The 2025 Emmys were full of surprises, with a number of unexpected winners announced early in the show.

Severance star Britt Lower won one of the first awards of the night, best actress in a drama series, an honor that many experts predicted would go to Matlocks Kathy Bates, which would have made her the oldest winner in the category in history. Some prognosticators, though, saw a possible Lower upset win. Severance was also the favorite to win best drama series and famously led this years Emmy nominees with a whopping 27 nominations. But instead, though Lower and Severance co-star Tramell Tillman emerged victorious on Sunday night, and Severance won six awards at last weekends Creative Arts Emmys, the acclaimed Apple TV+ series failed to win any other trophies presented during the main Emmys CBS telecast, including the best drama actor (Adam Scott) and series prize a number of experts expected the show to win. Instead, both best drama actor and drama series went to Max original newcomer The Pitt. Indeed, perhaps it was another surprise win early Sunday night that foreshadowed The Pitts dominance, when veteran actress Katherine LaNasa triumphed with a best drama supporting actress win for her role as charge nurse Dana in the hospital drama.

Still, perhaps no win Sunday night was more shocking than when Somebody Somewhere actor Jeff Hiller, a surprise nominee, won the best supporting actor in a comedy series Emmy, beating out predicted winners like Harrison Ford and Ike Barinholtz.

Though Hiller provided a surprise triumph for Somebody Somewhere network HBO, the premium cable channels star-studded drama series, The White Lotus, went home empty-handed after Sundays Emmys, despite winning 16 awards for past seasons. Similarly, The Bears days of Emmys dominance seem to have ended as the FX series, nominated in the comedy categories despite its more dramatic elements, was also shut out at this years Emmys, despite its 13 nominations. The Bear failed to win any of the categories presented at the Creative Arts Emmys last weekend, though The White Lotus won there for its theme song.

Adolescence, meanwhile, dominated the limited series field, winning all of the categories in which it was nominated on Sunday night, apart from best actress, which went to The Penguins Cristin Milioti. Still, it was another Penguin star who seemed like a lock to win Sunday night: Colin Farrell, who surprisingly lost best actor in a limited series to Adolescences Stephen Graham, highlighting Emmy voters strong support of the buzzy Netflix drama. Similarly, other acclaimed limited series that failed to escape the Adolescence juggernaut include Dying for Sex and Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, neither of which won an award Sunday night.

And, after the Emmys included best variety special (live) in Sunday nights CBS telecast, amid a high-profile face off between Beyonc and Jay-Z, the Emmy in that category went to Saturday Night Lives 50th anniversary special.