Zoë Kravitz and Meghann Fahy are the year’s biggest Emmy surprises: Poll

The 2025 Emmy nominations were filled with some jaw-dropping picks, with several actors and programs beating the Gold Derby's odds.

In our latest snap poll, readers said the bids for Zoë Kravitz and Meghann Fahy caused their jaws to drop the widest. Kravitz was previously snubbed at the Emmys for Big Little Lies, but she received sweet justice this week for portraying herself — at least, a fictionalized version of herself caught in a drug-related mishap — on The Studio. In all, the Apple TV+ show received 23 nominations, more than any other first-year comedy in Emmy history.

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As for Fahy, she's a former Emmy nominee for The White Lotus whom awards pundits forecasted would be overlooked this year for the Netflix limited series Sirens. But that wasn't the case. She clearly wowed voters in her role of Devon DeWitt, a woman who tries to protect her younger sister Simone (Milly Alcock) from her billionaire boss Michaela Kell (Julianne Moore).

Poll results: What's your favorite Emmy surprise?

21 percent: Zoë Kravitz, The Studio

19 percent: Meghann Fahy, Sirens

17 percent: Survivor in Best Competition Program

15 percent: Paradise in Best Drama Supporting Actor/Actress

14 percent: Uzo Aduba, The Residence

11 percent: Colman Domingo, The Four Seasons

3 percent: The Gorge in Best TV Movie

Survivor shocked our readers by returning to the Best Competition Program category and knocking out perennial nominee The Voice. The granddaddy of all reality shows was initially nominated in this category from 2003 to 2006, then it took a 17-year break before returning in 2023, only to be snubbed again in 2024. Four-time winner Jeff Probst also made the cut for Best Reality Host, and this actually marks the first time in Emmy history that he and the show are nominated at the same time.

James Marsden, Sterling K. Brown, and Julianne Nicholson in ParadiseHulu

Paradise was predicted to nab a Best Drama Actor bid for Sterling K. Brown as inquisitive secret service agent Xavier Collins, which came true. However, it was a welcome surprise to see that two of his supporting cast members — Julianne Nicholson as the villainous Samantha "Sinatra" Redmond and James Marsden as the late President Cal Bradford — also showed up on Emmy nominations morning.

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It's never wise to count out former Emmy winners like Nicholson, who previously prevailed for Mare of Easttown (2021), and that's also true of Uzo Aduba and Colman Domingo. They received respective noms for Best Comedy Actress in the recently canceled The Residence and Best Comedy Supporting Actor in the otherwise skunked The Four Seasons, years after appearing at the winner's podium. Aduba is a three-time champ for Orange is the New Black (2014, 2015) and Mrs. America (2020); Domingo took home a statuette for Euphoria (2022).

Finally, there's The Gorge, which beat the odds to show up in the Best TV Movie lineup. Scott Derrickson's original sci-fi film stars Miles Teller as Levi Kane and Anya Taylor-Joy as Drasa, two elite snipers tasked with guarding opposite sides of a deep gorge, unaware of what mysteries lie below. Though the actors were snubbed, Teller is nominated as a producer.

TV Movie

Contender

Odds

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0.

Rebel Ridge

Rebel Ridge

82.3%

1.

Bridget Jones

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy

12.3%

2.

Mountainhead

Mountainhead

2.2%

3.

The GorgeAdvertisementAdvertisement#_R_62sadkalhb5fiv5vddbH1_ iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#_R_a2sadkalhb5fiv5vddbH1_ iframe

The Gorge

2.2%

4.

Nonnas

Nonnas

0.9%

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