Widow’s Bay won a record 14 Emmys as The Pitt retained Outstanding Drama Series. See the major Emmys 2026 winners, records and surprises.
The 78th Emmy Awards delivered a record-breaking night for Widow’s Bay, while medical drama The Pitt retained television’s most prestigious drama prize.
Held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on September 14, 2026, the ceremony saw Widow’s Bay win six awards during the main telecast. Combined with its eight Creative Arts Emmy victories, the comedy finished with 14 awards—the highest total ever achieved by a comedy series in a single season.
Meanwhile, The Pitt won Outstanding Drama Series for the second consecutive year, with Noah Wyle successfully defending his Lead Actor award.
‘Widow’s Bay’ Completes a Historic Sweep
Widow’s Bay dominated the comedy categories, winning Outstanding Comedy Series as well as awards for acting, directing and writing.
Matthew Rhys was named Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, while Kate O’Flynn and Stephen Root secured the supporting actress and actor trophies. Hiro Murai won for comedy directing, and Katie Dippold received the writing award.
The show’s 14 total victories surpassed the previous record of 13 Emmys established by The Studio. Murai also became the first Asian winner of the comedy-directing category, according to the Television Academy.
Jean Smart prevented a complete acting sweep by winning Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Hacks. It was her fifth Emmy for the role and her third consecutive victory in the category.
‘The Pitt’ Retains the Drama Crown
The Pitt won Outstanding Drama Series for a second straight season, becoming the first programme since Mad Men to win the category for each of its first two seasons.
Noah Wyle also repeated as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. His back-to-back victories made him the first performer since Bryan Cranston in 2009 to win the category for a programme’s first two seasons.
Pluribus collected two major awards. Rhea Seehorn won Lead Actress in a Drama Series, while creator Vince Gilligan received the drama-writing trophy—his first individual Emmy for writing.
Allison Janney won Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for The Diplomat, and Tom Pelphrey took Supporting Actor for Task. Saul Metzstein earned the drama-directing award for Slow Horses.
Matthew Rhys Makes Emmy History
Matthew Rhys produced one of the evening’s biggest surprises by winning two lead-acting trophies.
Along with his comedy victory for Widow’s Bay, Rhys was named Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for The Beast in Me. He became the first performer to win two lead-performance Emmys in the same year.
The victories also made Rhys the first actor to win lead-acting Emmys across drama, comedy and limited-series categories. He previously won the drama prize for The Americans in 2018.
Emmys 2026: Major Winners List
Drama categories
- Outstanding Drama Series: The Pitt
- Lead Actress: Rhea Seehorn, Pluribus
- Lead Actor: Noah Wyle, The Pitt
- Supporting Actress: Allison Janney, The Diplomat
- Supporting Actor: Tom Pelphrey, Task
- Directing: Saul Metzstein, Slow Horses
- Writing: Vince Gilligan, Pluribus
Comedy categories
- Outstanding Comedy Series: Widow’s Bay
- Lead Actress: Jean Smart, Hacks
- Lead Actor: Matthew Rhys, Widow’s Bay
- Supporting Actress: Kate O’Flynn, Widow’s Bay
- Supporting Actor: Stephen Root, Widow’s Bay
- Directing: Hiro Murai, Widow’s Bay
- Writing: Katie Dippold, Widow’s Bay
Limited or anthology categories
- Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series: DTF St. Louis
- Lead Actress: Sally Field, Remarkably Bright Creatures
- Lead Actor: Matthew Rhys, The Beast in Me
- Supporting Actress: Linda Cardellini, DTF St. Louis
- Supporting Actor: David Harbour, DTF St. Louis
Variety and reality categories
- Outstanding Variety Series: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
- Outstanding Reality Competition Programme: The Traitors
- Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Programme: Alan Cumming, The Traitors
- Outstanding Live Variety Special: Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny
- Outstanding Pre-Recorded Variety Special: The Muppet Show
The main-category results were also published by the Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times.
Records, Surprises and Memorable Moments
Sally Field became the oldest winner of the Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie category. The veteran performer, who turns 80 in November, won for Remarkably Bright Creatures.
Jean Smart and Allison Janney each reached eight acting Emmy victories, tying the record held by Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Stephen Root became the oldest winner of the supporting comedy actor category, while Kate O’Flynn, Tom Pelphrey, Katie Dippold and Rhea Seehorn were among the evening’s first-time Emmy winners.
Outside the competitive awards, Michael J. Fox received the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award for his advocacy and fundraising for Parkinson’s disease research. The ceremony also featured a tribute to Dolly Parton led by Reba McEntire and an In Memoriam performance by Noah Kahan.
Mariska Hargitay hosted the ceremony, becoming the first woman to host the Emmys in 15 years.
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