🏆 The 2026 Emmy Awards Take Place in Los Angeles
The 78th Emmy Awards took place on Monday, September 14, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, bringing together some of Hollywood’s biggest television stars and creators.
The ceremony was hosted by Mariska Hargitay, star of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, marking her first time hosting the prestigious television awards.
The 78th Emmys were held across three nights, on September 5, 6 and 14, with the main ceremony featuring the major televised categories.
The ceremony featured strong competition across drama, comedy, limited series and reality categories, while “Widow’s Bay” dominated the comedy awards and “The Pitt” once again took home the top drama prize.
⭐ Jean Smart Makes Emmy History With “Hacks”
Jean Smart added another major achievement to her remarkable Emmy record after winning Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance in Hacks.
The award marked her fifth consecutive win in the category for the series, making her the first performer to win the award for every season of a single show.
With the latest victory, Smart reached eight career Emmy wins, joining Cloris Leachman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Allison Janney among the performers with the most acting Emmy wins.
🎬 “Widow’s Bay” Dominates the Comedy Categories
Apple TV+’s “Widow’s Bay” emerged as one of the biggest winners of the night, taking home the award for Outstanding Comedy Series along with several major acting and creative awards.
Matthew Rhys won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for the show, while Kate O’Flynn won Outstanding Supporting Actress and Stephen Root won Outstanding Supporting Actor.
The series also earned directing honors for Hiro Murai and writing honors for Katie Dippold.
“Widow’s Bay” collected six awards during the main telecast and finished the overall Emmy cycle with 14 awards, setting a record for the most wins by a comedy series in a single year.
🏥 “The Pitt” Wins Outstanding Drama Series
“The Pitt” continued its strong run at the Emmys by winning Outstanding Drama Series for the second consecutive year.
Its star Noah Wyle won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, while Rhea Seehorn won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Pluribus.
In the supporting categories, Allison Janney won Outstanding Supporting Actress for The Diplomat, while Tom Pelphrey won Outstanding Supporting Actor for Task.
🎭 “DTF St. Louis” Takes the Limited Series Prize
“DTF St. Louis” won Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, adding another major honor to its awards-season run.
Sally Field won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for Remarkably Bright Creatures, while Matthew Rhys won Outstanding Lead Actor in the category for The Beast in Me.
The supporting acting awards went to Linda Cardellini for DTF St. Louis and David Harbour for the same series.
🏅 Matthew Rhys Makes Emmy History
Matthew Rhys was one of the most notable winners of the ceremony after making Emmy history with two lead acting victories on the same night.
He won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for “Widow’s Bay” and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for “The Beast in Me.”
The Television Academy confirmed that Rhys became the first actor to win two lead acting Emmys in these categories during the same Emmy cycle.
📋 Full List of Winners in the Main Categories
🎭 Drama Categories
- Outstanding Drama Series: The Pitt
- Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series: Rhea Seehorn – Pluribus
- Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series: Noah Wyle – The Pitt
- Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Allison Janney – The Diplomat
- Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Tom Pelphrey – Task
- Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series: Saul Metzstein – Slow Horses
- Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series: Vince Gilligan – Pluribus
😂 Comedy Categories
- Outstanding Comedy Series: Widow’s Bay
- Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series: Jean Smart – Hacks
- Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series: Matthew Rhys – Widow’s Bay
- Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Kate O’Flynn – Widow’s Bay
- Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Stephen Root – Widow’s Bay
- Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series: Hiro Murai – Widow’s Bay
- Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series: Katie Dippold – Widow’s Bay
🎬 Limited Series and Television Movie Categories
- Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series: DTF St. Louis
- Outstanding Television Movie: Remarkably Bright Creatures
- Outstanding Lead Actress: Sally Field – Remarkably Bright Creatures
- Outstanding Lead Actor: Matthew Rhys – The Beast in Me
- Outstanding Supporting Actress: Linda Cardellini – DTF St. Louis
- Outstanding Supporting Actor: David Harbour – DTF St. Louis
📺 Variety and Reality Categories
- Outstanding Variety Series: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
- Outstanding Reality Competition Program: The Traitors
- Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality Competition Program: Alan Cumming – Traitors
- Outstanding Variety Special (Live): The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny
- Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded): The Muppet Show
🌟 Guest Acting Winners
- Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series: Rob Reiner – The Bear
- Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series: Betty Gilpin – Widow’s Bay
- Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series: Ernest Harden Jr. – The Pitt
❤️ Michael J. Fox Receives Humanitarian Honor
The ceremony also honored Michael J. Fox with the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award, recognizing his humanitarian work and his efforts to support Parkinson’s disease research and advocacy.
🏆 A Historic Night at the Emmys
The 78th Emmy Awards delivered several memorable moments, from Jean Smart’s historic fifth consecutive win for Hacks to Matthew Rhys’ double lead-acting victories.
“Widow’s Bay” dominated the comedy categories, while “The Pitt” continued its successful run in drama. The ceremony ultimately celebrated a wide range of performers, writers and creators responsible for the television season’s most acclaimed productions.
💬 Which 2026 Emmy result surprised you the most? And do you think “Widow’s Bay” deserved its record-breaking number of wins? 🎬🏆
