Sunday, August 31, 2025

Gold Derby's predictions for title design and music at the Emmy Awards


As I wrote yesterday, today's Sunday entertainment feature is this year's version of Gold Derby's predictions for TV movie and music at the Emmy Awards. Here are the nominees for title design and music at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards in categories with predictions at Gold Derby.
Outstanding Title Design
  • Dark Matter – Ronnie Koff, Charlie Proctor, Alex Braddock, and Lexi Gunvaldson (Apple TV+)
  • The Decameron – Mark Bashore, Katrina Crawford, Jason Esser, Torin Bashore, Harry Teitelman, and Mauro Gimferrer Alos (Netflix)
  • House of the Dragon – Garson Yu, Mulan Leong-Suzuki, James Robertson, Damian Stricker, Dan Tegnelia, and Gregory Jones (HBO)
  • The Penguin – Aaron Becker, Joseph Ahn, Michael Lo, James Robertson, Hsien Lun Su, Alasdair Willson, and Ben Hurand (HBO)
  • Severance – Oliver Latta and Teddy Blanks (Apple TV+)
  • The White Lotus – Katrina Crawford, Mark Bashore, Mauro Gimferrer, and Marcos Coral (HBO)
Every editor and expert along with 93.0% of users predict Severance will earn a second Emmy in this category. The rest of the nominees have weak user support with The White Lotus a distant second at 4.1%, The Penguin at 1.7%, House of the Dragon and The Decameron tied at 0.6%, and Dark Matter with none. That's enough for me to embed Severance — Opening Title Sequence: Season 2 | Apple TV+.

New season. New title sequence. Severance Season 2 — Now Streaming http://apple.co/_Severance

In Severance, Mark Scout (Adam Scott) leads a team at Lumon Industries, whose employees have undergone a severance procedure, which surgically divides their memories between their work and personal lives. This daring experiment in “work-life balance” is called into question as Mark finds himself at the center of an unraveling mystery that will force him to confront the true nature of his work… and of himself.

In season two, Mark and his friends learn the dire consequences of trifling with the severance barrier, leading them further down a path of woe.

Season 2 reunites its ensemble cast of stars including Emmy Award nominee Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman, Zach Cherry, Jen Tullock, Michael Chernus, Dichen Lachman, Emmy Award winner John Turturro, Academy Award winner Christopher Walken and Academy and Emmy Award winner Patricia Arquette, and welcomes new series regular Sarah Bock.

Severance is executive produced by Ben Stiller, who also directs five episodes this season in addition to directors Uta Bresiewitz, Sam Donovan and Jessica Lee Gagné. The series is written, created and executive produced by Dan Erickson. Severance season two is also executive produced by John Lesher, Jackie Cohn, Mark Friedman, Beau Willimon, Jordan Tappis, Sam Donovan, Caroline Baron, Richard Schwartz, Nicholas Weinstock. In addition to starring, Adam Scott and Patricia Arquette serve as executive producers. Fifth Season is the studio.
Trippy, and a good introduction to the themes of the season.

Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music
  • Dept. Q – Carlos Rafael Rivera and Scott Frank (Netflix)
  • Dune: Prophecy – Volker Bertelmann (HBO)
  • Lazarus – Kamasi Washington (Adult Swim)
  • The Residence – Mark Mothersbaugh (Netflix)
  • The White Lotus – Cristobal Tapia de Veer (HBO)
  • Your Friends & Neighbors – Dominic Lewis and Hamilton Leithauser (Apple TV+)
The prognosticators at Gold Derby think The White Lotus will pick up an Emmy here, as every editor and expert along with 92.9% of users predict Cristobal Tapia de Veer will pick up another statuette for another variation on the theme original enough to qualify. Dune: Prophecy and The Residence tie for second with 2.4% of users, Lazarus is in fourth with 1.2%, and Dept. Q ties Your Friends & Neighbors for last with 0.6%. Watch the likely winner, THE WHITE LOTUS SEASON 3 MAIN TITLE BY PLAINS OF YONDER.


 Never forget that all the farce and social satire of The White Lotus surrounds a crime (or several) and that what looks like paradise is full of danger.

Follow over the jump for the rest of the music nominees.


Unlike the two categories above the fold, the prognosticators at Gold Derby are divided about the top two nominees in Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score). All the experts, three-quarters of editors, and 69.2% of users predict Andor will win, while the other one-quarter of editors and 22.1% of users think Severance should return to the podium. The White Lotus, another previous winner, has the support of 4.7% of users. The Studio sits in fourth with 2.9% with Cobra Kai and Based on a True Story tied for last with 0.6%.

Since I've already embedded music from Severance, I'm sharing Past/Present/Future by Brandon Roberts.

Past/Present/Future · Brandon Roberts

Andor: Season 2 - Vol. 4 (Episodes 10-12)
Like Andor itself, this music is a slow burn.


