HBO Max aims for rare dramas, comedies, and exclusive blockbusters

HBO Max wants it all.

The most nominated network enters Phase 2 of the Emmy race with its two most nominated series of the year, giving the platform a rare opportunity to win television’s top drama and comedy awards and potentially make history across three major programming categories.

“The Pit,” in its second season of the hit medical drama, leads all shows with 25 nominations. “Hacks” followed with 24 nominations, making it the most nominated comedy series in Emmy history. The next closest is Apple TV’s horror comedy “Widow’s Bay,” with 19.

It’s an unusual feat for a single network or platform to produce both the drama and comedy series with the most nominations in the same year.

Apple TV accomplished this feat last year with “Severance” and “The Studio,” the latter of which also became a comedy record-breaker. FX had won honors a year earlier for “Shogun” and “The Bear,” but the series also became the most nominated comedy series in Emmy history at the time, ultimately losing out on best comedy to season 3 of “Hacks.”

Now it’s HBO Max’s turn.

The platform’s current dominance means it’s leading both genres for the first time since 2017 (I incorrectly stated this distinction on this week’s episode of the Variety Awards Circuit podcast).

But for HBO, this is familiar territory. The premium network led nominations in both drama and comedy back-to-back in 2003 and 2004 with “The Sopranos,” “Six Feet Under” and “Sex and the City.” The feat was repeated in the late 2010s with “Game of Thrones,” “Westworld” and “Veep.”

Few programmers in Emmy history have consistently produced major drama and comedy nominees at the same ceremony. However, history has shown that nomination advantages do not always lead to Emmy glory.

Of the 18 times a single network led in Emmy nominations for both drama and comedy, the series ended up winning only four times (22%).

This double success was achieved twice by NBC in 1983 and 1984 with “Hill Street Blues” and “Cheers,” in 1987 with “LA Law” and “The Golden Girls,” and finally by HBO in 2016 with “Game of Thrones” and “Veep.”

Leading in both genres certainly reflects a passion for the show, but it doesn’t guarantee a path to the big stage. Ultimately, whether HBO Max can capitalize on its historic position and avoid succumbing to its closest competitors like Apple’s Pluribus in drama series and Widow’s Bay in comedy series will depend on campaign strategy, momentum and voter sentiment at the final vote.

Of note, one statistic strongly favors more wins for “The Pit.”

The Emmy Awards’ most nominated program series of the year has won 41 times (56%) in the corresponding Top Series category across 73 eligible ceremonies.

Last year was a rare exception, with “Severance,” which received 27 nominations, losing out to “The Pit,” which received 27 nominations. Before that uproar, the series with the most nominations won the corresponding top category every year from 2015 to 2024.

“The Pit” enters this part of the season not only with the most nominations, but also as the reigning champions after winning their debut season. “Hill Street Blues,” “Picket Fences,” “The West Wing” and “Mad Men” are the only drama series to win both their first and second seasons. Of those four, three, except for “Pickett,” ultimately won at least four drama series Emmys overall.

(CBS’s “Mission: Impossible” and “The Defenders” also won best drama for their first two seasons, when the categories had different titles: “Outstanding Dramatic Series” and “Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Drama,” respectively.)

According to the statistics, it appears that “Hax” faces a slightly steeper climb.

The series leads the comedy field in nominations and has already won the comedy series trophy in season 3, but the most nominated comedies have historically had lower conversion rates than their drama versions.

The most nominated comedy series has won 25 out of 59 times (or 42%) in the current category format. The front-runner has been particularly vulnerable in recent years, losing in five of the past eight ceremonies, including in 2023 when “The Bear” lost to “The Hux.”

It’s also worth noting that the last comedy series to win in nonconsecutive years was “Everybody Loves Raymond,” which won for its seventh season in 2003 and again for its ninth and final season in 2005, with “Arrested Development” winning in between. Other comedies that have achieved this feat include “Murphy Brown,” “Cheers,” “All in the Family” and, in the category’s early days, “The Jack Benny Show.”

So if HBO Max completes its long-awaited drama/comedy double, “The Pit” seems like a safer bet to win back-to-back titles, but “The Hux” will have to overcome some more historical statistics.

Streamers are also eyeing more unusual achievements.

Among limited series, HBO Max’s “DTF St. Louis” received 13 nominations, with David Harbor, Jason Bateman, Richard Jenkins, Linda Cardellini and Joy Sunday winning for director, screenplay and supporting actor. The network hopes to overtake Netflix’s “Beef,” which leads the limited series field with 16 nominations. The first iteration won this category.

“Beef’s” Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan appear well-positioned in the lead actress category, but Harbor and Cardellini face an even more crowded supporting cast because their co-stars are nominated from the same series. Meanwhile, Charles Melton and Yoon Yoo-jung will compete in their respective races without internal competition. It might be useful in the future.

However, there are some more numbers to consider. Limited series front-runners were the least reliable of the three major program categories. The most nominated limited series wins 16 out of 45 times (or 36%). This compares to 45% for dramas and 42% for comedies.

Since 2021, the miniseries nomination leader has lost four out of five times: WandaVision (2021), Dahmer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (2023), True Detective (2024), and The Penguins (2025) led the way with 23 nominations, but lost to Adolescence. The White Lotus (2022) was the only one to emerge victorious.

The category has long produced collapses of “frontrunners,” including HBO’s “Mildred Pierce” (20 nominations, 2011), which lost to “Downton Abbey,” and CBS’ “Lonesome Dove” (1989, 15 nominations), which lost to “War and Remembrance.”

