Pop Culture Happy Hour – 2025 Emmys Recap

Date: September 15, 2025
Hosts: Aisha Harris, Linda Holmes, Glenn Weldon
Theme: A lively roundtable breakdown of the 2025 Primetime Emmy Awards – surprises, snubs, trends, standout speeches, and the state of TV, with the Happy Hour team’s signature warmth and humor.

Main Theme / Purpose

The episode serves as a thorough and spirited recap of the 2025 Emmy Awards, spotlighting major winners, inspiring speeches, notable upsets, and the shifting landscape of television. The team explores why certain shows triumphed, what their victories say about the industry, and isn’t shy about calling out a much-reviled recurring bit from the ceremony's host.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Standout Drama: The Pit (HBO Max)

• Wins: Outstanding Drama Series, Lead Actor (Noah Wyle), Supporting Actress (Catherine Lanasa)
• Why It Mattered:
  • The show’s “throwback” sensibility—with 15 weekly episodes and a familiar TV doctor (Noah Wyle)—felt comforting yet urgent.
  • Linda Holmes celebrated the win, noting the return to tradition:

    “You know, there's been an assumption that a streaming drama should have somewhere between eight and twelve episodes. The Pit had fifteen, and they made it work really well. ...I was delighted to see it win.” (01:58)

  • Glenn Weldon noted the inevitability of the wins due to huge buzz and was happy for Noah Wyle finally getting Emmy recognition:

    “It's his first Emmy after, you know, putting in so much work...” (02:41)

• Industry Vibe: Despite not being network TV, it evoked network glory days.

  “Oh, man, network TV is back, baby.” – Aisha Harris (03:10)

Comedy Crowned: Studio (Apple TV)

• Wins: Outstanding Comedy Series, Lead Actor (Seth Rogen), Writing & Directing (Rogen & Evan Goldberg/team)
• Panel’s Take:
  • Glenn Weldon rejected the ‘Hollywood loves Hollywood’ cliché, crediting the show’s genuine quality.
  • Seth Rogen’s Lead Actor win was a genuine surprise:

    “I don't think he saw that coming. I don't think a lot of people saw that coming, but, you know, he's got an Emmy. Good for him.” – Glenn Weldon (04:27)

  • Linda Holmes relished comedic dominance:

    “Seeing a genuine comedy series dominating in these categories gave me a lot of pleasure...this made me happy.” (04:45)

Comedy Snubs & Trends

• The Bear: Completely shut out.

  “Did the Bear get any love at all this year?” – Glenn Weldon (05:25)

  • Consensus: Its genre confusion as “comedy” has likely worn thin.

Notable Individual Winners

• Severance (Apple TV):

  • Wins: Lead Actress (Britt Lower as Helle), Supporting Actor (Tramell Tillman as Milchick)
  • Hosts noted the depth of the performances, lamented minor mishaps (mispronouncing Tillman’s name), and approved the recognition for a challenging season and roles.
  • Linda Holmes:

    “Especially as you referenced Ayesha Tramell Tillman, who...is so enchanting to watch...I love that this performance came through for him.” (07:23)

• Supporting Comedy Actor:

  • Surprise: Jeff Hiller (Somebody Somewhere), besting Harrison Ford (Shrinking).
  • Glenn Weldon:

    “This is one of the few like holy fist pumping moments I had during this broadcast.” (09:38)

• Comedy Actress:

  • Hacks: Jean Smart (Lead), Hannah Einbinder (Supporting)
  • Linda Holmes decried “category fraud” as both are co-leads:

    “Hannah Einbinder being put in supporting so that they don't have to compete with each other is exactly the kind of thing I dislike the most...” (10:58)

  • The hosts agreed the show is repeating itself and needs a new direction or ending:

    “They really have repeated themselves a number of times now.” – Linda Holmes (10:58)

Heartfelt and Socially Charged Moments

• Stephen Colbert’s Emotional Farewell:
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert won Outstanding Talk Series post-cancellation.
  • His speech was lauded as heartfelt and profound:

    “Sometimes you only truly know how much you love something when you get a sense that you might be losing it. ...I have never loved my country more desperately.” – Stephen Colbert (14:33) “If the elevator tries to bring you down, go crazy and punch a higher floor.” – Stephen Colbert (14:33)

  • The team agreed that Colbert’s win was a feel-good moment, reflecting industry goodwill.

