Spectacular design has become TV's secret weapon – and the Emmy nominations prove it

Scene from The Penguin. A man with slicked-back brown hair and a scarred face wears a black and purple plaid suit jacket with a black bow tie, looking directly at the viewer with a serious expression.

I've been banging on about this for years, but the 2025 Emmy nominations have finally given me the vindication I've been craving. After scrolling through this year's production design categories, one thing is crystal clear: if you're not investing serious money and creative energy into your sets, you're basically throwing darts blindfolded at the TV landscape.

The evidence is staring us right in the face. The Penguin didn't swagger into Emmy contention with 24 nominations because Colin Farrell can do a decent Brooklyn accent in prosthetics. It's there because HBO understood that Gotham's grimy underworld needed to feel like a character itself; one that audiences could practically smell through their screens.

Meanwhile, Apple's sci-fi juggernaut Severance didn't become the year's most nominated series by accident. Those stark, unsettling office spaces didn't just complement the psychological thriller; they were the psychological thriller.

Severance (Image credit: Apple TV)

In short, the production design categories are no longer just token nods to the craft departments; they're becoming predictors of overall success.

The White Lotus understood this perfectly, transforming a Thai resort into a pressure cooker of privilege and paranoia. Similarly, Bridgerton continues to prove that audiences will forgive almost any plot contrivance if you give them enough gilded ballrooms and perfectly manicured gardens to ogle.

Visual arms race

What we're witnessing is nothing short of a visual arms race, and frankly, it's about time. Gone are the days when you could get away with a few painted backdrops and call it a day.

Today's streaming audiences are forensic in their consumption, and they'll instantly notice if your fantasy realm looks like it was cobbled together in someone's garden shed.

Only Murders in the Building is another show to master this reality, turning the Arconia into such a compelling character that the show's success feels genuinely inseparable from its setting.

Only Murders in the Building (Image credit: Hulu)

Again, the building's art deco details and labyrinthine corridors don't just house the mystery – they're integral to it. It's no coincidence that the show has dominated the half-hour production design category for three consecutive years.

The economics of visual storytelling

Here's the truth that executives are finally starting to grasp: skimping on production design is a false economy. Yes, those elaborate sets cost serious money upfront, but they're also your best insurance policy against viewer indifference.

The Studio proved this beautifully, earning 23 nominations in its freshman season partly because Apple TV+ understood that their showbiz satire needed to look and feel authentic to the industry it was skewering.

The craft categories used to be considered secondary concerns, nice-to-haves that followed in the wake of strong writing and performances. But the 2025 nominations reveal a different reality. The Penguin leads with 17 craft nominations because HBO recognised that the technical elements weren't supporting the story – they were telling it.

The Studio (Image credit: Apple TV)

When you're competing for attention in an infinite scroll of content, your show needs to look like something viewers haven't seen before. Severance's corporate hellscape and The White Lotus's luxury resort aren't just backdrops – they're the reason people stop scrolling and start watching.

The half-hour comedy categories tell a similar story. Hacks, Mid-Century Modern, and What We Do in the Shadows all earned recognition because they understood that comedy doesn't exist in a visual vacuum.

Here's the list in full...

The full list

First, this year's Emmy nominees in Production Design categories:

• Outstanding Production Design For A Narrative Contemporary Program (One Hour Or More): The Last of Us, The Penguin, The Residence, Severance, The White Lotus
• Outstanding Production Design For A Narrative Period Or Fantasy Program (One Hour Or More): Andor, Bridgerton, Dune: Prophecy, 1923, Pachinko
• Outstanding Production Design For A Narrative Program (Half-Hour): Hacks, Mid-Century Modern, Only Murders In The Building, The Studio, What We Do In The Shadows
• Outstanding Production Design For A Variety Or Reality Series: The Daily Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Saturday Night Live
• Outstanding Production Design For A Variety Special: Beyoncé Bowl, The 67th Annual Grammy Awards, The Oscars, SNL50: The Anniversary Special, SNL50: The Homecoming Concert

Bridgerton (Image credit: Shondaland/Netflix)

And here are the nominations in the general categories.

