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On Sunday, Emmy voters made a loud statement that there is an appetite for the kind of shows that used to dominate TV.
Sept. 15, 2025Updated 1:21 p.m. ET
There was a look of shock at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
“Wow,” said Noah Wyle, grabbing his first Emmy more than three decades after his career began. “Oh my God,” mouthed Katherine LaNasa after she had won best supporting actress. “This is insane,” said R. Scott Gemmill, a veteran TV producer and creator of “The Pitt” upon accepting the Emmy for best drama, television’s biggest prize.
As overwhelming as it all was to everyone associated with “The Pitt,” the show’s big Emmy wins may have sent a bigger shock to the entertainment world.
Emmy voters made a loud statement on Sunday night that there was a desire in the industry for something quite different in the TV business. Those voters have repeatedly chosen high-concept, high-priced shows for much of the past decade. But “The Pitt” is a throwback to the network-style series that used to dominate the television landscape.
“The Pitt” not only defied the odds by becoming a hit for HBO Max, the streaming service that took a flier on it. It also bested “Severance,” the significantly better-funded Apple TV+ series that might as well have been invented in a lab as the sort of prestige drama that has won best drama at the Emmys year after year during the so-called Peak TV era.
“The Pitt” cost roughly $6 million an episode, more than three times less than the budget of the second season of “Severance.” It had 15 episodes in its first season, which wrapped up in April, and will have another 15 when it returns in January 2026. “Severance” had 19 episodes over two seasons — and needed a three-year break between them.
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