Bryan Cranston, Julie Andrews and Julianne Nicholson were among the night-one winners at the 2025 Creative Arts Emmy Awards, which opened Saturday at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles.
The first evening of the two-day ceremony honored guest and voice performances across television, with Apple TV+ programs securing multiple trophies. The Studio led the night with nine wins, followed by HBO Max’s The Penguin with eight and Apple TV+’s Severance with six.
Cranston, 69, won Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his portrayal of Continental Studios executive Griffin Mill in The Studio episode "CinemaCon." He prevailed in a category dominated by fellow Studio nominees Martin Scorsese, Dave Franco, Anthony Mackie and Ron Howard; Jon Bernthal was the lone outsider with a nomination for Hulu’s The Bear. The award is Cranston’s first Emmy since the conclusion of Breaking Bad and marks his first Emmy for a comedy performance. The Malcolm in the Middle and Breaking Bad star is now a seven-time Emmy winner and has accumulated 16 Emmy nominations during his career.
Julie Andrews, 89, won Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance for her narration as Lady Whistledown in season eight of Bridgerton, recognized for the episode "Into the Light." Her competitors in the category included Hank Azaria for The Simpsons, Maya Rudolph for Big Mouth, Alan Tudyk for Andor, Jeffrey Wright for What If…? and Steven Yeun for Invincible. Andrews has previously been nominated in similar voice categories for Bridgerton and the spinoff Queen Charlotte.
Julianne Nicholson won Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her turn as Mary Alice, also known as "Dance Mom," on season four of Hacks. Nicholson beat nominees Olivia Colman and Jamie Lee Curtis, both nominated for The Bear, Cynthia Erivo for Poker Face, Robby Hoffman for Hacks and Zoë Kravitz for her self-fictionalized role in The Studio. Nicholson, who previously won an Emmy for Mare of Easttown in 2021, is also a contender elsewhere this year with nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for Paradise and an additional nomination tied to Hacks.
Merritt Wever was named Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her portrayal of Gretchen George in Severance’s second season. Wever was not present; presenter Jamie Lee Curtis accepted the Emmy on her behalf. Shawn Hatosy won Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Dr. Jack Abbot in HBO Max’s The Pitt, a medical procedural drama that received 13 nominations overall, including a nod for Noah Wyle and a series nomination for Outstanding Drama Series.
The Guest Actor in a Comedy category this year featured multiple actors playing fictionalized versions of themselves on The Studio; Cranston’s victory interrupted that run. Jon Bernthal, who won the same guest-actor Emmy the previous year for The Bear, was among those who did not repeat.
Other notable nominees who did not win on night one included Olivia Colman, Jamie Lee Curtis, Cynthia Erivo, Robby Hoffman and Zoë Kravitz. Several categories highlighted performers from streaming platforms, underscoring the continued prominence of streaming services in awards-season recognition.
The Creative Arts Emmys will conclude Sunday with a second night of presentations, when an additional 49 trophies are scheduled to be distributed across writing, casting, makeup and picture-editing categories. The awards kick off the broader Emmy season that culminates in the Primetime Emmy Awards later this year.