Severance leads Emmy nominations with 27

Apple TV+'s dark sci-fi office drama Severance on Tuesday led the contenders for the Emmy Awards, television's version of the Oscars, with a whopping 27 nominations.

- PAULA RAMON

The Penguin, HBO Max's Batman villain spinoff series, came in second with 24.

Two satires — HBO Max's skewering of the rich, The White Lotus, and Apple’s new Hollywood cringe fest, The Studio — tied for third with 23 nominations each.

In the comedy categories, behind The Studio were two past winners: Hacks at 14 and The Bear at 13.

The announcement from the Television Academy marks the official start of the race to the 77th Emmy Awards, set for Sept 14 in Los Angeles.

After last year’s record-breaking 18 Emmy Awards for Japan-set historical epic Shogun, this year's drama competition looks to be more nuanced.

Severance, in which employees of biotech company Lumon have their memories surgically separated between their “innie” work lives and their “outie” personal lives, is clearly the early favourite, with star Adam Scott a nominee for best actor.

But he will compete with ER veteran Noah Wyle, who leads The Pitt — HBO Max's take on the travails of a Pittsburgh emergency room team during one 15-hour shift, effectively filmed in real time.