Emmy Snubs versus Streaming Stars: JustWatch Audience Analysis Uncovers Disconnect

As Emmy nominations spark industry buzz and debate, streaming behaviour is telling a different story. According to a comprehensive new report from JustWatch, several Emmy snubs were clear audience favourites, outperforming official nominees in engagement, sentiment, and popularity across major platforms.

Drawing on data from over 20 million monthly U.S. users, JustWatch, one of the world’s largest streaming guides, analysed scripted television series released during the Emmy eligibility period (June 1, 2024 – May 31, 2025). The findings highlight notable disparities between what Emmy voters selected and what audiences watched and loved.

Audience Favourites Left Behind

In the Outstanding Drama Series category, international and streaming-exclusive titles garnered the most viewer interest. Netflix’s Squid Game, MobLand from Paramount+, and the Danish thriller Dept. Q each outperformed every Emmy-nominated drama in JustWatch’s ranking. Yet none received a nomination.

Disney+’s Andor and HBO Max’s The Last of Us were the highest-ranking Emmy-nominated dramas by audience metrics, indicating that some critical favourites did align with viewer preferences.

Similarly, in the Comedy Series category, Apple TV+’s Murderbot ranked second only to The Bear, but was absent from the nominee list despite widespread fan engagement. The limited series category offered another surprise, with FX/Hulu’s Say Nothing ranking in the top five, ahead of several actual nominees, yet going unrecognised by the Academy.

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Audience-Backed Rankings vs. Emmy Nominations

Outstanding Drama Series

Rank	Show	Network	Emmy Nominated	Audience Score
1	Squid Game	Netflix	No	83.55
2	MobLand	Paramount+	No	76.59
3	Dept. Q	Netflix	No	74.05
4	Andor	Disney+	Yes	70.50
5	The Last of Us	HBO Max	Yes	66.75
6	Reacher	Amazon Prime Video	No	56.49
7	Your Friends & Neighbours	Apple TV+	No	50.43
8	Slow Horses	Apple TV+	Yes	45.80
9	Landman	Paramount+	No	45.73
10	The Pitt	Max	Yes	44.90
11	The White Lotus	HBO Max	Yes	44.52
12	The Diplomat	Netflix	Yes	41.72
13	Severance	Apple TV+	Yes	39.99
14	Paradise	Hulu	Yes	38.25
15	The Better Sister	Amazon Prime Video	No	37.66
16	Yellowstone	Paramount+	No	27.61
17	The Chi	Showtime	No	23.83

Outstanding Comedy Series

Rank	Show	Network	Emmy Nominated	Audience Score
1	The Bear	FX / Hulu	Yes	83.15
2	Murderbot	Apple TV+	No	66.94
3	Hacks	HBO Max	Yes	50.91
4	Abbott Elementary	ABC	Yes	49.40
5	What We Do in the Shadows	FX	Yes	48.35
6	Only Murders in the Building	Hulu	Yes	47.36
7	Shrinking	Apple TV+	Yes	45.67
8	Nobody Wants This	Netflix	Yes	41.01
9	Poker Face	Peacock	No	40.03
10	The Four Seasons	Netflix	No	34.67
11	A Man on the Inside	Netflix	No	33.73
12	The Studio	Apple TV+	Yes	17.03

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Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series

Rank	Show	Network	Emmy Nominated	Audience Score
1	Adolescence	Netflix	Yes	91.03
2	Black Mirror	Netflix	Yes	76.05
3	The Penguin	HBO Max	Yes	49.16
4	Say Nothing	FX / Hulu	No	48.57
5	Dying for Sex	FX	Yes	31.97
6	Monsters: The Lyle & Erik Menendez Story	Netflix	Yes	23.12

Audience Sentiment Clashes with Emmy Politics

The analysis highlights the growing influence of international storytelling, genre series, and digital-native programming, categories that are still occasionally sidelined by Emmy voters despite their widespread popularity. Titles like Squid Game and Murderbot illustrate how deeply genre fare can resonate with audiences without receiving industry validation.

Meanwhile, networks such as Netflix, Apple TV+, and HBO Max continue to dominate both nominations and streaming metrics, pointing to a consolidation of creative power in a few key players.

As prestige TV evolves and fan engagement becomes more measurable than ever, data-driven insights like those from JustWatch offer an alternative lens; one that might shape future Emmy campaigns, programming priorities, and, perhaps, the awards themselves.