Emmys 2025: Top Contenders for Best Limited Series/Movie Writing Revealed

The 2025 Emmys are heating up, and one of the most competitive races this year is for Best Limited Series/Movie Writing. With 71 submissions and only five nomination slots, the category promises tough competition and major surprises when the nominees are announced Tuesday.

This marks only the second time since the expansion to the popular vote that the category will be capped at five nominees—the first since 2020. Last year, there were six nominees, with Baby Reindeer ultimately taking the win.

Among the front-runners, the Netflix psychological crime drama Adolescence, written by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham, is considered a lock for nomination. The entire series was written by the pair, which means it had to submit in full, rather than selecting a single episode. While Disclaimer by Alfonso Cuarón and Dope Thief by Peter Craig followed a similar submission format, they face a steeper climb due to less critical momentum.

For series with multiple writers, most opted to submit their premiere or finale episodes, showcasing twists, suspense, and emotional payoffs. Examples include:

• Dying for Sex

• Presumed Innocent

• Apple Cider Vinegar (premieres)

And finales like:

• The Penguin

• Say Nothing

• Clipped

Thanks to strong Writers Guild of America (WGA) performance, The Penguin and Say Nothing are expected to secure nominations, with The Penguin even winning its WGA category — making it a solid challenger to Adolescence.

Black Mirror, a fan and Emmy favorite, is back with two entries this year:

• “Eulogy”, featuring Paul Giamatti in a heartbreaking role.

• “Common People”, starring Rashida Jones and Chris O’Dowd, exploring the emotional toll of a terminal illness.

Written and co-written by Charlie Brooker, the series is a proven contender, having won this category in 2017 and 2018.

The TV Movie entries also bring strong contenders. Notably:

• Rebel Ridge by Jeremy Saulnier, a WGA nominee and likely winner for Best Television Movie.

• Mountainhead, written by Succession’s Jesse Armstrong, brings heavyweight pedigree, though its chances are slimmer.

The only double-submitter this year is Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, with:

• “The Hurt Man” — a deeply emotional two-person episode.

• “Blame It On The Rain”, a more cinematic, stylistic installment.

Here’s how the 2025 Best Limited Series/Movie Writing race currently looks:

Front-runners

• Adolescence (Jack Thorne & Stephen Graham)

• The Penguin (Lauren LeFranc, “A Great or Little Thing”)

• Black Mirror (Charlie Brooker & Ella Road, “Eulogy”)

• Dying for Sex (Kim Rosenstock & Elizabeth Meriwether, “Good Value Diet Soda”)

• Say Nothing (Joshua Zetumer, “The People in the Dirt”)

Potential Spoilers

• Disclaimer (Alfonso Cuarón)

• Presumed Innocent (David E. Kelley, “Bases Loaded”)

• Black Mirror (Charlie Brooker & Bisha K. Ali, “Common People”)

• Rebel Ridge (Jeremy Saulnier)

Long-shots

• Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story (Ian Brennan, “The Hurt Man”)

• Monsters (Ryan Murphy & Ian Brennan, “Blame It On The Rain”)

• Dope Thief (Peter Craig)

• Mountainhead (Jesse Armstrong)

• Clipped (Rembert Brown & Gina Welch, “Keep Smiling”)

• Apple Cider Vinegar (Samantha Strauss, “Toxic”)