David Harbour Finally Has an Emmy of His Own, Here’s What Took So Long

Awards season always has its fair share of emotional moments, but some wins carry a little more weight than others depending on the journey behind them. For David Harbour, a name most audiences associate with ‘Stranger Things,’ that journey has included plenty of near-misses before finally landing in the winner’s circle.

The 2026 Creative Arts Emmys wrapped up their second night at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles with a lineup of performances competing across supporting and guest acting categories. Among the contenders standing out this year was HBO Max’s dark comedy ‘DTF St. Louis,’ which entered the ceremony with a hefty haul of nominations.

That competitive field ultimately worked in Harbour’s favor. He won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for his role as Floyd Smernitch in ‘DTF St. Louis,’ marking the actor’s first career Emmy win after two previous nominations for playing Jim Hopper in ‘Stranger Things’ back in 2017 and 2018.

Accepting the award, Harbour didn’t hold back his emotions. He said in his acceptance speech that he couldn’t believe how much the audience had embraced the beautiful, vulnerable, weird show he loved so much, joking that going up against his own fellow nominees wasn’t exactly a fair fight.

That line got a laugh for good reason. Harbour was competing directly against two of his own ‘DTF St. Louis’ co-stars, Jason Bateman and Richard Jenkins, alongside Richard Gadd for ‘Half Man,’ Charles Melton for ‘Beef’ season two, and Nick Offerman for ‘Death by Lightning.’

Harbour used the rest of his speech to praise creator Steve Conrad, calling the character of Floyd Smernitch an incredibly written role from someone who felt like a true original in an industry full of copies. He also thanked the team at HBO for what he described as tons of notes that ultimately helped shape the show for the better.

‘DTF St. Louis’ revolves around a love triangle between three adults navigating middle-age malaise, a premise that eventually spirals into one of them ending up dead. The series premiered on HBO Max in March and went on to rack up 13 total Emmy nominations this awards season, an impressive tally for a freshman dark comedy.

By the end of the night, the show had converted six of those nominations into wins, covering writing and directing for Conrad, picture editing, cinematography, and supporting actor honors for Harbour. Linda Cardellini also picked up a win of her own in the supporting actress category, beating out co-star Joy Sunday for the honor.

This marks the first year the Television Academy chose to hand out the supporting actor and actress awards for limited series during the Creative Arts ceremony rather than saving them for the main Primetime broadcast, giving performances like Harbour’s a dedicated moment in the spotlight. As an executive producer on the series through his company Bravo Axolotl, Harbour also has a shot at doubling his win total if ‘DTF St. Louis’ takes home Outstanding Limited Series at next week’s main event.

The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, hosted by Mariska Hargitay, are set to air September 14 from the Peacock Theater. For Harbour, that ceremony now carries even higher stakes, with a chance to add a producing win to a night that’s already given him something he’s chased since his first Emmy nomination nearly a decade ago.