The Most-Watched Emmy Series Nominee Is … ‘Survivor’?
The series nominees in line for trophies at the 77th Emmy Awards — drama, comedy, limited series and reality competition — include popular favorites and critically acclaimed but more lightly watched shows. One of them, however, sits far above the rest in terms of viewing time. CBS’ Survivor racked up more than twice as many…
The series nominees in line for trophies at the 77th Emmy Awards — drama, comedy, limited series and reality competition — include popular favorites and critically acclaimed but more lightly watched shows. One of them, however, sits far above the rest in terms of viewing time.
CBS’ Survivor racked up more than twice as many viewing hours during this year’s Emmy eligibility period (June 1, 2024-May 31, 2025) than any other nominee for best comedy, drama, limited series or reality competition show. Viewers watched 462.4 million hours’ worth of the series during those 12 months, according to Nielsen. No other show in any of the three categories had more than 211 million hours.
Part of that is down to methodology: Nielsen includes viewing of all episodes in its total, and with all 48 seasons and702 episodesavailable on Paramount+, Survivor has a gigantic library. The two cycles that aired in the 2024-25 season also drew sizable audiences, averaging about 8 million cross-platform viewers.
Release dates and platform sizes also play a factor: The comedy series nominees, for instance, range from viewing-time leader Abbott Elementary’s 184.1 million hours on ABC and Hulu to 16.9 million hours for The Studio on Apple TV+. Episodes from Abbott’s first three seasons were available on Hulu throughout the Emmy eligibility period, and its fourth season played out over most of that time on ABC and Hulu. The Studio, on the other hand, didn’t premiere until late March, and while Apple doesn’t disclose its subscriber base for TV+, it’s a safe bet that it’s a good bit smaller than the combined reach of ABC and Hulu.
The release-date effect is maybe most pronounced among the nominees for best TV movie. Netflix’s Rebel Ridge, which won the award, had 90.1 million viewing hours over the nearly nine months it was available before the Emmy deadline. HBO’s Mountainhead, in comparison, only had 1.3 million hours within the eligibility window —because it premiered on May 31, the last day of the Emmy calendar for 2025.
The White Lotus, which had its biggest season so far on HBO and HBO Max, leads the drama series nominees with 210.7 million hours of viewing for the Emmy year. Netflix’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story led the limited series nominees with 149.5 million hours.
Nielsen also ran numbers (sourced via Gracenote) on which lead acting nominees for drama and comedy viewers saw the most of during the eligibility period —including other movies and series besides those for which they’re nominated. Slow Horses star Gary Oldman came out on top with 604.9 million hours, owing in large part to his roles in the Harry Potter film series and Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies. Kathy Bates was close behind with 599.3 million hours for her nominated role in CBS’ Matlock (a breakout hit last season) and other roles including Netflix’s movie A Family Affair and 1997’s Titanic, which still regularly airs on cable.
The Emmy series nominees ranked by viewing time are below.
