The 2026 Emmy nominations were unveiled Wednesday morning, kicking off television’s biggest awards race with historic records and notable surprises across multiple categories. The Television Academy announced nominees for the 78th annual Primetime Emmy Awards in ceremonies that began with early announcements on NBC’s Today show before the main nominees were revealed at the Television Academy’s Saban Media Center.
HBO Max’s medical drama “The Pitt” dominated the morning, leading all nominees with 25 total nominations across categories ranging from drama series to directing and writing. The second-place finisher in the historic nomination race came from an unexpected direction: the final season of HBO Max’s comedy series “Hacks” earned 24 nominations, setting a new record for the most nominations in a single year for a comedy series and surpassing the previous record of 23 set by “The Bear” and “The Studio” last year.
Apple TV emerged as a major player with multiple strong contenders. The horror-comedy “Widow’s Bay,” a freshman series starring Matthew Rhys, garnered 19 nominations, while Apple’s drama “Pluribus” followed with 18 nods. The network’s strong showing reflects its growing influence in the Emmy race, though it faced stiff competition from established players like Netflix and HBO Max.
On the drama side, “The Pitt” will compete against seven other contenders in the Outstanding Drama Series category: “The Diplomat,” “The Gilded Age,” “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” “Paradise,” “Pluribus,” “Slow Horses,” and “Your Friends and Neighbors.” The category represents a competitive field with strong representation across streaming platforms and cable networks.
The comedy series race features eight nominees: “Abbott Elementary,” “The Bear,” “Hacks,” “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” “Nobody Wants This,” “Only Murders in the Building,” “Shrinking,” and “Widow’s Bay.” The inclusion of “Widow’s Bay” and “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” as strong contenders reflects fresh blood in a category traditionally dominated by returning favorites.
In limited series and movies, nominees included “All Her Fault,” “The Beast in Me,” “Beef,” “DTF St. Louis,” and “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette.” Supporting performances garnered significant recognition, with four of the seven supporting actress in a drama nominations going to cast members of “The Pitt”: Katherine LaNasa, Taylor Dearden, Fiona Dourif, and Sepideh Moafi.
Actor Jason Bateman emerged as a major nomination winner, earning four nominations across multiple productions and categories, while six other performers found themselves recognized three times each. The lead acting races highlighted both established stars and emerging talent, with nominations for performers across the full spectrum of television productions.
Variety and reality television also received significant recognition in restructured categories. The Television Academy merged talk and scripted variety into a single Outstanding Variety Series field reclassified as an “area award,” allowing multiple winners if nominees exceed a 90% yes threshold from voters. The Outstanding Reality Competition Program category included “Dancing With the Stars,” “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” “Survivor,” “Top Chef,” and “The Traitors.”
A total of 555 series were submitted across the 14 major program categories for this year’s Emmy Awards, down from 600 submissions last year. The eligible shows ran from June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026, and submissions included 110 dramas, 71 comedies, 31 limited and anthology series, 34 movies, 18 variety series, and 45 reality competition shows.
The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony will be broadcast live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Monday, September 14, at 8 p.m. ET and 5 p.m. PT on NBC and Peacock. The ceremony moves to Monday due to an NFL game on NBC, marking a departure from the traditional Sunday broadcast date. The event will be hosted by Mariska Hargitay, star of “Law & Order: SVU,” marking the first time a woman has hosted the Emmys in 15 years.
Among the major changes for this year’s competition, the TV Academy renamed the TV movie category to “outstanding movie,” introduced AI guidelines, and expanded eligibility in several technical categories including casting, costume and lighting, and camera and technical arts. These changes reflect the evolution of television production practices and the growing role of technology in modern storytelling.