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.
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 |
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.