Limited Series: Adolescence (Netflix)

• Wins: Lead Actor (Stephen Graham), Supporting Actor (Owen Cooper – youngest winner in category), Supporting Actress (Erin Doherty), Directing & Writing (Limited/Anthology)

• Panel’s Take:

  • Glenn Weldon described it as “powerful and wrenching and sincere and harrowing...this rips out your heart and stomps on it.” (18:10)
  • Linda Holmes emphasized Netflix’s prowess in this category:

    “This is where Netflix lives now, is in this category. ...This is where Netflix is hanging out now more than in drama series.” (18:47)

• The Penguin (Max):

  • Cristin Milioti won for her “chewing the scenery” role.
  • The hosts cheered her win and her “theater kid” Emmy speech:

    “She was bringing theater kid energy. She was saying, I love acting, and, like, I love watching her act, so it works.” – Glenn Weldon (21:01) “I love you, and I love acting so much.” – Cristin Milioti (21:09)

Ceremony Format & Critique

Nate Bargatze’s Hosting & Recurring Bit

• The Bit: Bargatze tied the length of acceptance speeches to charitable donations — $100k for the Boys & Girls Club, deducted if winners went over time.
• Hosts’ Reaction: Universally panned for being mean-spirited, distracting, and repetitive:
  • Linda Holmes:

    “I actually thought this was quite a mean little, nasty little exercise...They just kind of put a dig in it and it's like, why would you do this?” (23:10) “People who think these shows are too long want you to cut the boring presenter bits and the boring host bits, not the people being honored for their work.” (24:28)

  • Glenn Weldon:

    “That choice locked the entire ceremony into one joke without variation all night long...it was just a waste of everyone’s time.” (25:28)

  • Aisha Harris called it “tasteless given how many...organizations are being gutted and having their funding stripped away...it just felt very icky.” (25:28)

Diversity & Trends in Winners

• Several openly queer actors took home major awards — recognized by Glenn Weldon:

  “It's been a nice night for queer nominees...” (12:09)

• Both drama and comedy categories went to new shows, not returning juggernauts:

  “It's interesting that in both drama and comedy, the show that won was a new show, not a returning show...I think that's cool.” – Glenn Weldon (06:01)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• “Competent people are reassuring and fun to watch.” – Linda Holmes on The Pit (03:42)
• “People will say it's a show about Hollywood. Hollywood loves shows about Hollywood. I don't think that's quite fair. This is actually a really good show.” – Glenn Weldon on Studio (04:27)
• “This rips out your heart and stomps on it.” – Glenn Weldon on Adolescence (18:10)
• “Hannah Einbinder being put in supporting so that they don't have to compete with each other is exactly the kind of thing that I dislike the most...” – Linda Holmes (10:58)
• “If the elevator tries to bring you down, go crazy and punch a higher floor.” – Stephen Colbert (14:33)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• The Pit wins discussed: 01:13–03:19
• Studio and Comedy category: 03:46–06:01
• Trends in Emmy wins: 06:01–06:52
• Severance wins: 06:53–08:45
• Surprise in Comedy Supporting Actor: 08:46–09:49
• Hacks wins & category fraud: 10:24–12:09
• Stephen Colbert’s speech: 13:19–15:22
  • Quote: “Sometimes you only truly know how much you love something when you get a sense that you might be losing it...” (14:33)
• Adolescence and Penguin recap: 17:23–21:09
• Ceremony & Host criticism: 22:08–26:15

Tone and Final Thoughts

True to Pop Culture Happy Hour’s style, the conversation was forthright, insightful, occasionally snarky, and always infused with a deep appreciation for what TV means culturally. The hosts celebrated surprise wins, pointed out industry patterns, and didn’t shy from sharper criticism of the night’s “mean-spirited” running gag. Their biggest takeaway: While the ceremony format needs work, the Emmys got a lot right in honoring fresh, deserving talent across genres.

“If it’s gonna be only a few shows shoveling all of the awards into their bags, at least they’re new shows. ...I loved Succession, but I’m glad that period’s over.” – Linda Holmes (26:15)

Engaging, comprehensive, and delightfully opinionated, this episode captures both the spirit of the 2025 Emmys and what makes TV—and talking about TV—so much fun.