While there were some content surprises to celebrate on the 2025 Emmy nominations list—cult favorite Somebody Somewhere scoring two citations for its
While there were some content surprises to celebrate on the 2025 Emmy nominations list—cult favorite Somebody Somewhere scoring two citations for its final season, for example—the Television Academy made particularly glaring omissions concerning one series. While the excellent second (and final!) season of Disney+’s Andor was recognized for outstanding drama series, writing, directing, and guest actor Forest Whitaker (along with many nominations in technical categories), the rest of its sterling ensemble cast was shut out.
Perhaps there’s an argument to be made that such a sprawling troupe—creator Tony Gilroy’s expansive array of spies, rebels, imperial villains, and politicians—makes it tough for voters to single out just a few performers. But they managed to do that for The White Lotus, in spades; ditto for Severance, The Pitt, and other heavily populated series. Which meant that plenty of space was already taken up in each acting category, effectively shutting out Andor. If only the TV Academy had made some room.
While Diego Luna may be saddled with a dour, doomed character who is effortless to root for but a little tough to like, there are plenty of other dynamic, engaging performances to highlight on Andor. What is a best-supporting-actress conversation without Genevieve O’Reilly, steely and wounded at once as a plutocrat gradually shedding the comforts of her life as sacrifice to a noble cause? She is emblematic of Andor’s flinty intelligence—its poise and sophistication.
O’Reilly had one particularly memorable scene with Stellan Skarsgård, who gives the master builder behind the rebellion a frightening grit and resolve. Skarsgård deftly shifts between courtly obeisance when doing a gloss job on government officials and a shadowy, tormented conviction only loosed in the shadows. It’s a thrilling picture of intricate moral calculus.
As for the villains, Denise Gough’s Dedra is a shrewd realization of an apparatchik who has mistaken ambition’s occasional rewards for infallibility. She has a terrific scene partner in Kyle Soller, who plays a once dogged acolyte of the empire who grows to doubt its cause—or, at least, its methods.
One could go on and on listing the names of worthy performers on Andor. Hell, I’d even give a guest nomination to Josie Walker, who plays a prophetic Force healer in one beautifully evocative scene. The point is: It’s a marvelously acted series that has now concluded, and more nominations would have served as worthy acknowledgment and send-off of all that fine work.
But in a bigger sense, additional nods to the actors would be further recognition of Andor’s larger power and relevance. It feels strange to say that a Disney Star Wars series is the most bracing and galvanizing response to our current political crisis that I’ve seen this year (and, indeed, in years past)—at least in terms of popular, populist entertainment. But Andor really is just that. The show’s clear and urgent message about the fight against despotism is housed in a sleek, engaging, suspenseful epic. It’s compelling both viscerally and cerebrally, the sporadic kind of agitprop that maintains its artistry and its ethical clarity. The series has continued to resonate in the months since its release. I say, give it all the nominations! But, sigh; I guess 14 will have to do.
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