Emmys 2025: Lead Actress In A Drama Series — Our Dream Nominees!

Much like the Drama Series field, the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series category is primed for the most extreme of makeovers at this year's Emmys.

None of 2024's Lead Actress contenders will be back in the running in 2025, although Carrie Coon — nominated here last year for The Gilded Age — is expected to get some love in the Supporting Actress race for her turn in Season 3 of The White Lotus.

Scroll down to see which actresses filled our eight Dream Nominee slots (remember, these aren't predictions; they're wish lists), and then tell us if our picks warrant a "Hell, yes!," "Um, no" or "How could you leave off so-and-so?!"

For the record, 2025 Emmy nominations will be voted on from June 12-23, and unveiled on July 15. The 77th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony is scheduled to air on Sunday, Sept. 14, on CBS.

Scroll down for links to our previous Dream Emmy categories:

Outstanding Drama Series — Our Dream Nominees

Who She Plays: Polarizing trust fund baby Yasmin Kara-Hanani

Her Best Performance This Season: "Nikki Beach, or: So Many Ways to Lose" (Season 3, Episode 6)

What We Thought About It: "Abela was shellshocked as Yas confessed to Harper that she froze after her father's fateful deep-sea plunge. Through a catatonic expression and tears, the actress flooded our screens with grief and fear as Harper scurried to pick up her shattered pieces. ... Later, [Abela and co-star Myha'la] delivered a masterclass back-and-forth, unloading long-held resentments with a relationship-busting finality. Myha'la and Abela's deliveries were pitch-perfect verbal beatdowns, as both performers showcased deep-seated pain through hurt eyes." [Performer of the Week winner, Sept. 21, 2024]

Who She Plays: Jacobson Moore associate Madeline "Matty" Matlock

Her Best Performance This Season: "I Was That, Too" (Season 1, Episode 17)

What We Thought About It: "Bates, as the suddenly compromised Madeline, had a fine line of her own to walk. Yes, Matty was devastated at the thought of exploding her unexpected friendship with Olympia, but she also was first and foremost a woman on a mission. So as much as Olympia might call Matty out for this lie or the other, Bates was sure to surface her character's own righteous indignation, about Jacobson Moore's crimes, as well as register her broken heart." [Performer of the Week winner, April 12, 2025]

Who She Plays: Severed Lumon employee Helly R. / Lumon bigwig Helena Eagan

Her Best Performance This Season: "Trojan's Horse" (Season 2, Episode 5)

What We Thought About It: "Helly couldn't be more different from her Outie alter ego Helena, but Lower managed to convincingly inhabit both of them. First, she just about chilled our blood as Helena refused to go back inside Lumon, calling the Innies 'f—king animals.' Then her confusion was heartbreaking when Helly finally reunited with her Lumon friends, only to have them not trust her at all. ... In Lower's hands, Helly and Helena really feel like they're played by two different actors, and that's the ultimate compliment we can pay to her Season 2 performance." [Performer of the Week Honorable Mention, Feb. 15, 2025]

Who She Plays: Dystopian rebel leader June Osborne

Her Best Performance This Season: "The Handmaid's Tale" (Season 6, Episode 10)

What We Thought About It: "The emotional armor with which Moss fortified her character was considerable — and even more striking when it fell away, as it did in the scenes with June's baby daughter, Nichole, and her mom, Holly. ... It was the most vulnerable we'd seen June in a long time, and Moss was absolutely stunning. And we'd be remiss not to highlight the serenity Moss imbued in June as the hour came to a close and her story began anew. Here was a character who'd endured unimaginable suffering but emerged stronger, played by an actress at the top of her craft." [Performer of the Week winner, May 31, 2025]

Who She Plays: Cutthroat prosecutor Merritt Lingard

Her Best Performance This Season: "Episode 9" (Season 1, Episode 9)

What We Thought About It: "Two moments — both of which found the actress uttering nary a syllable — stand out. First there was [Merritt's] wordless reunion with younger brother William following her brutal four-year captivity, during which Pirrie — using just her eyes — infused Merritt's aura of emptiness and despair with hope and relief upon seeing her healthy, smiling sibling. Later, when the sight of the elaborate tracking board detectives used to find her literally took Merritt's breath away, Pirrie ensured that audiences felt the full weight of the discovery that, yes, the young solicitor's life mattered — if not to her, than to Carl and his fellow scoobies." [Performer of the Week winner, June 7, 2025]

Who They Play: Zombie apocalypse survivor Ellie Williams

Their Best Performance This Season: "Through the Valley" (Season 2, Episode 2)

What We Thought About It: "Joel's death would've been sad under any circumstances, full stop. But what really made his final moments stick with us... was how Ramsey played Ellie's reaction to finding her surrogate father near death. ... The fear in Ramsey's eyes crystallized to horror as Ellie took in Joel's broken body, their voice breaking a little more each time Ellie demanded that Joel get up ... We also won't soon forget the way Ramsey pulled Ellie over to Joel's prone body, belly-crawling with everything she had left in order to be close to him." [Performer of the Week winner, April 26, 2025]

Who She Plays: U.S. diplomat Kate Wyler

Her Best Performance This Season: "St. Paul's" (Season 2, Episode 2)

What We Thought About It: "When [Rufus Sewell's] Hal posited to his wife that tragedies like the one that claimed the life of Kate's aide, Ronnie, are — in their dangerous line of work — merely 'the cost of doing business,' Russell pivoted seamlessly between unbridled fury at her husband and profound grief over the loss of her beloved colleague. ... Watching Russell and Sewell navigate the argument's fluctuating emotional beats and power dynamics — from anger to empathy to condescension and back to anger — was akin to witnessing a world champion chess match." [Performer of the Week Honorable Mention, Nov. 2, 2024]

Who She Plays: Lioness station chief Joe McNamara

Her Best Performance This Season: "I Love My Country" (Season 2, Episode 2)

What We Thought About It: "Saldaña's showstopper scenes came once Joe and her team arrived at the Army's FOB in Iraq, after barely surviving an ambush. The dialogue seemed to be half expletives, but it was Saldaña's delivery of the words that put everyone within earshot on guard. ... Closing out Saldaña's winning performance was Joe's subsequent pitch to [Genesis Rodriguez's] Josie, where she laid out the prospective Lioness' ties to the the cartel in the Agency's crosshairs, then simply asked, again and again, 'Do you love your country?' When Josie maintained, 'I am serving my country right now,' Joe said, 'Your country needs more.' And because of Saldaña's intensity, you knew that she would get it." [Performer of the Week winner, Nov. 2, 2024]