Apple TV executives can’t help but boast about their Emmy nomination batting average: 87 nominations (the platform’s best showing yet) across 15 shows, out of just 31 titles submitted for voter consideration, less than half of what their competitors submitted.

“This simply reinforces our strategy, the ‘quality over quantity’ programming approach that continues to reward us,” says Apple TV programming chief Matt Cherniss. “It certainly rewards the talent that decides to come here and do shows for our service.”

Leading the pack for Apple TV is the horror comedy “Widow’s Bay,” which premiered late in the Emmy eligibility cycle but took hold with voters, earning 19 nominations (including comedy series), the third most for any show. Freshman drama “Pluribus” also scored big for Apple TV, with 18 nominations, including best drama. It also earned multiple nominations: “Shrinking” (10), “Slow Horses” (9), “Palm Royale” (8), “Murderbot” (3), “Mr. Scorsese” (3), “The Reluctant Traveler With Eugene Levy” (2) and “Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age” (2).

Apple TV achieved its biggest year even without some of its previous top Emmy contenders, including “Severance,” “The Studio” and “Ted Lasso,” which were not in competition this year but will return, some sooner than others.

Variety spoke with Cherniss about the surprise success of “Widow’s Bay,” when shows like “Severance” and “Pluribus” might return, and more.

Let’s talk about “Widow’s Bay.” The show aired late in the season, which generally makes it difficult to get any kind of traction at the Emmys. What were your expectations? Was your success a big surprise?

I think from the beginning we all knew there was something special about “Widow’s Bay.” You never know how long it will take the audience to find something or accept it, so it was really cool to see the speed. When we’re looking at where to launch a show, I think first and foremost we’re looking at where that place is that gives the show an opportunity to support it and find an audience. Sometimes that does not coincide with the award deadlines. So it was great to see that even though this came late in the year, he had to have his cake and eat it too.

We were able to launch it and find a really big audience. It was great to feel the momentum of both of them during this early part of the summer, and you really felt like people were watching and talking about the show at just the right time in relation to the awards prospect. My hope is that it continues to overload the audience in the way we’ve seen in recent months.

Three episodes didn’t even make it in time for the submission deadline, but it still worked. How did those three episodes end up missing the submission deadline?

I think it was more about where we felt we had a place to position ourselves and launch the program successfully. It arrived late in the year and resulted in three episodes crossing the Emmy deadline. But ultimately, I think we felt that the most important thing was to get the biggest audience possible for the show, and that the rest of this would take care of itself. In this case I feel like that was the case. There are certainly performances and directors, and a lot of work in those last three episodes that also deserve to be recognized. I think there will be time for that as the year progresses.

It took you a while to renew it. Was there a reason you waited a moment?

Did it take you a while to renew it? I felt like we moved pretty quickly. I mean, we certainly tried to time the announcement a little bit more as the season went on, so there was a little bit of momentum. But I don’t think any of us had any doubts that we wanted the show to come back for multiple seasons.

So when is the time we could see season 2?

Good, Varietyschneider katie [Dippold] I’m going to take the day off, I hope. I know you’re already thinking about season 2 and will jump into it as quickly as you can. We’re working on it and we know the audience is eager for more episodes, so we’ll try to move forward as quickly as we can. The show is a labor of love. It is filmed on location [in Massachusetts] that’s not always the easiest thing to shoot. So there are some elements that dictate a little bit of change, but everyone is working as fast as they can.

Do you think there’s a chance of getting it in time for the next Emmy cycle?

It’s going to be tough, but we have other good things coming up next year!

Speaking of season 2, when do we think we’ll get more Pluribus? Is there a chance he’ll return for the next Emmy cycle? I know Vince Gilligan is working hard.

I think that will be difficult too. Vince is really ambitious with season 2 and really takes the time to make sure the show lives up to everyone’s expectations. It’s also a very complicated show when it comes to execution and filming, so I think it would be difficult for us to fit into the next cycle. But we are starting to see the first drafts and they are all progressing at a good pace. I’m very excited to see him return.

Does 2028 seem reasonable?

I don’t have a date for you for that one yet.

What’s the latest on when we might see more “Reparations”?

We haven’t set dates for the show yet, but we are progressing very well and getting closer to production. We’ve seen most of the material and I think it totally meets the audience. With a show like “Severance,” the most important thing is that we deliver something like those epic first two seasons, and then it gets even bigger from there.

With both “Pluribus” and “Severance,” it takes 10 to 11 months to produce a season, right?

Yes, they definitely take a while. And when you look at the complexities surrounding the production, the writing of it, it just takes some time.

We’ve heard that Ben Stiller is more involved this season than he had planned.

Ben is incredibly involved in the show. You know, there are a lot of different things that Ben is doing now. He is acting on the show. [“The Off Weeks”] For us, he has movies coming out. I have never met anyone who works the hours they do and is constantly involved in the program. I don’t think there was any expectation on our part that that would change, nor was there a desire for that to change for us. I think everything he puts in the program is additive, and we will take advantage of all the time he gives us.

Next year in comedy you will have a wealth of riches with the return of “Ted Lasso”, “The Studio” and “Shrinking”, all in competition. How much do you know about the new story and direction of “Shrinking” in season 4?

I definitely think it’s an update, but they’re still the characters you love. I think it’s more about how those characters grow and change than how you feel like you’re watching a different show. The show continues to run and I actually think the decisions they’re making are really inspired and I think the audience will be really excited when the time comes.

“Your Friends & Neighbors” earned a nomination, but no acting nominations yet. Were you a little surprised that we didn’t see Jon Hamm there?

They certainly deserve acting nominations. I think the cast is incredible and it’s a little disappointing that they weren’t recognized as individuals. But I think the fact that the show is recognized as one of the best dramas on television is a huge victory, and rightly so. I think it’s gratifying that everyone can celebrate that nomination together. I know everyone in the cast, and speaking with Jonathan Trapper, is very excited about the nomination and being a part of that conversation.

“The Morning Show” also just scored a nomination. We have another season ahead of us. Will this be the last season?

There has been no announcement regarding this. Obviously, the ongoing conversations with Jen [Aniston] and reese [Witherspoon] and the entire team about the future of the show. They’re still in production this season, so I think everyone is pretty focused on that right now.

Any update on the status of “The Savant”?

[Apple TV communications head Rita Cooper Lee jumps in: “You’ll be the first to know, Mr. Schneider. No news to report on that.”]

We haven’t talked about “Margo has money problems” yet. How is season 2 going?

Working with David E. Kelley is a lot of fun. As a fan of his work, it is a great pleasure. And the whole team, Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer. I mean, it’s a great cast. It’s not easy for shows to get recognition in their first season. I think we did a good job on that, but that show in particular has a great spirit. David is in the room right now and the entire team is working on season 2. It definitely gains more scope as the seasons go on. I think the audience will be very excited about that.

I mentioned “The Study” before. Ike Barinholtz said in an interview that he could return in March. Sounds good?

Will definitely be back next year. I don’t know if we have set a specific date yet. But it will be back next year!

This interview has been edited and condensed.