Primetime Emmys 2025: Erin Doherty wins best supporting actress Emmy for Adolescence in her first-ever nomination

Erin Doherty just won her first Emmy on her first nomination! At the Emmys 2025, the British actress took home Outstanding Supporting Actress for her role in Netflix's Adolescence. What makes it remarkable? She only appeared in one episode of the four-part series. Yet, that episode packed a punch.

Doherty played Dr. Briony Ariston, a psychologist evaluating teenage murderer Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper). This Adolescence episode plays out like a stage drama. There are just two characters at a table during a rainstorm. Briony has to understand if Jamie truly feels remorse for his crime...at all.

Doherty later described those scenes as thrilling and downright draining. When you watch it, you understand why the Emmy voters took notice!

She told IndieWire:

"We created such an authentic, horrible environment that I just remember being so grateful to have come to an end."

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An Emmy for a single episode of Adolescence

What makes Erin Doherty’s Emmy win stand out? It’s not just that she won on her first nomination. It’s how she carried a whole episode nearly alone!

Producers Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne wanted the episode to be one continuous take, like the best of theatre and film.

That meant Doherty and her co-star Owen Cooper had to keep their energy up through long, demanding scenes. They practiced for weeks and learned every camera move, but still left room for unscripted moments.

In the end, they used the very last take they filmed. Doherty told The Hollywood Reporter that the take captured the feel of live theatre. Even though Cooper was new to screen acting, Doherty says he pushed her.

"[He] reignited that necessity. (...) that love of what I do."

She credits his willingness to live in the moment for keeping this episode of Adolescence electric from start to finish.

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Tackling disturbing themes with care

At its heart, Adolescence tackles a question parents dread: What happens when the internet twists your kid into someone you don't know? For Erin Doherty, playing the part meant facing dark corners of the web (like incel forums) and wrestling with how therapists walk the line between helping and judging.

She told The Hollywood Reporter:

“It’s there, we can’t deny it. (...) But I don’t actually think the show poses any answers (...) I don’t think we have them yet.”

In Vogue, the actress shared how deeply personal the role felt. She drew from her own therapy and even reached out to her former therapist to shape Briony's approach --- professional yet kind. That balance of clinical distance and genuine warmth made her performance haunting yet easy to connect with.

The award win signals something bigger: audiences and critics clearly responded to Adolescence's message about society.

Doherty put it plainly:

"Every day someone is asking me: ‘Do you really understand the ripple effects of this thing?’ And I don’t think I do."

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Erin Doherty's punchline for Emmys 2025

On the Emmys stage, Doherty kept her speech short and real.

She thanked her partner and everyone from the Adolescence team, even Stephen Graham --- especially after he'd joked about her being a "tea cozy" earlier this evening. The audience laughed as she walked off, and that felt right. After all, she'd just taken viewers through one of the toughest shows this year.

She already has one Emmy. Now? People are watching. If she won for just one episode, imagine what would happen when she gets her own series!

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Watch Adolescence on Netflix.

NEXT UP: Adolescence practically swept the Emmys 2025