Winning the top series award for drama, comedy, and limited series in the same year is one of the rarest achievements in Emmy history. HBO accomplished this feat in 2015 with “Game of Thrones,” “Veep” and “Olive Kitteridge,” while NBC accomplished it twice in 1996 with “ER,” “Frasier” and “Gulliver’s Travels,” and in 1987 with “L.A. Law,” “The Golden Girls,” and “A Year in the Life.”

To be fair, HBO has done it before. But will they be able to do it again? That hasn’t been decided yet. But we’re still in the early stages of Phase 2, and a lot could change before the voting is complete.

The final round of voting will take place August 17-26, ahead of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards and the Governor’s Gala on September 5-6. The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards will be broadcast on NBC on September 14th.

Top Series Leaderboard: “Widow’s Bay” (11); “The Pit” (7); “The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny” and “Beef” (6). “Love on the Spectrum” and “Wednesday” (4). “DTF St. Louis,” “The Hux,” “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” “Knights of the Seven Kingdoms,” “Spider Noir,” “Survivor” (3)

Top Network Leaderboards: HBO Max (28); Netflix (25); Apple TV (16); NBC (9); ABC and Prime Video (7); CBS and Comedy Central (6); FX(5); Disney+ (3); National Geographic (2)

Drama series: “The Pit” (HBO Max)
Comedy series: “Widow’s Bay” (Apple TV)
Limited Series or Anthology Series: “Beef” (Netflix)
Honorable Mention: “Remarkably Bright Creatures” (Netflix)
Leading actor (drama): Noah Wyle “The Pit” (HBO Max)
Best Actor (Comedy): Matthew Rhys, “Widow’s Bay” (Apple TV)
Leading Actor (Limited Edition/Movie): Oscar Isaac, “Beef” (Netflix)
Leading Actress (Drama): Rhea Seehorn, “Pluribus” (Apple TV)
Leading actress (comedy): Jean Smart, “The Hux” (HBO Max)
Leading Actress (Limited Edition/Movie): Carey Mulligan, “Beef” (Netflix)
Best Supporting Actor (Drama): Tom Pelphrey, “Tusk” (HBO Max)
Best Supporting Actor (Comedy): Stephen Root, “Widow’s Bay” (Apple TV)
Best Supporting Actor (Limited Edition/Movie): David Harbour, “DTF St. Louis” (HBO Max)
Best Supporting Actress (Drama): Katherine LaNasa, “The Pit” (HBO Max)
Best Supporting Actress (Comedy): Kate O’Flynn, “Widow’s Bay” (Apple TV)
Best Supporting Actress (Limited Edition/Movie): Constance Zimmer, “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette” (FX)
Guest actor (drama): Colman Domingo “Euphoria” (HBO Max)
Guest actress (drama): Brittany Allen, “The Pit” (HBO Max)
Guest Actor (Comedy): Rob Reiner, “The Bear” (FX)
Guest Actress (Comedy): Betty Gilpin, “Widow’s Bay” (Apple TV)
Variety series: “The Daily Show” (Comedy Central), “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC), “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” (HBO Max), “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS)
Variety Special (Live): “Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny” (NBC)
Variety Special (Prerecorded): “The Muppet Show” (Disney+)
Director (Drama): Vince Gilligan, “Pluribus” (Apple TV) — “We Is Us”
Director (Comedy): Hiro Murai, “Widow’s Bay” (Apple TV) – “Welcome to Widow’s Bay!”
Director (Limited Edition/Movie): Lee Sung Jin “Beef” (Netflix) — “Oh, that comfort, the comfort that words cannot express.”
Director (Documentary/Nonfiction): Mariska Hargitay, “My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay” (HBO Max)
Director (Variety Series): Yvonne de Mare, “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS) – “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Series Finale”
Director (Variety Special): Hamish Hamilton, “The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny” (NBC)
Director (Reality TV): Sian O’Creary, “Love on the Spectrum” (Netflix) — “Episode 1”
Screenplay (Drama): “Tusk” (HBO Max) — “A Still Small Voice” by Brad Inglesby
Screenplay (comedy): “Hacks” (HBO Max) — “Hacks (Finale)” by Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, Jen Statsky
Writing (Limited Edition/Movie): “DTF St. Louis” (HBO Max) Written by Stephen Conrad
Writing (variety series): “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (CBS)
Writing (Variety Special): “The Muppet Show” (Disney+): Albertina Rizzo, Gabe Liedman, Neder Swiss, Kelly Younger, Andrew Williams
Writing (nonfiction): “The Daily Show Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: Give the Man a Prize” (Comedy Central)
Game Show: “Jeopardy!” (ABC)
Host (Reality or Reality Competition): Jeff Probst, “Survivor” (CBS)
Host (game show): Martin Short “Match Game” (ABC)
Competition program: “Survivor” (CBS)
Structured reality show: “Love is Blind” (Netflix)
Unstructured reality show: “Love on the Spectrum” (Netflix)
Documentary or nonfiction special: “My Mama Jane: The Movies of Mariska Hargitay” (HBO Max)
Documentary or nonfiction series: “Sean Combs: The Reckoning” (Netflix)
Hosting a nonfiction series or special: “Our Next Guest Needs No Introduction to David Letterman” (Netflix)
Outstanding Achievement in Documentary Filmmaking: “The Librarians” (PBS)
Animated Show: “South Park” (Comedy Central) – “The Sermon on the Mount”