^{Credit: Smiling Friends (Adult Swim), Common Side Effects (Adult Swim), Arcane (Netflix), Solo Leveling (Crunchyroll).} 

38 animated programs have been submitted for consideration at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards. You can pencil in at least two shows for automatic nominations at this point. The Simpsons, which had gotten in almost every year it’s been eligible since its premiere over thirty years ago, submitted its quote-unquote “series finale,” “Bart’s Birthday.” Another perennial nominee from Fox’s Animation Domination lineup, Bob’s Burgers, should also be safe with its entry, “They Slug Horses, Don’t They?.”  Last February, this episode won Bob’s Burger’s the Annie Award for Best Mature Audience Animated Television/Broadcast Production.

This was one of the few Annie categories that the second and final season of Arcane wasn’t nominated for. Meanwhile, Arcane swept every category it did break into, winning seven Annies. Something similar could happen at the Emmys. Maybe Arcane misses in Outstanding Animated Program, but the jury compensates it with a few Individual Achievement Emmys. Considering that Arcane won Outstanding Animated Program three years ago for "When These Walls Come Tumbling Down," it’ll likely still get in here for its final episode, “The Dirt Under Your Nails.” Netflix has another past Emmy winner in contention with Love, Death + Robots, which submitted the Jennifer Yuh Nelson-directed “Spider Rose.” This is the first time Robots has submitted since the discontinuation of Outstanding Short Form Animated Program, a category where it went undefeated.

Assuming those four get in, there’s only room for one more. Some might assume that slot will go to Big Mouth for its series finale, “The Great Unknown.” Although Big Mouth has been nominated here three times, it missed out the past three years, suggesting the Animation Peer Group might be over it. You can never count out Maya Rudolph for a voice acting nomination, however. Voters could go back to the well with another long-running animated series that hasn’t been recognized in a while like Family Guy, American Dad!, or Futurama. They could also throw a bone to a show that’s been chasing a nomination for years like The Legend of Vox Machina, The Great North, Solar Opposites, Star Trek: Lower Decks, or Harley Quinn.

Speaking of Harley Quinn, it’s been submitted alongside the spinoff Kite Man: Hell Yeah!, as well as two other DC projects: Batman: Caped Crusader and Creature Commandos. Other superhero submissions include Marvel’s What If…? (a past nominee), Hit-Monkey (another Marvel property), and Amazon’s Invincible. Prime Video’s additionally submitted #1 Happy Family USA, Sausage Party: Foodtopia, The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy, and Secret Level. Among the freshman submissions are Common Side Effects, Everybody Still Hates Chris, Lil Kev, Twilight of the Gods, and Universal Basic Guys. Common Side Effects was notably co-created by Joseph Bennett, whose one-season wonder Scavengers Reign pulled off a surprise nomination last year.

Scavengers Reign lost to the Blue Eye Samurai, which has yet to release its second season. This year brings a few other Japanese-inspired offerings like Castlevania: Nocturne, Devil May Cry, Terminator Zero, and Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft. In the past, original anime were rarely submitted for Emmy consideration. This seems to be changing, as Adult Swim has entered Lazarus from Cowboy Bebop director Shinichirō Watanabe. Crunchyroll is making a play for their first Emmy nomination with Solo Leveling, which was the big winner at the 9th Crunchyroll Anime Awards.

The ballot is rounded out with Exploding Kittens, Grimsburg, Krapopolis, and the cult favorite Smiling Friends. Notably absent is South Park, which didn’t air any traditional half-hour episodes this past year. Also missing from the documentary submission sheet is ¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!, which chronicled Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s renovation of the famed Mexican restaurant further popularized by Cartman. For those wondering why Rick and Morty wasn’t submitted, it only aired one episode of its eighth season before the May 31, 2025 cut-off, rendering it ineligible this year. You also might’ve noticed that Pixar didn’t enter Dream Productions or Win or Lose, which will instead compete at the Children's and Family Emmy Awards.

As for what will get the fifth slot this year, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Harley Quinn to finally get in for the Season 5 finale, “The Mess Is the Point.” Yet, HBO Max seems to be throwing their support behind Creature Commandos, the only animated program currently listed on its FYC site. A Solo Leveling or Lazarus nomination would also be groundbreaking, opening the door for more anime at Western awards. For now, my money’s on Smiling Friends, which recently announced its fourth and fifth seasons at Annecy. It seems to be the “cool” animated show, filling the Rick and Morty void. Will Emmy voters be cool enough to embrace it? We’ll see who’s smiling when the nominees are announced on July 15, 2025.

My Predictions:

Arcane: “The Dirt Under Your Nails”

Bob’s Burgers: “They Slug Horses, Don’t They?”

Love, Death + Robots: “Spider Rose”

The Simpsons: “Bart’s Birthday”

Smiling Friends: “Gwimbly: Definitive Remastered Enhanced Extended Edition DX 4k (Anniversary Director's Cut)”

Full Ballot Below:

^{Credit: Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS)}

Nick Spake is the Author of Bright & Shiny: A History of Animation at Award Shows, Volumes I and 2. Available Now!