Gotham TV Awards winners list 2025: Adolescence sweeps, Squid Games creator thanks the naysayers

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2 days ago

It seems like it was mere days ago the Oscars were crowning Anora their Best Picture winner, but awards season is about to get back into full swing.
Now that we've dusted our hands of the films of 2024, it's time to get stuck into the best television of the past 12 months — starting with the Gotham TV Awards.
Netflix limited series Adolescence has come out strong, sweeping the awards and putting it in good stead to pick up some hardware come Emmys time.
Scroll down for the full list of winners.
The Gotham Television awards are the new kid on the block, but you might have heard of their big brother, the Gotham Film awards, which celebrated their 34th year in the game in December.
Film and television categories were previously mixed at the Gotham Awards but, for the past two years, they have been split to create the two separate ceremonies.
While the Gotham TV awards might be fairly green, they provide an invaluable insight to the upcoming Emmys, as both have the exact same eligibility period (the shows must have premiered between June 1, 2024 and May 31, 2025).
There are also no returning series allowed at the Gotham TV awards, with all nominees premiering their first season within the past 12 months. This gives an opportunity to shine a light on brand-new television.
Netflix might have a new awards darling, like last year's Baby Reindeer, if The Gotham Awards are anything to go by.
Adolescence swept the 2025 awards, picking up Best Breakthrough Limited Series, as well as acting gongs for co-creator Stephen Graham and the show's young star Owen Cooper.
Last year, Baby Reindeer also won Breakthrough Limited Series at the Gotham awards and went on to win Outstanding Limited Series at the 2024 Emmys.
Adolescence casts an eye on radical misogyny in online spaces as it follows a young boy accused of murdering a classmate. It sparked conversation and debate around the world between parents, teachers and teenagers.
"With our show, we wanted to rip up the rule book. This was a small colloquial piece that was made with love and respect, humility and dignity," Graham said.
"[This award] shows that no matter how small the story is, if you make it with love and care, it can travel all the way across the world.
"Sometimes the lunatics take over the asylum and we show what we're capable of."
Adolescence marked the first on-screen performance for Cooper, and the 15-year-old has been wildly lauded for his emotional work as red-pilled teen Jamie Miller.
Cooper thanked his co-star, Erin Doherty, who was nominated in the same category.
"That episode we did together, it was easy to do because of you," he said.
Cooper shared his award with Dying For Sex's Jenny Slate in a rare tie.
Overcompensating's Mary Beth Barone really meant it when she opened the awards by saying: "We are so honoured to be here tonight, celebrating so many talented artists and some men, too."
Never Have I Ever star Poorna Jagannathan kicked off the awards by winning Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Comedy for her role on Deli Boys.
"What a privilege it is to work on this little brown show that has no message. We got to do what a lot of white actors get to do. We got to play dumb f**ks," she said to raucous laughter.
White Lotus stars and real-life couple Leslie Bibb and Sam Rockwell were on hand to honour their co-star Parker Posey with the new Legend Tribute.
"There's no-one like Parker f**king Posey," the couple agreed before playing a dance remix of Posey's hilarious deep south pronunciations as her White Lotus character Victoria Ratcliff (TSUUUNAMI! BUDDHISM! PIPER NAOOOO!)
"Thank you, Mike White, for writing this character for me, for believing in a middle-aged woman and for believing in a legend," Parker said.
"Lets keep the arts alive, lets turn this business into entertainment that everyone can love."
As the ceremony drew to a close, Sheryl Lee Ralph accepted the Sidney Poitier Icon Tribute. The Abbott Elementary star acknowledged the early support she received from the award's namesake at the beginning of her career in her acceptance speech.
"I was 19, I was just starting to dream big and it was Sidney Poitier who cast me in the big screen. Mr Poitier looked at me and said, 'Sheryl Lee Ralph, I expect great things from you,'" she said, referring to 1977 crime caper A Piece of the Action, which both starred and was directed by Poitier.
In 2022, Ralph became the first black woman in 35 years to win an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Comedy Series for her work as Barbara Howard on Abbott Elementary.
Multiple honoree awards were given to creators throughout the evening, including Squid Game creator, writer and director Hwang Dong-hyuk.
He was presented a creator tribute by South Korean actor and Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae, who heaped praise on his director.
"What truly sets [Squid Game] apart is the depth of director Hwang's vision," Lee said.
"Beneath the suspense and visuals is a powerful critique of inequality, desperation and human resistance."
Hwang accepted the award, telling the crowd that the 2021 Gotham Awards was the first US awards ceremony he attended with Squid Game, where it picked up the award for Breakthrough Series.
"Four years from that night, holding this trophy, it feels like the miracle is still going," Hwang said.
"I want to thank everyone who said no to Squid Game in 2009, because if any of you had said yes back then, there would be no Squid Game as it is today. I learnt a lot from your no's."
Presumed Innocent creator David E Kelley and Étoile's Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino were also awarded with creator tributes.
Dope Thief's Brian Tyree Henry was given the performer tribute and the inaugural ensemble tribute was awarded to Elisabeth Moss and the cast of The Handmaid's Tale.