Before Emmy Gold: Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series

The race towards the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards is heating up, with everyone looking forward to who takes home a prestigious award when everything is said and done. The field is certainly an unpredictable one, considering how many acclaimed shows are competing for the same prize. One of the most interesting categories in the program will be Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series.

The stories audiences see on the screen wouldn’t be possible without the hard work of the filmmakers who bring their ideas to life. In Before Emmy Gold, we’ll be taking a look at some of the previous nominations received by these directors, as well as the episodes that allowed them to be in prestigious consideration. The 2025 nominees are Janus Metz, Amanda Marsalis, John Wells, Jessica Lee Gagné, Ben Stiller, Adam Randall and Mike White.

Janus Metz

Nominated for: Andor.

Previous Nominations: None. Janus is a first-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee.

Hidden Gem: Borg vs. McEnroe. (2017).

Andor brought Diego Luna back to flesh out the fearless character that was introduced in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Janus Metz directed the episode titled “Who Are You?”, the one featuring the climatic confrontation between Diego Luna’s protagonist and Syril Karn (Kyle Soller). The episode featured one of the most unforgettable scenes from the entire series.

Janus’ job was to display the contrast between Cassian Andor’s dangerous life as a Rebel spy, and Syril’s quest to bring cause down by any means necessary. The villain’s death also confirmed that some of the people who work for the Empire end up sacrificing their lives for nothing of value.

Amanda Marsalis

Nominated for: The Pitt.

Previous Nominations: None. Amanda is a first-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee.

Hidden Gem: Select Ozark episodes. (2018-2022).

The Pitt took the industry by storm when it made its debut. The thrilling drama created for television by R. Scott Gemmill follows the team that works at the emergency room located in the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center. Audiences were thrilled with the twists and turns that happened in the halls of the facility.

Amanda was nominated for a Primetime Emmy thanks to the episode titled 6:00 P.M. The entire season of the series takes place over the course of an entire shift, giving the filmmakers limited time to flesh out the characters before the credits rolled. In this particular episode, the hospital activated the mass casualty incident protocols to deal with the influx of patients from a shooting.

John Wells

Nominated for: The Pitt.

Previous Nominations: Twenty-five Emmy nominations. John found success thanks to ER and The West Wing.

Hidden Gem: August: Osage County. (2013).

What else can be said about The Pitt? It’s not common for television shows to reach such heights during their first season. The ones that do go down in history as unforgettable stories audiences can’t let go of. With a second season on the way, the legacy of The Pitt could go beyond HBO Max’s wildest dreams.

John was nominated for the episode titled “7:00 AM”. The different hours established in the first season of The Pitt allowed audiences to meet plenty of characters and how they react under terrible situations. John’s experience with ER allowed him to collect yet another Primetime Emmy nomination.

Jessica Lee Gagné

Nominated for: Severance.

Previous Nominations: None. Jessica is a first-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee.

Hidden Gem: Escape at Dannemora. (As director of photography, 2018).

The concept of Severance was wild enough to keep audiences glued to the screen for years. People who work for Lumon Industries have no memories of what their personal lives look like outside of work. At the same time, when they get the chance to see their families, they have no idea of what goes on at the office.

Jessica was nominated for the episode titled Chikhai Bardo. This was the chapter that focused on what Mark (Adam Scott) and Gemma’s (Dichen Lachman) looked like before the events of the series took place. The new perspective the episode brought for viewers was more than enough to get Jessica a well deserved Emmy nomination.

Ben Stiller

Nominated for: Severance.

Previous Nominations: Nine Primetime Emmy Awards nominations. The Ben Stiller Show was the highlight of the list, considering how it gave the artist a win in the Outstanding Writing for a Variety or Music Program category. Extras, Burning Love and Escape at Dannemora also gave Ben nominations.

Hidden Gem: Reality Bites. (1994).

Severance was the other drama that got multiple nominations in the directing category this year. The second season of the series took a long time to be produced, and it appears that everything was worth it. The Apple TV+ blockbuster has good chances of walking away with an award once again.

The episode Ben Stiller was nominated for this time around was “Cold Harbor”. The episode was the season finale for the second installment of this thrilling story. Ben is no stranger to awards recognition, but it will take the best of his abilities to come out victorious in such a crowded category.

Adam Randall

Nominated for: Slow Horses.

Previous Nominations: None. Adam is a first-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee.

Hidden Gem: Level Up. (2016).

Slow Horses turned out to be the gift that keeps on giving for Apple TV+. The spy thriller television series has managed to release five seasons in only three years, becoming one of the most consistent stories in the entire industry. Nothing can stop Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) and his fearless team of investigators.

This nomination in the Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series could take Adam Randall’s career to new heights. The filmmaker is just trying to make a name for himself in the entertainment industry, and this amount of recognition is exactly what he needed to take the next step. Nevertheless, it would be surprising for a first time nominee to take the gold.

Mike White

Nominated for: The White Lotus.

Previous Nominations: Nine Primetime Emmy Award nominations, all earned because of The White Lotus.

Hidden Gem: Enlightened. (2011).

For years, The White Lotus has reminded the world of why HBO is considered the modern house for prestige television. The anthology drama keeps audiences on the edge of their seats every time it returns with a new story to tell. This year wasn’t the exception. Critics and peers alike can’t enough of what Mike White created with the chain of luxurious hotels.

The third season of The White Lotus was set in Thailand, after previous installments of the series took audiences to Italy and Hawaii. The cast of the series included Leslie Bibb, Carrie Coon and Walton Goggins this time around. The series serves as a good platform to allow lesser known actors to work with powerhouses of the industry.