Emmy Nominations 2026 – ‘The Pitt’ and ‘Hacks’ Lead the Pack, But These Breakout Shows Are Right on Their Heels
Award season always brings its share of surprises, and this year’s Emmy nominations proved no exception. Announced Wednesday morning from the TV Academy’s Saban Media Center in Los Angeles, the nominations set the stage for what promises to be one of the more competitive ceremonies in recent memory.
The morning began with two categories revealed live on the Today show before the rest of the field was posted online, with past winners Liza Colón Zayas and Jeff Hiller handling presenting duties. By the time the dust settled, a clear hierarchy had emerged among this year’s contenders.
‘The Pitt’ topped every other show on the ballot with a total of 25 nominations, cementing HBO Max’s medical drama as the season’s dominant force. Right behind it came the network’s own ‘Hacks,’ which pulled in 24 nominations for its fifth season, setting a new record for the most nominations ever earned by a comedy series in a single year.
That record breaks the previous mark of 23 nominations, which had been shared by ‘The Bear’ and ‘The Studio.’ Star Jean Smart is now positioned to potentially win her fifth Emmy for ‘Hacks’ and eighth overall, a total that would tie her for the most acting wins by an actress in Emmy history.
Just behind those two heavyweights, Apple TV’s freshman horror comedy ‘Widow’s Bay‘ surged to 19 nominations, the most of any new series this year, following a wave of late season buzz during the Emmy campaign period. Fellow Apple TV newcomer ‘Pluribus,’ the post apocalyptic drama from ‘Breaking Bad’ creator Vince Gilligan, landed 18 nominations of its own, including a lead actress nomination for star Rhea Seehorn.
Rounding out the top tier, Netflix’s second season of ‘Beef’ collected 16 nominations to lead all limited series contenders, while HBO Max’s ‘DTF St. Louis’ picked up 13. NBC’s ‘Saturday Night Live’ and Amazon’s ‘Spider Noir‘ tied for the next spot with 11 nominations apiece, and a cluster of shows including ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,’ ‘Fallout,’ and ‘The Beast in Me’ each landed nine nominations.
Beyond the raw nomination counts, the morning brought its share of notable snubs as well. Both Kristen Bell and Adam Brody missed nominations for the second season of ‘Nobody Wants This’ after earning nods for the show’s debut run, while Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney went unrecognized for the series’ third and final season despite a previous nomination. ‘The Bear’ star Jeremy Allen White was also left off the ballot this year.
Streaming platforms continued to reshape the overall competitive landscape as well, with HBO Max leading every network or platform with 122 total nominations, followed by Netflix with 111 and Apple TV with 87. Among traditional broadcast networks, ABC topped the field with 40 nominations.
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This year’s ceremony also comes with a notable format change, since eligible episodes for consideration ran from June 1, 2025 through May 31, 2026, a window that left some high profile shows on the outside looking in. Final round voting will run from August 17 through August 26 ahead of the ceremony itself.
The 78th Emmy Awards are set to air on September 14, with ‘Law and Order Special Victims Unit’ star Mariska Hargitay serving as host, marking the first time in fifteen years a woman has taken on hosting duties for the ceremony.
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