9 takeaways from the 2025 SAG Awards TV nominations

The 2025 Screen Actors Guild Awards delivered the expected TV nominees on Wednesday and some truly wild surprises. Emmy and Golden Globe champ Shōgun led the way with five nominations, including for stunt ensemble, as it is on track to complete its awards season sweep. Fellow Emmy and Globe winner Hacks nabbed two nominations in comedy, while top rival The Bear scored four. But then there were not one but two individual nominations for Kathy Bates, a Bridgerton resurgence, and a Squid Game shutout. Here are nine takeaways from Tuesday’s nominations.

1. Bridgerton is back
The regency hit scored two nominations, for drama ensemble and actress for Nicola Coughlan, neither of which were forecasted in the odds. It was in 18th place in ensemble, and Coughlan was in 12th. In hindsight, we should’ve taken Bridgerton way more seriously — and perhaps we would’ve had it aired in the fall instead of the spring and summer. The season was a huge hit. It streams on Netflix — aka SAG-AFTRA’s streamer of choice — and the field was soft enough for a well-watched populist show like it to break in. Its breakout first season made the cut in ensemble and drama actor for Regé-Jean Page in 2021. That was during COVID in another barren field. Its second season was snubbed two years ago in a stronger drama field (The White Lotus won ensemble over Better Call Saul, The Crown, Ozark, and Severance). It makes sense for Bridgerton to resurface in a weak year due to the dual 2023 strikes. Not to mention, SAG nominated The Gilded Age in ensemble last year. This year, the HBO show is ineligible, but Bridgerton could’ve absorbed some of its ornate costume drama fans. Season 1 of Bridgerton parlayed its SAG success into Emmy bids for drama series and Page. Season 3 probably won’t make the series cut, especially with so many past Emmy faves returning (The White Lotus, The Last of Us, Severance), but keep an eye out for Coughlan.

2. Squid Game is blanked
As aforementioned, Netflix is still king with SAG-AFTRA, scoring 12 nominations in the TV categories alone. But Squid Game was not one of them. The survival thriller won two individual SAGs for Season 1 for Lee Jung-jae and HoYeon and netted a drama ensemble nomination. It was no surprise that Lee was in fourth place in the drama actor odds for Season 2, while the cast was in third place in the ensemble odds. Its shutout does not necessarily mean that voters or this year’s TV nominating committee are over Squid Game, but timing matters. SAG has always favored early releases, and Squid Game Season 2 dropped on Dec. 26 during the last 11 days of voting. Even if you consider that the nom comm would get screeners and screening invites, it’s still a late arrival, and there’s no guarantee that the nom comm would get to it in time, especially over the holidays. Fellow Netflix December release Black Doves, which dropped Dec. 5, also missed a bid for Golden Globe nominee Keira Knightley, who was fourth in the drama actress odds.

3. Double nominee Kathy Bates
Most people expected Kathy Bates to score a drama actress nomination for Matlock as the Oscar winner was third in the odds. It’s safe to say no one expected her to earn her second nomination for The Great Lillian Hall in limited/TV movie actress, where she was in 22nd place. The nomination is even crazier since SAG didn’t even nominate the star of the HBO movie, the actress who plays the titular role, Jessica Lange, in a category of six due to a tie. While the Lillian Hall nomination is probably due to voters’ laziness, it shows how strong Bates and her comeback narrative is via Matlock. If she makes it in at the Emmys for CBS’ reboot with a twist, she’d be the first drama actress nominee from a CBS series in 11 years.

SEE Full list of 2025 SAG Awards nominees

4. Another good day for The Day of the Jackal
Nikki Glaser‘s joke about the low visibility of Peacock at the Golden Globes had even Eddie Redmayne rolling, but the actor and Peacock are having the last laugh. Fresh off two Globe bids, The Day of the Jackal bagged two SAG nominations for drama ensemble and Redmayne, both of which were surprises, per the odds (it was in 11th in ensemble, and Redmayne was in seventh). But if you’ve been paying attention, this shouldn’t be that surprising as the spy thriller has been a success for Peacock (and a huge smash in the U.K.) and has been renewed for a second season. And if you were around 10 years ago during The Theory of Everything‘s Oscar season, you also know that Redmayne is an expert campaigner who’ll stick around to talk to every single person after a Q&A. Peacock has already made inroads at the Emmys with wins for The Traitors and Judith Light (Poker Face), so maybe The Day of the Jackal will be its big breakout.

5. Shrinking expands (from zero)
After getting goose-egged for Season 1 last year, Shrinking claimed two nominations in comedy ensemble and actor for Harrison Ford. The former bid came at the expense of the widely predicted Nobody Wants This, which is on Netflix and was a big hit. But Shrinking just concluded a well-received sophomore installment that made better use of its excellent cast than the first season. Apple TV+ campaigned hard, doing numerous screenings and Q&As for it throughout the fall. Ford’s nomination came at the expense of star and co-creator Jason Segel, who was seventh in the odds to Ford’s 10th place ranking. Ford missed the Emmy nomination for Season 1, but this bodes well for his Season 2 chances if he could get into SAG’s single category. And if he does get in at the Emmys, he has a surefire episode submission with the Season 2 finale.

6. Allison Janney is the new Sally Field
Because SAG doesn’t have lead, supporting, or guest categories, everyone must contend in the same category for one of five spots. Most of the time, the leads win out. Sometimes, a supporting player makes the cut, and rarely does a guest star sneak in. Allison Janney got nominated for drama actress alongside The Diplomat lead Keri Russell despite appearing in just two episodes of the Netflix series’ six-episode second season, which would qualify her as a guest at the Emmys. The seven-time SAG champ pulled a Sally Field, who was nominated in this category in 2001 after appearing in just one episode of ER during the eligibility period. When they like you, they really like you. And who did Field lose to? None other than Janney for The West Wing. With SAG, Golden Globe, and Critics Choice nominations now, Janney looks good for an Emmy nomination, but will Netflix run her as a guest or roll the dice with her in supporting? There’s no qualification requirement for lead or supporting at the Emmys; the only rule is that performers max out of guest if they appear in 50 percent of the season.

SEE SAG Awards nominations snubs and surprises

7. Ted Danson is finally inside with SAG
Believe it or not, Ted Danson‘s comedy actor nomination for A Man on the Inside is his first individual one for a regular series. The SAG Awards started after Cheers ended, and he was never shortlisted for The Good Place, which never received a single SAG nomination during its four-season run. Like at the Globes, Danson is a lone nominee for the Netflix comedy. Sure, he could’ve been a name-check, but the fact that he could get in over past nominees Steve Martin and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, whose shows did make ensemble, might be a sign of his strength.

8. Mr. & Mrs. Smith is not hitting with the guilds
Good thing Mr. & Mrs. Smith already competed at the Emmys, winning two awards from 16 nominations, because it’s not having a great showing with the top guilds so far. A day after missing the Directors Guild of America Awards nominations, the Prime Video series was AWOL on SAG’s list. Donald Glover and Maya Erskine, who were in their categories’ respective top fives, were snubbed. But SAG has never been into Glover for some reason — he only has one nomination for ensemble for Atlanta. And the SAG Awards have a hot-and-cold relationship with Amazon unless your name is The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Last year, Daisy Jones & the Six, a broad-appealing show that seems like it would be up SAG’s alley, was shut out. Or maybe they don’t like shows with ampersands in their titles?

9. The industry is not into Industry
When Season 3 of Industry aired last summer, its fans hoped for an awards breakthrough. That has not exactly worked out. Thus far, it’s just received a Critics Choice nomination for drama series. The guilds are a good bellwether if the goal is an Emmy breakthrough since they are, uh, the industry. However, the show did not pass the SAG test and got zero nominations. Ultimately, the finance drama might be too niche, with a devoted but very small fan base.