• Outstanding Drama Series: Andor (Disney+), The Diplomat (Netflix), The Last of Us (HBO Max), Paradise (Hulu), The Pitt (HBO Max), Severance (Apple TV+), Slow Horses (Apple TV+), The White Lotus (HBO Max)
• Outstanding Comedy Series: Abbott Elementary (ABC), The Bear (Hulu), Hacks (HBO Max), Nobody Wants This (Netflix), Only Murders in the Building (Hulu), Shrinking (Apple TV+), The Studio (Apple TV+), What We Do in the Shadows (Hulu)
• Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series: Adolescence (Netflix), Black Mirror (Netflix), Dying for Sex (Hulu), Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story (Netflix), The Penguin (HBO Max)
• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series: Sterling K Brown - Paradise (Hulu), Gary Oldman - Slow Horses (Apple TV+), Pedro Pascal - The Last of Us (HBO Max), Adam Scott - Severance (Apple TV+), Noah Wyle - The Pitt (HBO Max)
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series: Kathy Bates - Matlock (CBS), Sharon Horgan - Bad Sisters (Apple TV+), Britt Lower - Severance (Apple TV+), Bella Ramsey - The Last of Us (HBO Max), Keri Russell - The Diplomat (Netflix)
• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series: Adam Brody - Nobody Wants This (Netflix), Seth Rogen - The Studio (Apple TV+), Jason Segel - Shrinking (Apple TV+), Martin Short - Only Murders in the Building (Hulu), Jeremy Allen White - The Bear (Hulu)
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series: Uzo Aduba - The Residence (Netflix), Kristen Bell - Nobody Wants This (Netflix), Quinta Brunson - Abbott Elementary (ABC), Ayo Edebiri - The Bear (Hulu), Jean Smart - Hacks (HBO Max)
• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: Colin Farrell - The Penguin (HBO Max), Stephen Graham - Adolescence (Netflix), Jake Gyllenhaal - Presumed Innocent (Apple TV+), Bryan Tyree Henry - Dope Thief (Apple TV+), Cooper Koch - Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story (Netflix)
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: Cate Blanchett - Disclaimer (Apple TV+), Meghan Fehy - Sirens (Netflix), Rashidah Jones - Black Mirror (Netflix), Cristin Milioti - The Penguin (HBO Max), Michelle Williams - Dying for Sex (Hulu)

The White Lotus (Image credit: HBO)

• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Zach Cherry - Severance (Apple TV+), Walton Goggins - The White Lotus (HBO Max), Jason Isaacs - The White Lotus (HBO Max), James Marsden - Paradise (Hulu), Sam Rockwell - The White Lotus (HBO Max), Tramell Tillman - Severance (Apple TV+), John Turturro - Severance (Apple TV+)
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Patricia Arquette - Severance (Apple TV+), Carrie Coon - The White Lotus (HBO Max), Katherine LaNasa - The Pitt (HBO Max), Julianne Nicholson - Paradise (Hulu), Parker Posey - The White Lotus (HBO Max), Natasha Rothwell - The White Lotus (HBO Max), Aimee Lou Wood - The White Lotus (HBO Max)
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Ike Barinholtz - The Studio (Apple TV+), Colman Domingo - The Four Seasons (Netflix), Harrison Ford - Shrinking (Apple TV+), Jeff Hiller - Somebody Somewhere (HBO Max), Ebon Moss-Bachrach - The Bear (Hulu), Michael Urie - Shrinking (Apple TV+), Bowen Yang - Saturday Night Live (NBC)
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Liza Colón-Zayas - The Bear (Hulu), Hannah Einbinder - Hacks (HBO Max), Kathryn Hahn - The Studio (Apple TV+), Janelle James - Abbott Elementary (ABC), Catherine O'Hara - The Studio (Apple TV+), Sheryl Lee Ralph - Abbott Elementary (ABC), Jessica Williams - Shrinking (Apple TV+)
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: Javier Bardem - Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story (Netflix), Bill Camp - Presumed Innocent (Apple TV+), Owen Cooper - Adolescence (Netflix), Rob Delaney - Dying For Sex (Hulu), Peter Sarsgaard - Presumed Innocent (Apple TV+), Ashley Walters - Adolescence (Netflix)
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: Erin Doherty - Adolescence (Netflix), Ruth Negga - Presumed Innocent (Apple TV+), Deirdre O'Connell - The Penguin (HBO Max), Chloë Sevigny - Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story (Netflix), Jenny Slate - Dying For Sex (Hulu), Christine Tremarco - Adolescence (Netflix)
• Outstanding Reality Competition Programme: The Amazing Race (CBS), RuPaul's Drag Race (MTV), Survivor (CBS), Top Chef (Bravo), The Traitors (NBC)
• Outstanding Scripted Variety Series: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO Max), Saturday Night Live (NBC)
• Outstanding Talk Series: The Daily Show (Comedy Central), Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC), The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS)