‘Rivals’ wins best drama at 53rd International Emmy Awards 2025

The winners of the 53rd International Emmy Awards were unveiled in New York, with the United Kingdom emerging as the biggest winner, claiming trophies across seven categories.

ITV Studios' 1980s-set dramedy Rivals secured the Best Drama award. The series, featuring David Tennant, Aidan Turner, Katherine Parkinson, Victoria Smurfit, Alex Hassell, Nafessa Williams, Bella Maclean, Emily Atack, and Danny Dyer, is inspired by the novels of Jilly Cooper and blends comedy with drama.

In the comedy segment, Ludwig , starring David Mitchell, won Best Comedy. The series follows a puzzle master, portrayed by Mitchell, who impersonates his missing brother, a police detective, to unravel the mystery of his disappearance. Anna Maxwell Martin also stars in the show.

The UK’s winning streak continued with Fallen taking Best Kids Live-Action, Lost Boys and Fairies earning Best TV Movie/Mini Series, Hell Jumper winning Best Documentary, and Dispatch: Kill Zone: Inside Gaza receiving the award for Current Affairs. Anna Maxwell Martin also bagged Best Performance by an Actress for her role in Until I Kill You .

Among the red-carpet highlights, Bollywood star Diljit Dosanjh, nominated for Best Performance by an Actor, and director Imtiaz Ali, nominated for TV Movie/Mini-Series, walked the event for Netflix’s Amar Singh Chamkila , the only Indian title in contention.

Other notable winners included Oriol Pla for Best Performance by an Actor in Yo, Adicto [I, Addict] , Deha [The Good & The Bad] for Best Telenovela, Bluey for Kids: Animation, Shaolin Heroes for Non-Scripted Entertainment, Gaza, Search for Life for News, It’s All Over: The Kiss That Changed Spanish Football for Sports Documentary, La mediatrice [The Mediator] for Short-Form Series, and Ryuichi Sakamoto: Last Days for Arts Programming.

Alongside the competitive awards, special honors were presented at the New York Hilton Midtown. Dana Walden, co-chairman of Disney Entertainment, received the International Emmy Founders Award, while Brazil’s Grupo Globo president João Roberto Marinho was honored with the International Emmy Directorate Award.