The Inside Baseball of Awards Season

Hi friends, happy Monday! We are officially living in a post-Emmys world and what a night it was. My main squeeze, The Pitt, didn’t just win…it dominated, walking away dripping in gold leaf and glory.

To say I’m thrilled would be an understatement. This show has been a personal passion project for me from the beginning. I connected with its ethos, its layered storytelling and the creative team who brought it to life. Covering the FYC season with HBO Max felt less like work and more like cheering on a close friend.

I was lucky enough to visit the set, sit down with the cast and showrunners, and ask all of my burning questions about season one. If you missed those interviews, you can catch up here, here and here. And yes, I’m already crossing every finger that we’ll get a sneak peek into season two sooner rather than later.

But beyond my fangirl devotion, last night’s ceremony revealed so much about where the industry is headed and what matters to voters. Some of the night’s biggest wins weren’t just about talent (though there was plenty of that) but about timing, cultural resonance, and Hollywood politics. Let’s start the conversation around the inside baseball of Awards Season.

If you’ve been following me, you know I called this one months ago: the second I saw The Studio landed their nominations, I knew it was destined for a sweep. Why you ask? Because one thing I’ve learned since living in LA is that Hollywood loves Hollywood.

This is a show about the entertainment industry, set in Los Angeles, and most importantly shot in Los Angeles. That last part might sound small, but in today’s landscape, it’s rare. So much TV and film production has fled the city for tax breaks elsewhere, leaving many in the industry clinging to projects that celebrate LA and keep jobs local.

Academy voters, many of whom work in LA, live in LA, and deeply care about preserving LA’s cultural identity, were always going to reward The Studio. It’s not just a win for the show; it’s a symbolic win for keeping Hollywood in Hollywood.

Then there’s Adolescence, a limited series that managed to be lightning in a bottle for the state of the world we’re living in. Some Emmy winners succeed because of artistry, others because of sheer impact but Adolescence had both.

It mirrored the current cultural climate with unflinching precision, tapping into anxieties and realities that audiences are living through right now. The writing was sharp, the performances gutting and the one-shot style production detail was meticulous. But what set it apart was its resonance: it reflected society back at itself in a way that was both uncomfortable and necessary. Sometimes the shows that hold up the harshest mirror are the ones that voters can’t look away from.

Lastly let’s talk about that emotional win for The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. If you were watching, you know what I mean when I say it felt like the final scene of Rudy — the auditorium erupted as though the whole room was lifting Colbert onto their shoulders.

The irony of course, is that the show was recently canceled. CBS insists the move was “purely financial,” but last night’s win painted a different picture: a beloved late-night institution, going out on top, celebrated by its peers and fans alike. It was a reminder that cancellation doesn’t erase cultural impact and in Colbert’s case, it may even amplify it.

From The Pitt’s well-earned triumph to The Studio’s industry love letter, Adolescence’s cultural gut punch and Colbert’s bittersweet farewell, the 2025 Emmys weren’t just about trophies. They told us what matters to the Academy right now. All parts passion projects with a pulse on the zeitgeist, shows that honor Hollywood itself and talent that thrives even in the face of adversity.

As always, the Emmys are as much about the storylines off-screen as they are about the ones on-screen and this year delivered both in spades.