The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards unfolded at Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater, in an evening defined by historic victories, venerable performers and an unusually eclectic collection of acclaimed television. Hosted by Mariska Hargitay, the first woman to preside over the ceremony in 15 years and known for her role as Olivia Benson in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, the Emmys celebrated a medium increasingly comfortable moving between prestige drama, audacious comedy and ambitious limited series.
Widow’s Bay Slays Comedy
The evening’s most formidable success belonged to Widow’s Bay. The supernatural comedy won Outstanding Comedy Series and took home 14 Emmys across the main ceremony and Creative Arts awards, setting a new record for a comedy series in a single year. Its triumph extended well beyond the top prize. Katie Dippold won for comedy writing, Hiro Murai for directing, while Stephen Root and Kate O’Flynn captured the supporting actor and actress awards. The breadth of those victories suggested that Emmy voters admired not merely the performances but the entire architecture of the series.
Matthew Rhys was at the center of the phenomenon. He won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for Widow’s Bay, but that was only half of his extraordinary evening. Earlier, Rhys had collected Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for The Beast in Me. He became the first performer in Emmy history to win two lead acting categories for different programs on the same night.
The Pitt Retains the Drama Crown
If Widow’s Bay represented the evening’s ascendant force, The Pitt demonstrated the durability of an established champion. The medical drama won Outstanding Drama Series for the second consecutive year, reaffirming its position among television’s most decorated contemporary dramas.
Noah Wyle again earned Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, further cementing his association with the program’s success. Yet the drama categories were far from a complete sweep. Rhea Seehorn received Outstanding Lead Actress for Pluribus, an especially notable victory as it marked her first Emmy. Allison Janney won Supporting Actress for The Diplomat, while Tom Pelphrey claimed Supporting Actor for Task.
The dispersal of these acting awards gave the drama field a welcome sense of plurality: the Academy rewarded several distinct productions rather than allowing one series to monopolize the evening.
Veterans Make History
Some of the ceremony’s most resonant moments belonged to performers whose careers have spanned decades.
Jean Smart won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the final season of Hacks. It was her fifth consecutive victory for the role and her eighth acting Emmy overall, placing her alongside Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus at the summit of Emmy acting achievement.
Sally Field, meanwhile, received Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for Remarkably Bright Creatures. Her victory drew a standing ovation and made her the oldest winner of the category. The production itself subsequently won Outstanding Television Movie.
In the limited-series field, DTF St. Louis captured the principal prize, prevailing over a competitive group that included The Beast in Me, Beef, All Her Fault and Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette.
Emotional Farewell to Cap Off a Late Night
One of the evening’s most poignant victories came when The Late Show with Stephen Colbert won Outstanding Variety Series after its 11-year run. Colbert and his colleagues received a standing ovation, transforming the award into something resembling a valedictory salute to the hundreds of people who had built the program. Elsewhere, The Traitors continued its remarkable command of reality television, winning Outstanding Reality Competition Program for the third consecutive year.
Beyond the Glitz and Glamour
The ceremony was punctuated by nostalgia and remembrance. Tributes honored figures including Dolly Parton, Catherine O’Hara and Rob Reiner, while a reunion between Buffy the Vampire Slayer alumni Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz commemorated that series’ 30th anniversary.
Michael J. Fox received the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award in recognition of his decades of philanthropy and advocacy surrounding Parkinson’s disease. His appearance supplied the evening with one of its most affecting moments, reminding viewers that television’s most consequential legacies are not invariably measured in ratings or statuettes.
Ultimately, the 2026 Emmys felt less like the coronation of a single television phenomenon than a portrait of a medium in vigorous creative health. Widow’s Bay supplied the record-breaking newcomer, The Pitt represented sustained excellence, and performers such as Rhys, Smart, Field and Seehorn furnished the evening with both history and emotion.
The night’s defining quality was range. Horror could coexist with comedy, medical drama with speculative fiction, and emerging programs with performers whose careers stretch across generations. At a moment when television remains fragmented across innumerable platforms and audiences, the Emmys offered a rare point of convergence—and a persuasive reminder that exceptional storytelling can still command collective attention.
