supervising Sound Editor), Chris Terhune (Sound Designer), Joe Schiff (Dialogue Editor), Christopher Battaglia, MPSE (Supervising Sound Effects Editor), Mitchell Lestner / Jacob Flack, MPSE / Odin Benitez / James Miller (Sound Effects Editors), Randy Wilson (Supervising Foley Editor), Justin Helle / Ron Mellegers (Foley Editors), Maarten Hofmeijer (Music Editor), Stefan Fraticelli / Brandon Bak / Jason Charbonneau (Foley Artists)
Outstanding Sound Editing for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special
The Penguin, “After Hours” — HBO | MAX
Rich Bologna / Larry Zipf (Co-Supervising Sound Editors), Michael McMenomy (Dialogue Editor), Angela Organ (Supervising ADR Editor), Tony Martinez (ADR Editor), Wyatt Sprague / Diego Perez (Sound Effects Editors), Matt Haasch (Foley Editor), Ben Holiday (Supervising Music Editor), Luke Dennis (Music Editor), Gareth Rhys Jones (Foley Artist)
Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour)
The Studio, “The Golden Globes” — APPLE TV+
George Haddad, MPSE (Supervising Sound Editor), Borja Sau (Dialogue Editor), Lloyd Stuart Martin (Sound Effects Editor), Randy Wilson (Supervising Foley Editor), Justin Helle (Foley Editor), Lorena Perez Batista (Music Editor), Jason Charbonneau / Stefan Fraticelli (Foley Artists)
Outstanding Sound Editing for an Animated Program
Arcane, “The Dirt Under Your Nails” — NETFLIX
Brad Beaumont, MPSE / Eliot Connors, MPSE (Co-Supervising Sound Editors), Stephen P. Robinson (Sound Editor), Janet “PJ” Pascual (Foley Editor), Dan O’Connell / John Cucci (Foley Artists)
Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
The Penguin, “After Hours” — HBO | MAX
Rich Bologna / Andy Kris (Re-Recording Mixers), Chris Gebert (Production Mixer), Julien Pirrie (Foley Mixer)
Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour)
Severance, “Cold Harbor” — APPLE TV+
Bob Chefalas / Jacob Ribicoff (Re-Recording Mixers), David Schwartz (Production Mixer), George Lara (Foley Mixer)
Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation (Area Award)
The Studio, “The Golden Globes” — APPLE TV+
Lindsey Alvarez, CAS / Fred Howard (Re-Recording Mixers), Buck Robinson (Production Sound Mixer), Ron Mellegers (Foley Mixer)
Short Form & Music
Outstanding Performer in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series
Desi Lydic as Herself — The Daily Show: Desi Lydic Foxsplains — YOUTUBE
Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score)
Theodore Shapiro (Composer) — Severance, “Cold Harbor” — APPLE TV+
Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special (Original Dramatic Score)
Mick Giacchino (Composer) — The Penguin, “After Hours” — HBO | MAX
Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music
Cristobal Tapia de Veer (Composer) — The White Lotus — HBO | MAX
Outstanding Music Supervision
Gabe Hilfer (Music Supervisor) — The Studio, “The Promotion” — APPLE TV+
Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics
Christopher Lennertz (Music & Lyrics) — The Boys — “We’ll Keep The Red Flag Flying Here / Song Title: Let’s Put the Christ Back in Christmas” — PRIME VIDEO
Cinematography & TV Movie
Outstanding Cinematography for a Series (Half-Hour)
Adam Newport-Berra (Director of Photography) — The Studio, “The Oner” — APPLE TV+
Outstanding Cinematography for a Series (One Hour)
Jessica Lee Gagné (Director of Photography) — Severance, “Hello, Ms. Cobel” — APPLE TV+
Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Matthew Lewis (Director of Photography) — Adolescence, Episode 2 — NETFLIX
Outstanding Television Movie
Rebel Ridge — NETFLIX
Daniel Jason Heffner / Macon Blair / Louise Lovegrove (Executive Producers)
Anish Savjani / Neil Kopp / Vincent Savino / Jeremy Saulnier (Produced by)
REELated:
The Studio, Severance lead 77th Emmy nominations
