The HBO Max medical drama “The Pitt” secured 25 nominations for the 78th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, officially announced Wednesday. The series dominated the acting categories with 13 of its cast members receiving nominations, marking one of the great achievements for a cast in Emmy history.
Record-Breaking Ensemble Nominations
An Ensemble Milestone at the Emmys
Following a successful rookie season last year, during which the show claimed wins for Noah Wyle in the best actor in a drama category, Katherine LaNasa for best supporting actress, and Shawn Hatosy for best guest actor, “The Pitt” returned for its sophomore season with an expanded presence. According to reporting by the Associated Press, the 13 acting nominations represent a substantial increase from the three nods the show received last year. The show’s ensemble, which features doctors, nurses, interns, and patients in a small emergency department, is set in Pittsburgh and utilizes scripts that play out in real time.
The nominations cover nearly every drama category, with the notable exception of best actress, for which the production did not submit any candidates. The show’s internal success creates a competitive landscape for the actors themselves, as many are now vying against their own colleagues for the same five available trophies. The show makes only Noah Wyle a lead.
“It feels really exciting to have more of my colleagues up on the board,” Katherine LaNasa told The Associated Press during a break in the shooting of Season 3. “You’re happy when you get acknowledged, but you kind of know that you’re only there because of everybody else. So the more people that are getting acknowledged, the better it feels.” LaNasa, who noted that she has a “motherly feeling” toward her colleagues who are nearly all first-time nominees, added, I’m very wanting them to have this experience as well.
Character Arcs and Performance Highlights
Cast Recognition and Narrative Arcs
The nominations highlight several pivotal story arcs from the second season. Katherine LaNasa’s Nurse Dana, already among TV’s most beloved characters, went deeper into drama after providing a rape kit and emotional counseling to a sexual assault victim. Her character also gained viral attention for loud pronouncements regarding the ER’s “Baby Jane Doe.”
LaNasa is joined in the supporting actress category by Taylor Dearden, Fiona Dourif, and Sepideh Moafi. Moafi portrayed a new attending physician reckoning with a seizure disorder that is returning in the stress of the ER. In the supporting actor category, Shawn Hatosy—whose night-shift leader Dr. Jack Abbott won a big fan base in Season 2—was bumped up from the guest actor category to compete as a supporting actor, where he is joined by Gerran Howell and Patrick Ball.
The guest acting categories saw nominations for Brittany Allen and Jeff Kober, who both pulled off the coup of securing nominations through self-submissions for their portrayals of patients with heartbreaking arcs. Ernest Harden Jr. received a guest nod for playing Louie Cloverfield, the ER’s constant presence and struggling alcoholic. Additionally, Tal Anderson, an autistic actor and advocate for neurodivergent performers, received her first Emmy nomination for playing Becca King, the younger sister of Dearden’s Dr. Mel King.
“Besides the fact that I get to have a small role in this giant, amazing show with so many talented people in the cast and on the crew, it means so much to me to be able to help this character, Becca, be seen and to have a voice,” Anderson told the AP. “As a disabled person myself, it’s such an honor to be able to, through this role, call attention to issues that are so important to the disabled community. It’s everything to have the opportunity to do that.”
Broadening the Drama Field
Broad Emmy Field and Competitive Outlook
While “The Pitt” dominated the drama field, other platforms saw significant success. Apple TV earned strong showings with its new series “Pluribus,” “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” and “Widow’s Bay.” The horror-comedy “Widow’s Bay,” which stars Matthew Rhys as mayor of an island experiencing supernatural phenomena, earned 19 nominations. Other notable drama series nominees include “The Diplomat,” “The Gilded Age,” A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, “Paradise,” “Slow Horses,” and Your Friends & Neighbors.
Ceremony Details and Broadcast Information
The 78th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards will be hosted by “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” star Mariska Hargitay and will air live on Monday, September 14 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on NBC and will stream on Peacock.
Find more reporting in our Entertainment section.
