By Angel No Lie | KPD Online
Published: September 15, 2026

The ceremony was held on September 14, 2026, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles and hosted by actress Mariska Hargitay. The Television Academy says the 78th Emmys recognized television programming and individual achievements from the 2025–26 season.

Widow’s Bay dominated the comedy field, ultimately collecting 14 Emmy Awards, a record for a comedy series in a single year. The Pitt, meanwhile, won Outstanding Drama Series for a second consecutive year.

The biggest moments of the night

One of the evening’s most historic performances came from Matthew Rhys, who won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for Widow’s Bay and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for The Beast in Me.

The double victory makes Rhys the first male performer to win lead acting Emmys across comedy, drama and limited-series categories.

Jean Smart also made Emmy history. She won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Hacks for the fifth consecutive time, becoming the first woman to win the acting award for every season of a series. Her career total reached eight acting Emmys, tying her with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Cloris Leachman.

For drama, Noah Wyle won Lead Actor for The Pitt, while Rhea Seehorn collected her first Emmy for Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Pluribus.

Full Winners and Nominees

Outstanding Drama Series

Winner: The Pitt

Nominees:

• The Diplomat
• The Gilded Age
• A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
• Paradise
• The Pitt — WINNER
• Pluribus
• Slow Horses
• Your Friends & Neighbors

Outstanding Comedy Series

Winner: Widow’s Bay

Nominees:

• Abbott Elementary
• The Bear
• Hacks
• Margo’s Got Money Troubles
• Nobody Wants This
• Only Murders in the Building
• Shrinking
• Widow’s Bay — WINNER

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Winner: Noah Wyle — The Pitt

Nominees:

• Sterling K. Brown — Paradise
• Gary Oldman — Slow Horses
• Mark Ruffalo — Task
• Rufus Sewell — The Diplomat
• Noah Wyle — The Pitt — WINNER

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Winner: Rhea Seehorn — Pluribus

Nominees:

• Carrie Coon — The Gilded Age
• Chase Infiniti — The Testaments
• Keri Russell — The Diplomat
• Rhea Seehorn — Pluribus — WINNER
• Zendaya — Euphoria

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Winner: Tom Pelphrey — Task

Nominees:

• Patrick Ball — The Pitt
• Billy Crudup — The Morning Show
• Shawn Hatosy — The Pitt
• Gerran Howell — The Pitt
• Jack Lowden — Slow Horses
• Tom Pelphrey — Task — WINNER
• Carlos-Manuel Vesga — Pluribus

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Winner: Allison Janney — The Diplomat

Nominees:

• Taylor Dearden — The Pitt
• Fiona Dourif — The Pitt
• Allison Janney — The Diplomat — WINNER
• Katherine LaNasa — The Pitt
• Sepideh Moafi — The Pitt
• Julianne Nicholson — Paradise
• Karolina Wydra — Pluribus

Comedy Categories

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Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Winner: Matthew Rhys — Widow’s Bay

Nominees:

• Yahya Abdul-Mateen II — Wonder Man
• Steve Carell — Rooster
• Matthew Rhys — Widow’s Bay — WINNER
• Jason Segel — Shrinking
• Martin Short — Only Murders in the Building

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Winner: Jean Smart — Hacks

Nominees:

• Quinta Brunson — Abbott Elementary
• Ayo Edebiri — The Bear
• Elle Fanning — Margo’s Got Money Troubles
• Lisa Kudrow — The Comeback
• Jean Smart — Hacks — WINNER

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Winner: Stephen Root — Widow’s Bay

Nominees:

• Colman Domingo — The Four Seasons
• Paul W. Downs — Hacks
• Harrison Ford — Shrinking
• Nick Offerman — Margo’s Got Money Troubles
• Stephen Root — Widow’s Bay — WINNER
• Michael Urie — Shrinking
• Tyler James Williams — Abbott Elementary

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Winner: Kate O’Flynn — Widow’s Bay

Nominees:

• Dale Dickey — Widow’s Bay
• Hannah Einbinder — Hacks
• Janelle James — Abbott Elementary
• Kate O’Flynn — Widow’s Bay — WINNER
• Michelle Pfeiffer — Margo’s Got Money Troubles
• Megan Stalter — Hacks
• Jessica Williams — Shrinking

Limited or Anthology Series

Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series

Winner: DTF St. Louis

Nominees:

• All Her Fault
• The Beast in Me
• Beef
• DTF St. Louis — WINNER
• Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Winner: Matthew Rhys — The Beast in Me

Nominees:

• Riz Ahmed — Bait
• Jason Bateman — Black Rabbit
• Charlie Hunnam — Monster: The Ed Gein Story
• Oscar Isaac — Beef
• Matthew Rhys — The Beast in Me — WINNER

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Winner: Sally Field — Remarkably Bright Creatures

Nominees:

• Claire Danes — The Beast in Me
• Sally Field — Remarkably Bright Creatures — WINNER
• Carey Mulligan — Beef
• Sarah Pidgeon — Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette
• Sarah Snook — All Her Fault

Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Winner: David Harbour — DTF St. Louis

Nominees:

• Jason Bateman — DTF St. Louis
• Richard Gadd — Half Man
• David Harbour — DTF St. Louis — WINNER
• Richard Jenkins — DTF St. Louis
• Charles Melton — Beef
• Nick Offerman — Death by Lightning

Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Winner: Linda Cardellini — DTF St. Louis

Nominees:

• Linda Cardellini — DTF St. Louis — WINNER
• Dakota Fanning — All Her Fault
• Laurie Metcalf — Monster: The Ed Gein Story
• Joy Sunday — DTF St. Louis
• Youn Yuh-jung — Beef
• Constance Zimmer — Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette

Directing and Writing

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series

Winner: Saul Metzstein — Slow Horses

Nominees:

• Salli Richardson Whitfield — The Gilded Age
• Hanelle M. Culpepper — Paradise
• Noah Wyle — The Pitt
• Vince Gilligan — Pluribus
• Saul Metzstein — Slow Horses — WINNER
• Salli Richardson-Whitfield — Task

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series

Winner: Hiro Murai — Widow’s Bay

Nominees:

• Randall Einhorn — Abbott Elementary
• Christopher Storer — The Bear
• Andrew DeYoung — The Chair Company
• Lucia Aniello — Hacks
• Mary Lou Belli — The Ms. Pat Show
• Hiro Murai — Widow’s Bay — WINNER

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series

Winner: Vince Gilligan — Pluribus

Nominees:

• Peter Ackerman & Debora Cahn — The Diplomat
• Valerie Chu — The Pitt
• Kirsten Pierre-Geyfman & R. Scott Gemmill — The Pitt
• Vince Gilligan — Pluribus — WINNER
• Will Smith — Slow Horses
• Brad Ingelsby — Task

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series

Winner: Katie Dippold — Widow’s Bay

Nominees:

• Quinta Brunson — Abbott Elementary
• Tim Robinson & Zach Kanin — The Chair Company
• Michael Patrick King & Lisa Kudrow — The Comeback
• Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs & Jen Statsky — Hacks
• Anthony King — Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat
• Katie Dippold — Widow’s Bay — WINNER

Reality, Variety and Other Major Awards

Outstanding Reality Competition Program

Winner: The Traitors

Nominees:

• Dancing with the Stars
• RuPaul’s Drag Race
• Survivor
• Top Chef
• The Traitors — WINNER

Outstanding Variety Series

Winner: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Nominees:

• The Daily Show
• Jimmy Kimmel Live!
• Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert — WINNER
• Saturday Night Live

Outstanding Television Movie

Winner: Remarkably Bright Creatures

Nominees:

• Heads of State
• Miss You, Love You
• People We Meet on Vacation
• Remarkably Bright Creatures — WINNER
• Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War

Outstanding Animated Program

Winner: South Park

Nominees:

• Bob’s Burgers
• Rick and Morty
• The Simpsons
• Smiling Friends
• South Park — WINNER
• Star Wars: Visions

Outstanding Live Variety Special

Winner: The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny

Other nominees:

• 83rd Annual Golden Globes
• 68th Annual Grammy Awards
• 97th Academy Awards
• 78th Annual Tony Awards

Outstanding Pre-Recorded Variety Special

Winner: The Muppet Show

Nominees:

• Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable …
• The Muppet Show — WINNER
• Nikki Glaser: Good Girl
• Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The Final Show
• Wicked: One Wonderful Night

Guest Acting Winners

Guest Actress, Drama: Shailene Woodley — Paradise

Guest Actor, Drama: Ernest Harden Jr. — The Pitt

Guest Actress, Comedy: Betty Gilpin — Widow’s Bay

Guest Actor, Comedy: Rob Reiner — The Bear

The Creative Arts Emmys also recognized numerous technical and behind-the-scenes achievements across television. The Television Academy held the Creative Arts ceremonies on September 5 and 6, ahead of the September 14 Primetime telecast.

The Night’s Biggest Winners

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Widow’s Bay

The Apple TV+ series was the undisputed breakout winner, taking 14 awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series, Lead Actor for Matthew Rhys, Supporting Actor for Stephen Root, Supporting Actress for Kate O’Flynn, Writing for Katie Dippold and Directing for Hiro Murai.

The Pitt

The medical drama successfully defended its Outstanding Drama Series title. Noah Wyle also repeated his Lead Actor victory, giving the series another major Emmy night.

Jean Smart

Smart’s fifth consecutive comedy-actress Emmy for Hacks was among the ceremony’s most significant records. She became the first woman to win the acting award for every season of a series.

Matthew Rhys

Rhys had perhaps the most extraordinary individual night, taking home two lead acting awards for two different productions. His wins came for Widow’s Bay and The Beast in Me.

DTF St. Louis

The HBO limited series captured the top limited-series prize and several acting and creative awards, including wins for David Harbour and Linda Cardellini.

A changing television landscape

The 2026 Emmys reflected a television industry increasingly dominated by streaming platforms alongside traditional broadcasters. Established productions such as Hacks, The Pitt and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert shared the spotlight with newer titles such as Widow’s Bay and Pluribus.

The evening also provided recognition for television veterans while creating new milestones for performers including Rhys, Smart, Seehorn and Wyle. Michael J. Fox received the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award for his philanthropic work.

The complete official 2026 Emmy nominees-and-winners database is maintained by the Television Academy.

Editor’s note: This report is independently written and organized for news-portal publication. Award results have been cross-checked against the Television Academy and multiple contemporaneous reports, including AP and The Guardian.

Image note: Images shown above are sourced from current 2026 Emmy coverage/search results. Publication should use properly licensed editorial photographs before commercial reuse.