AppleTV+'s success at the Emmys was unexpected With 81 nominations, the platform quietly racked up hits

AppleTV+ is one of the platforms that offers the best entertainment products, something that many have been saying for quite some time. The problem remains the lack of communication from the company, which makes its series – more so than its still shaky films – almost invisible. But to restore order in the hierarchy of importance and visibility, the 2025 Emmy Awards nominations have come to the rescue. The streamer received 81 nominations, no less – a record result for the platform – for the upcoming awards dominated by the usual queen HBO, which obtained 142 total nominations – marking an exemplary achievement with 31 of these aimed at the best performances by its actors. From drama to comedy, AppleTV+’s success spans every category, and for more than one title, a win is not out of the question. There are the "veterans," who can be considered such even if only in their second season. Just think of Severance (27 nominations, in pole position as the series with the most nominations of the year), increasingly enigmatic and introspective as it tries to shed light on the life split between personal and professional for the character Mark, played by Adam Scott. But it's in the comedies that 2025 saw one of the most exciting titles in the contemporary scene, with The Studio (23 nominations) acting as a self-reflection on the industrial dynamics of the film sector, led in the cast by one of its creators, Seth Rogen, a big fan of the platform who will return in August of the same year in the second season of Platonic, alongside his trusted friend and colleague Rose Byrne.

If the AppleTV+ nominations are received with great fanfare, there should be no surprise linked to the trumpets and celebrations. The results the platform is achieving are as well-deserved as one could expect; it's the marketing and circulation of titles that hesitate when it comes to its products. It's as if the streamer is trying its luck and waiting for others to notice that their works are truly valuable. And then in that case – but only in that case – proper sponsorship can proceed, as happened with the launch of Severance 2 and the live pop-up featuring the cast enclosed inside a visible replica of their office from the series in the middle of the Apple Store at Grand Central in New York. Or even earlier, with the push given to a hit like Ted Lasso, which, despite supposedly ending with its third season, was then announced to return for a fourth.

What, then, is the ace up the sleeve of a platform like AppleTV+? And what do all these Emmy nominations tell us? Something that, perhaps, its fellow streamers should learn: that it's never about quantity when building your own library, but rather the raw materials that make up the menu. From the start of its production, the path taken by AppleTV+ has been one of quality and differentiation. The latter is a fundamental point, offering a wide range of options unafraid to experiment with genres, even mixing them (the most recent example? The intriguing Murderbot with Alexander Skarsgård, blending comedy and sci-fi). Not every show is guaranteed to hit or convince equally. But whether it's for the high-profile cast members or the bold storytelling that doesn't necessarily cater to the viewer's expectations, AppleTV+ has found a magical formula that the most significant TV awards are now recognizing.

The success AppleTV+ is enjoying among critics could motivate the platform to expand its creative horizons beyond its more familiar shows, even though, as data confirms (this year, the American audience for AppleTV+ grew by 4.08%), audience satisfaction is justified by the actual continuation of original series. These, presumably, will also have a proper (and no longer so guaranteed) conclusion. The proof is one of AppleTV+’s thoroughbreds, also Emmy-nominated: Slow Horses, which has already been renewed for a seventh season even before the fifth has arrived on the platform, and which received two nominations this year (Best Lead Actor for Gary Oldman and Best Writing for a Drama Series). So, while we await the 2025 Emmy Awards ceremony, taking place on September 15, let yourself be swept away by the intelligent and distinctive choices of AppleTV+, now a true player in the world of serialized entertainment.