Each year TV fans eagerly wait to see all of their favorite television show casts attend thePrimetime Emmy Awards. The event holds some of Hollywood’s biggest stars and celebrates all the great achievements in television that year. One of the most anticipated and acclaimed awards of the night is that of Outstanding Drama Series. This category is one of the most difficult to get nominated in and the shows that do receive a nomination usually have the largest fan bases.
Last year, in 2021, the Emmys nominated a wide range of beloved television series for the award. The nominees includedThis is Us, The Mandalorian, The Boys, Lovecraft Country, Pose, The Crown, The Handmaid’s Tale,andBridgerton. Despite what great shows all the nominees are,The Crownended up taking home the award. Some other big winners from last year’s Emmy’s includedKate Winslet’s winin the category of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for her portrayal of Mare Sheehan inMare of Eastonand Olivia Colman’s win for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role inThe Crown. PerVariety, on August 15, 2025, the nominees for the 74th annual Primetime Emmy Awards will be announced and fans are dying to see what shows will receive a nomination. Here are our predictions on whom the Outstanding Drama Series nominations could be.
8This is Us
This year, one of the most acclaimed and beloved shows on the airThis is Usreleased its final season. The show, which first hit the air in 2016, follows a group of people who on the surface seem to be living very different lives, but in reality are all intertwined in various ways. Milo Ventimiglia, Chrissy Metz, Sterling K. Brown, Justin Hartley, Mandy Moore, and Chris Sullivan are just a few of the stars that make up the shows incredible cast. Since the beginning,This Is Ushas been a hit and the series has already received four Emmy nominations for Outstanding Drama Series over the years, but due to this sixth season being the show’s final run, and based on how well received it was, it is safe to say thatThis Is Uswill likely be one of 2022’s Outstanding Drama Series nominees.
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7Stranger Things
Perhaps the most anticipated show to be released this year was the Netflix Original SeriesStranger Things. The Duffer Brothers took the world by storm with the show’s first volume of its fourth season, which was released on May 27th and involved more horror, evil,and shocking momentsthan ever before. On July 1, the fourth season’s volume 2 will be released and will consist of two episodes, each between an hour and a half and two and a half hours long. This season so far has been nothing short of epic, and it definitely deserves an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Drama Series.
Another fan favorite show that released its final season this year wasOzark. The show follows the Byrde family and how their lives get turned upside down after unintentionally getting wrapped up in laundering money for a drug cartel. Forced to leave their home in Illinois and move to the Ozarks, the family is continuously pushed beyond their breaking point, and by the fourth season are doing all that they can to make it out of this mess alive. Jason Bateman, Julia Garner, Laura Linney, Sofia Hublitz, and Skylar Gaertner are such brilliant actors who are responsible for making the show as successful as it was. Audiences came back every season because of how attached they felt to Marty, Ruth, Wendy, Charlotte, and Jonah. The fourth season ofOzarkwas filled so many of the show’s greatest moments, and for that is a high contender to receive an Emmy nomination.
5Squid Game
There is no question that in Fall 2021Squid Gamedominated the world of television, breaking several records, such as holding the number one spot on Netflix’s top 10 chart in the United States for 24 days and becoming, perForbes, the most watched series on Netflix in history. It seems like everybody was talking aboutSquid Game, even giants in the entertainment industry like Leonardo DiCaprio were impressed. It’s almost a given that this will be an Outstanding Drama Series nominee and for good reason. Fans are eagerly awaiting thesecond season ofSquid Gameto be released after the show’s creator stated the next season will most likely be released the end of 2023.
4Succession
Successionis no stranger to the Emmys, having been nominated a total of 23 times and winning nine. In 2020, the show took home the award for Outstanding Drama Series and seems to be very popular amongst the Television Academy. The dark comedy came back strong with its third season in 2021 receiving a 94% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and 8.8/10 stars on IMDb. Outstanding Drama Series is hopefully one of my categoriesSuccessionwill receive Emmy nominations in this year.
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Euphoriais not only an incredible show, but extremely influential and in many ways has become a vital part of pop culture. The show’s second season did not disappoint and was just as successful if not more so than the first season.Zendaya gives her best performanceyet as Rue Bennett, a recovering addict who is just trying to stay sober and make it out of high school alive. The show is an exaggeration of what high school students around the United States go through on a day-to-day basis, but at its core accurately represents a lot of things the average high schooler is feeling.Euphoriais extremely entertaining, but also relatable enough that audiences see pieces of themselves within each character.
2Yellowstone
Kevin Costner, Cole Hauser, Piper Perabo, and Ian Bohen star in the drama seriesYellowstone, which has been a hit on Peacock for four seasons now. The show draws inspiration from the modern western and involves contemporary relatable themes and characters that keep audiences coming back season after season. Previously,Yellowstonehas only been nominated for one Emmy, which is what makes this prediction different from the rest. That said, its fourth season was so strong, we can’t help but hold out hope forYellowstonefinally receive an Outstanding Drama Series nomination.
1Severance
And lastly on the list for our Emmy 2022 Outstanding Drama Series nominee predictions is the Apple TV+ original seriesSeverance. While the show has only been out for one season, it has already become a major contender for awards and received great reviews, including a 98% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. Adam Scott, who stars in the series as Mark, is a very experienced and successful television actor, having previously starred inBig Little Liesas Ed Mackenzie alongside legends like Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Shailene Woodley, Zoë Kravitz, and of course Meryl Streep.Severancehas so much potential — definitely a possible nominee of Outstanding Drama Series.