See full list of winners/nominees below:
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Carrie Coon, “The Gilded Age”
Chase Infiniti, “The Testaments”
Keri Russell, “The Diplomat”
WINNER — Rhea Seehorn, “Pluribus”
Zendaya, “Euphoria”
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Sterling K. Brown, “Paradise”
Gary Oldman, “Slow Horses”
Mark Ruffalo, “Task”
Rufus Sewell, “The Diplomat”
WINNER — Noah Wyle, “The Pitt”
Outstanding Supporting Actress in Drama Series
Taylor Dearden, “The Pitt” (HBO Max)
Fiona Dourif, “The Pitt” (HBO Max)
WINNER — Allison Janney, “The Diplomat” (Netflix)
Katherine LaNasa, “The Pitt” (HBO Max)
Sepideh Moafi “The Pitt” (HBO Max)
Julianne Nicholson, “Paradise” (Hulu)
Karolina Wydra, “Pluribus” (Apple TV+)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in Drama Series
Patrick Ball, “The Pitt”
Billy Crudup, “The Morning Show”
Shawn Hatosy, “The Pitt”
Gerran Howell, “The Pitt”
Jack Lowden, “Slow Horses”
WINNER — Tom Pelphrey, “Task”
Carlos Manuel Vesga, “Pluribus”
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series
Brittany Allen, “The Pitt”
Tal Anderson, “The Pitt”
Tina Ivlev, “The Pitt”
Miriam Shor, “Pluribus”
Merritt Wever, “The Gilded Age”
WINNER — Shailene Woodley, “Paradise”
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
Colman Domingo, “Euphoria”
WINNER — Ernest Harden Jr., “The Pitt”
Jeff Hiller, “Pluribus”
Jeff Kober, “The Pitt”
Jonathan Pryce, “Slow Horses”
Bradley Whitford, “The Diplomat”
Outstanding Comedy Series
“Abbott Elementary”
“The Bear”
“Hacks”
“Margo’s Got Money Troubles”
“Nobody Wants This”
“Only Murders in the Building”
“Shrinking”
WINNER — “Widow’s Bay”
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”
Ayo Edebiri, “The Bear”
Elle Fanning, “Margo’s Got Money Troubles”
Lisa Kudrow, “The Comeback”
WINNER — Jean Smart, “Hacks”
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Yahya Abdul Mateen II, “Wonder Man”
Steve Carell, “Rooster”
WINNER — Matthew Rhys, “Widow’s Bay”
Jason Segel, “Shrinking”
Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Dale Dickey, “Widow’s Bay”
Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks”
Janelle James, “Abbott Elementary”
WINNER — Kate O’Flynn, “Widow’s Bay”
Michelle Pfeiffer, “Margo’s Got Money Troubles”
Megan Stalter, “Hacks”
Jessica Williams, “Shrinking”
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Colman Domingo, “The Four Seasons”
Paul W. Downs, “Hacks”
Harrison Ford, “Shrinking”
Nick Offerman, “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” (Apple TV+)
WINNER — Stephen Root, “Widow’s Bay” (Apple TV+)
Michael Urie, “Shrinking” (Apple TV+)
Tyler James Williams, “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series
Leslie Bibb, “Hacks”
Jamie Lee Curtis, “The Bear”
WINNER — Betty Gilpin, “Widow’s Bay”
Cherry Jones, “Hacks”
Laurie Metcalf, “Hacks”
Kaitlin Olson, “Hacks”
Lauren Weedman, “Hacks”
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
Michael J. Fox, “Shrinking”
Brett Goldstein, “Shrinking”
Hamish Linklater, “Widow’s Bay”
Christopher McDonald, “Hacks”
WINNER — Rob Reiner, “The Bear”
Connor Storrie, “Saturday Night Live”
Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series
“All Her Fault”
“The Beast In Me”
“Beef”
WINNER — “DTF St. Louis”
“Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette”
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Claire Danes, “The Beast In Me”
WINNER — Sally Field, “Remarkably Bright Creatures”
Carey Mulligan, “Beef, Season 2”
Sarah Pigeon, “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette”
Sarah Snook, “All Her Fault”
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Riz Ahmed, “Bait”
Jason Bateman, “Black Rabbit”
Charlie Hunnam, “Monster: The Ed Gein Story”
Oscar Isaac, “Beef”
WINNER — Matthew Rhys, “The Beast in Me”
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
WINNER — Linda Cardellini, “DTF St. Louis”
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. and Carolyn Bessette”
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Jason Bateman, “DTF St. Louis”
Richard Gadd, “Half Man”
WINNER — David Harbour, “DTF St. Louis”
Richard Jenkins, “DTF St. Louis”
Charles Melton, “Beef”
Nick Offerman, “Death by Lightning”
Outstanding TV Movie
“Heads of State”
“Miss You, Love You”
“People We Meet on Vacation”
WINNER — “Remarkably Bright Creatures”
“Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War”
Outstanding Variety Series
“The Daily Show” (Comedy Central)
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC)
“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” (HBO Max)
WINNER — “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (CBS)
“Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-recorded)
“Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable” (Netflix)
WINNER — “The Muppet Show” (Disney+)
“Nikki Glaser: Good Girl” (Hulu)
“Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour — The Final Show” (Disney+)
“Wicked: One Wonderful Night” (NBC)
Outstanding Variety Special (Live)
WINNER — “The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny” (NBC)
“83rd Annual Golden Globes” (CBS)
“68th Annual Grammy Awards” (CBS)
“The Oscars” (ABC)
“78th Annual Tony Awards” (CBS)
Outstanding Reality Competition Program
“Dancing With the Stars” (ABC)
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” (MTV)
“Survivor ” (CBS)
“Top Chef” (Bravo)
WINNER — “The Traitors” (Peacock)
Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series
“The American Revolution” (PBS)
WINNER — “Mr. Scorsese” (Apple TV)
“The Yogurt Shop Murders” (HBO Max)
“Rafa” (Netflix)
“Sean Combs: The Reckoning” (Netflix)
Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special
“John Candy: I Like Me” (Amazon Prime Video)
“Marty, Life Is Short” (Netflix)
“Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!” (HBO Max)
WINNER — “My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay” (HBO Max)
“Ocean With David Attenborough” (National Geographic)
Best Structured Reality Program
WINNER — “Antiques Roadshow” (PBS)
“Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” (Food Network)
“Love Is Blind” (Netflix)
“Queer Eye” (Netflix)
“Shark Tank” (ABC)
Best Unstructured Reality Program
“America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders” (Netflix)
WINNER — “Love on the Spectrum” (Netflix)
“RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked” (MTV)
“Summer House” (Bravo)
“Welcome to Wrexham” (FX)
Host for a Reality/Competition Program
RuPaul Charles, “RuPaul’s Drag Race”
WINNER — Alan Cumming, “The Traitors”
Kristen Kish, “Top Chef”
Ariana Madix, “Love Island USA”
Jeff Probst, “Survivor”
Animated Program
“Bob’s Burgers” (Fox)
“Rick and Morty” (Adult Swim)
“The Simpsons” (Fox)
“Smiling Friends” (Adult Swim)
WINNER — “South Park” (Comedy Central)
“Star Wars: Visions” (Disney+)
