Liane Hentscher/HBO

The Last of Us Season 2 earned a whopping 15 nominations for the 2025 Emmy Awards, including six for the cast alone. The leading duo Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal were both recognized, along with four guest stars, but fans already feel like one supporting star was left out unfairly. Isabela Merced joined the series this season as Dina, Ellie’s (Ramsey) girlfriend, and her performance was well-received by fans and critics alike. Some wondered why she didn’t make the cut for the Emmys, and debated which category she would have landed in. Still, for a cast of this size, six nominations is an impressive feat.

Pascal is nominated for outstanding lead actor in a drama series for playing Joel on The Last of Us Season 2, while Ramsey is nominated for outstanding lead actress for playing Ellie. The other four are nominated for outstanding guest actor or actress in a drama — Joe Pantoliano for playing Eugene, Jeffrey Wright for playing Isaac, Kaitlyn Dever for playing Abby, and Catherine O’Hara for playing Gail. The show’s nine other nominations are for production design, casting, picture editing, contemporary makeup, prosthetic makeup, music supervision, sound editing, sound mixing, and special visual effects.

It’s an excellent haul for a season that finished up just before the Emmys’ eligibility deadline. The award show recognizes shows that aired between June 1, 2024 and May 31st, 2025. The Last of Us Season 2 may also have been hampered by its shortened season with just seven episodes. On the other hand, it definitely had a lot of buzz before the season started thanks to its lauded premiere back in 2023.

As for Merced, she has plenty of other wins to celebrate right now, including her DC Universe debut just this weekend as Hawkgirl in Superman. She is expected to reprise that role next month with an appearance in Peacemaker Season 2, premiering on HBO Max on August 21st. She is also fresh off a huge year in 2024 that included roles in Madame Web and Alien: Romulus.

Overall, geek culture was strongly represented in this year’s Emmy nominations, including the Marvel Cinematic Universe, DC’s Elseworld’s label, Star Wars, and other sci-fi hits like The Last of Us. It’s a strong refutation of the “franchise fatigue” discourse, proving that quality work stands out regardless of the IP or continuity. It’s a conversation that will undoubtedly crop up again when the Emmys air live on September 14th on CBS and Paramount+.

The post The Last of Us Earns Six Acting Emmy Nominations (But Not For Everyone’s Favorite Character) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

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