 There is more consensus around the nominees for Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special (Original Dramatic Score) with all editors, two-thirds of experts, and 93.0% of users predicting The Penguin will win. The remaining one-third of experts, but only 4.1% of users, made Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story their choice. The "USS Callister: Into Infinity" episode of Black Mirror is tied with Dying for Sex in third with 1.2%. The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat, a movie I missed in 'Rebel Ridge' leads Gold Derby odds to win Outstanding Television Movie at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, is in fifth with 0.6%, while the other nominated Black Mirror episode, "Hotel Reverie," has no user support. Looks like the users picked their favorite Black Mirror music!

I could embed the opening title, but instead I'm sharing the most viewed video in The Penguin playlist on Water Tower Music, The Penguin Soundtrack | March of The Penguin - Mick Giacchino | WaterTower Music.

March of The Penguin, from the #OfficialSoundtrack of The Penguin
Music by Mick Giacchino
Now that's a theme worthy of a Batman villain!


Professional opinion appears most split among nominees for Outstanding Music Supervision. Two-thirds of experts, half the editors, and 90.3% of users have voted for Severance to win, while the other half of the editors and 7.4% of the users expect previous winner The White Lotus to return to the podium and the remaining one-third of experts and 1.1% of users think The Last of Us will claim the statuette its second time around. The Studio and The Righteous Gemstones tied for fourth with 0.6% of users, while Hacks has no votes. There is at least a consensus about which nominee won't win!

I close with a category I last covered in 'SNL50: The Anniversary Special' leads nominees for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) at the Emmys.

Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics
  • Agatha All Along: "Circle Sewn with Fate / Unlock Thy Hidden Gate" – "The Ballad of the Witches' Road" by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez (Disney+)
  • Andor: "Who Are You?" – "We Are the Ghor (Planetary Anthem)" by Nicholas Britell and Tony Gilroy (Disney+)
  • The Boys: "We'll Keep the Red Flag Flying Here" – "Let's Put the Christ Back in Christmas" by Christopher Lennertz (Prime Video)
  • SNL50: Anniversary Special – "50 Years" by Dan Bulla and Adam Sandler (NBC)
  • Will & Harper – "Harper and Will Go West" by Sean Douglas, Kristen Wiig and Josh Greenbaum (Netflix)
Gold Derby has odds on this category, too. "50 Years" from SNL50: Anniversary Special is currently the choice of 80% of experts, 60% of editors, and 55.6% of users. My pick, at least until I listen to the other nominees, "Circle Sewn with Fate / Unlock Thy Hidden Gate" – "The Ballad of the Witches' Road" from Agatha All Along has the support of 20% of [experts], 40% of editors, and 35.8% of users. "Harper and Will Go West" from Will & Harper sits in third as the choice of 5.6% of users. I'll embed it at the end of this post. Andor's "Who Are You?" – "We Are the Ghor (Planetary Anthem)" has the vote of 1.8% of users. I'll embed that in this year's version of Star Trek vs. Star Wars at the 2024 Emmy Awards for Star Trek Day. Finally, "We'll Keep the Red Flag Flying Here" – "Let's Put the Christ Back in Christmas" from The Boys sits in last place as the choice of 1.3% of users.
Support for "50 Years" from SNL50: Anniversary Special has been consolidating during the past month as it's now the choice of 85.7% of experts, 75% of editors, and 66.7% of users. I'm embedding this song at the end of the post. "Circle Sewn with Fate / Unlock Thy Hidden Gate" – "The Ballad of the Witches' Road" from Agatha All Along still has the support of 14.3% of experts, 25% of editors, and 27.4% of users, a decline, but still better than what happened to "Harper and Will Go West" from Will & Harper, "Who Are You?" - "We Are the Ghor (Planetary Anthem)" from Andor, and "We'll Keep the Red Flag Flying Here" – "Let's Put the Christ Back in Christmas" from The Boys, which are the choices of 4.8%, 1.1%, and 0% (!) of users.
Support for "50 Years" from SNL50: Anniversary Special continued to consolidate this past month as it's now the choice of every expert, 75% of editors, and 72.4% of users. "The Ballad of the Witches' Road" from Agatha All Along continues to lose support, but still has 25% of editors and 22.4% of users. User support for the rest is still declining with "Harper and Will Go West" from Will & Harper, "Who Are You?" - "We Are the Ghor (Planetary Anthem)" from Andor, and "We'll Keep the Red Flag Flying Here" – "Let's Put the Christ Back in Christmas" from The Boys now the choices of 4.1%, 0.6%, and 0.6% of users. At least The Boys is getting some love now!

I'm closing with Gold Derby's second choice, but my first, The Ballad of the Witches' Road (Sacred Chant Version) (From "Agatha All Along").

Down the witches’ road… a haunting tune from a witchy woman...Marvel Television’s #AgathaAllAlong is now streaming on ?Disney+

Original song by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Bobby Lopez
I still think this is a better song, but it's contending with a celebration of television in "50 Years." I think it helped "Agatha All Along," that WandaVision was also a celebration of television.  As I keep repeating in awards show posts, electorates matter.

That's a wrap for both this post and August's blogging. I plan on covering casting categories and possibly Star Wars vs. Star Trek at the Emmys by Saturday. In the meantime, stay tuned for Labor Day.

Previous posts about the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards
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