The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards delivered a night of surprises and historic wins, with Apple TV+’s Widow’s Bay emerging as the biggest winner while The Pitt successfully defended its Outstanding Drama Series title.
Widow’s Bay won six major Primetime Emmys, including Comedy Series, Lead Actor for Matthew Rhys, Supporting Actor for Stephen Root, Supporting Actress for Kate O’Flynn, Directing for Hiro Murai and Writing for Katie Dippold. The show had already collected eight awards at the Creative Arts Emmys, taking its total to 14.
The 14 wins also made Widow’s Bay the most-awarded comedy series in a single Emmy year, surpassing The Studio, which collected 13 awards in 2025.
Matthew Rhys makes Emmy history
Matthew Rhys emerged as one of the biggest individual winners of the night. He won Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for Widow’s Bay before taking home Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series for Netflix’s The Beast in Me.
With the double victory, Rhys became the first male performer to win two lead acting categories at the Emmys in the same year.
The achievement also completed a unique sweep for the actor, who previously won the Drama Lead Actor Emmy in 2018 for The Americans. He is now the first male actor to win in all three lead acting categories.
Jean Smart sets another Emmy record
Hacks star Jean Smart also made Emmy history by winning Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the fifth consecutive time for the same show.
Her latest victory made her the first performer to win an acting Emmy for every season of a show’s run. The award also took Smart’s total acting Emmy tally to eight, tying her with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Cloris Leachman and Allison Janney for the all-time record.
Despite Smart’s historic win, Hacks lost the Comedy Series award to Widow’s Bay as the series concluded its five-season run.
The Pitt retains drama crown
The Pitt continued its dominance in the drama category, winning Outstanding Drama Series for the second consecutive year.
Noah Wyle also secured his second straight Lead Actor Emmy for his performance in the series.
The show entered the ceremony with a leading 25 nominations but ultimately collected two major Primetime wins. Pluribus, meanwhile, converted several nominations into major victories, with Rhea Seehorn winning Lead Actress and Vince Gilligan taking the Writing award.
Saul Metzstein won Directing for Drama for Slow Horses, while Tom Pelphrey won Supporting Actor for Task and Allison Janney took Supporting Actress for The Diplomat.
DTF St. Louis wins limited series
DTF St. Louis won Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series after already picking up six awards at the Creative Arts Emmys.
Matthew Rhys added another major victory in the category, winning Lead Actor for The Beast in Me. Sally Field won Lead Actress for Remarkably Bright Creatures, securing her fourth Emmy and adding another milestone to a career spanning more than six decades.
Apple TV+ leads platform tally
Apple TV+ emerged as the strongest platform of the night, finishing with 27 Emmy wins after adding eight major Primetime victories to its Creative Arts haul.
HBO/HBO Max followed with 20 wins, while Netflix finished with 14.
Apple had already set a platform record with 25 Emmy wins in 2025, when The Studio accounted for 13 of those awards.
Michael J. Fox receives Bob Hope Humanitarian Award
The ceremony also honoured Michael J. Fox with the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award for his decades of advocacy and fundraising for Parkinson’s disease research through the Michael J. Fox Foundation.
The In Memoriam segment remembered several entertainment figures, including Catherine O’Hara and Dolly Parton. Reba McEntire and Sally Field also paid a separate onstage tribute to Parton, who died in August at the age of 80.
Emmys 2026 full winners list
Comedy Series
- Widow’s Bay — WINNER
- Abbott Elementary
- The Bear
- Hacks
- Margo’s Got Money Troubles
- Nobody Wants This
- Only Murders in the Building
- Shrinking
Lead Actor – Comedy
- Matthew Rhys, Widow’s Bay — WINNER
- Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Wonder Man
- Steve Carell, Rooster
- Jason Segel, Shrinking
- Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building
Lead Actress – Comedy
- Jean Smart, Hacks — WINNER
- Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary
- Ayo Edebiri, The Bear
- Elle Fanning, Margo’s Got Money Troubles
- Lisa Kudrow, The Comeback
Drama Series
- The Pitt — WINNER
- The Diplomat
- The Gilded Age
- A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
- Paradise
- To many
- Slow Horses
- Your Friends & Neighbors
Lead Actor – Drama
- Noah Wyle, The Pitt – WINNER
- Sterling K. Brown, Paradise
- Gary Oldman, Slow Horses
- Mark Ruffalo, Task
- Rufus Sewell, The Diplomat
Lead Actress – Drama
- Rhea Seehorn, Pluribus — WINNER
- Carrie Coon, The Gilded Age
- Chase Infiniti, The Testaments
- Keri Russell, The Diplomat
- Zendaya, Euphoria
Limited or Anthology Series
- DTF St. Louis — WINNER
- All Her Fault
- The Beast in Me
- Beef
- Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette
Lead Actor – Limited/Movie
- Matthew Rhys, The Beast in Me — WINNER
- Riz Ahmed, Bait
- Jason Bateman, Black Rabbit
- Charlie Hunnam, Monster: The Ed Gein Story
- Oscar Isaac, Beef
Lead Actress – Limited/Movie
- Sally Field, Remarkably Bright Creatures — WINNER
- Claire Danes, The Beast in Me
- Carey Mulligan, Beef
- Sarah Pidgeon, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette
- Sarah Snook, All Her Fault
Variety Series
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert — WINNER
- The Daily Show
- Jimmy Kimmel Live!
- Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
- Saturday Night Live