Voting for the 2025 Emmy nominations officially began on Thursday and will continue through June 23. While over 26,000 members of the Television Academy cast their votes, the structure behind the number of nomination slots is already in focus.
How Emmy Nomination Slots Are Calculated
Since 2020, the Television Academy has applied a proportional rule that adjusts the number of nominees based on how many entries are submitted in a given category. The exceptions are Best Comedy Series and Best Drama Series, both of which are permanently fixed at eight nomination slots.
Here’s the current slot distribution model:
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20 to 80 submissions: 5 nominees
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81 to 160 submissions: 6 nominees
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161 to 240 submissions: 7 nominees
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241 or more submissions: 8 nominees
To maintain fairness, acting categories within the same genre (e.g., Best Drama Actor and Actress) are standardized to the higher slot count.
If a category receives between 8 and 19 submissions, the total is divided by 4 and rounded to the nearest whole number. Categories with 0–7 submissions are subject to peer group screening, with up to two nominees advancing if they earn 70% approval.
Notable 2025 Updates
This year marks a significant shift: Lead acting categories across all genres will return to five nomination slots — the first time since the current system was introduced.
Below is a detailed breakdown of major categories and their respective slot counts for 2025 (figures from 2024 in parentheses):
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COMEDY
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Lead Actor: 5 slots (from 51 submissions) (2024: 6 due to tie)
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Lead Actress: 5 slots (from 47 submissions) (2024: 6 due to tie)
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Supporting Actor: 7 slots (from 163 submissions) (2024: 6)
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Supporting Actress: 7 slots (from 141 submissions, adjusted for parity) (2024: 6)
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Directing: 6 slots (from 99 submissions) (2024: 6)
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Writing: 6 slots (from 94 submissions) (2024: 6)
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Guest Actor: 6 slots (from 97 submissions) (2024: 6)
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Guest Actress: 6 slots (from 74 submissions, adjusted for parity) (2024: 6)
DRAMA
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Lead Actor: 5 slots (from 77 submissions) (2024: 6)
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Lead Actress: 5 slots (from 75 submissions) (2024: 6)
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Supporting Actor: 7 slots (from 233 submissions) (2024: 7)
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Supporting Actress: 7 slots (from 225 submissions) (2024: 7)
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Directing: 7 slots (from 177 submissions) (2024: 6)
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Writing: 6 slots (from 132 submissions) (2024: 6)
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Guest Actor: 6 slots (from 87 submissions) (2024: 5)
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Guest Actress: 6 slots (from 67 submissions, adjusted for parity) (2024: 5)
LIMITED SERIES / TV MOVIE
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Limited Series: 5 slots (from 33 submissions) (2024: 5)
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TV Movie: 5 slots (from 39 submissions) (2024: 5)
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Lead Actor: 5 slots (from 49 submissions) (2024: 5)
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Lead Actress: 5 slots (from 53 submissions) (2024: 5)
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Supporting Actor: 6 slots (from 125 submissions) (2024: 7)
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Supporting Actress: 6 slots (from 105 submissions) (2024: 7)
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Directing: 6 slots (from 91 submissions) (2024: 6)
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Writing: 5 slots (from 71 submissions) (2024: 6)
VARIETY
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Talk Series: 3 slots (from 13 submissions) (2024: 4)
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Scripted Variety Series: TBD by peer group (6 submissions) (2024: 2)
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Variety Special (Live): 5 slots (from 26 submissions) (2024: 5)
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Variety Special (Pre-Recorded): 6 slots (from 89 submissions) (2024: 5)
REALITY
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Reality Competition Program: 5 slots (from 50 submissions) (2024: 5)
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Reality Host: 5 slots (from 51 submissions) (2024: 5)
