‘Widow’s Bay’ dominates as ‘The Pitt’ retains Best Drama [FULL LIST]

Apple TV’s ” The Widow’s Bay emerged as the biggest winner at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, taking home six awards during Monday night’s televised ceremony and setting a new record with 14 wins overall.

The horror-comedy won Outstanding Comedy Series, while its stars Matthew Rhys, Stephen Root and Kate O’Flynn also took home acting awards.

HBO Max’s The Pitt retained the Outstanding Drama Series prize, with Noah Wyle winning Lead Actor in a Drama Series for the second consecutive year.

The ceremony, held on Monday, September 14, 2026, at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles, was hosted by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star Mariska Hargitay.

Widow’s Bay, created by Katie Dippold, entered the ceremony with 19 nominations and ended the awards season with 14 Emmys, surpassing the previous record of 13 wins by Apple TV’s The Studio in 2025. The Television Academy described the series as a comedy-horror hybrid centred on a New England island community facing unexplained phenomena.

The show also won the major comedy directing and writing prizes, with Hiro Murai taking Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series and Dippold winning Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series.

Surprises, top wins

One of the night’s biggest moments came when Matthew Rhys became the first actor to win two lead acting Emmys in the same ceremony.

Rhys won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for Widow’s Bay before later collecting Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for The Beast in Me.

The achievement adds to Rhys’ previous Emmy win for The Americans in 2018, making him the first performer to win in the lead acting categories for comedy, drama and limited series.

Jean Smart won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the fifth consecutive time for her performance as Deborah Vance in Hacks.

The victory means Smart won the category for every season of the series and took her career acting Emmy total to eight, putting her alongside Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Cloris Leachman among the performers with the most acting wins.

Allison Janney also reached eight career acting Emmys after winning Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for The Diplomat.

Rhea Seehorn claimed her first Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Apple TV’s Pluribus.

She defeated nominees including Zendaya of Euphoria, Carrie Coon of The Gilded Age, Keri Russell of The Diplomat and Chase Infiniti of The Testaments.

Pluribus also won Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for creator Vince Gilligan.

HBO Max’s DTF St. Louis won the Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series award.

The series also produced acting winners in the supporting categories, with David Harbour winning Outstanding Supporting Actor and Linda Cardellini taking Outstanding Supporting Actress.

Other major winners

The Traitors won Outstanding Reality Competition Programme for the third consecutive year, while CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert won Outstanding Variety Series for the second consecutive year.

The ceremony also featured a special presentation of the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award to Michael J. Fox.

The 2026 Emmy Awards were held over three nights, with the non-televised ceremonies taking place on September 5 and 6 before the September 14 primetime ceremony.

Full list of 2026 Emmy winners

Outstanding Drama Series

The Diplomat

The Gilded Age

Winner: The Pitt

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

Paradise

Pluribus

Slow Horses

Your Friends & Neighbours

Outstanding Comedy Series

Abbott Elementary

The Bear

Hacks

Winner: Widow’s Bay

Margo’s Got Money Troubles

Nobody Wants This

Only Murders in the Building

Shrinking

Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series

All Her Fault

The Beast in Me

Beef

Winner: DTF St. Louis

Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Sterling K. Brown, Paradise

Gary Oldman, Slow Horses

Mark Ruffalo, Task

Winner: Noah Wyle, The Pitt

Rufus Sewell, The Diplomat

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Carrie Coon, The Gilded Age

Chase Infiniti, The Testaments

Keri Russell, The Diplomat

Zendaya, Euphoria

Winner: Rhea Seehorn, Pluribus

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Wonder Man

Steve Carell, Rooster

Winner: Matthew Rhys, Widow’s Bay

Jason Segel, Shrinking

Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary

Winner: Jean Smart, Hacks

Ayo Edebiri, The Bear

Elle Fanning, Margo’s Got Money Troubles

Lisa Kudrow, The Comeback

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Riz Ahmed, Bait

Jason Bateman, Black Rabbit

Winner: Matthew Rhys, The Beast in Me

Charlie Hunnam, Monster: The Ed Gein Story

Oscar Isaac, Beef

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Winner: Sally Field, Remarkably Bright Creatures

Claire Danes, The Beast in Me

Carey Mulligan, Beef

Sarah Pidgeon, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette

Sarah Snook, All Her Fault

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Patrick Ball, The Pitt

Billy Crudup, The Morning Show

Shawn Hatosy, The Pitt

Gerran Howell, The Pitt

Winner: Tom Pelphrey, Task

Jack Lowden, Slow Horses

Carlos-Manuel Vesga, Pluribus

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Taylor Dearden, The Pitt

Fiona Dourif, The Pitt

Katherine LaNasa, The Pitt

Winner: Allison Janney, The Diplomat

Sepideh Moafi, The Pitt

Julianne Nicholson, Paradise

Karolina Wydra, Pluribus

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Colman Domingo, The Four Seasons

Paul W. Downs, Hacks

Winner: Stephen Root, Widow’s Bay

Harrison Ford, Shrinking

Nick Offerman, Margo’s Got Money Troubles

Michael Urie, Shrinking

Tyler James Williams, Abbott Elementary

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Dale Dickey, Widow’s Bay

Hannah Einbinder, Hacks

Janelle James, Abbott Elementary

Winner: Kate O’Flynn, Widow’s Bay

Michelle Pfeiffer, Margo’s Got Money Troubles

Megan Stalter, Hacks

Jessica Williams, Shrinking

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Winner: David Harbour, DTF St. Louis

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Winner: Linda Cardellini, DTF St. Louis

Outstanding Reality Competition Programme

Dancing with the Stars

RuPaul’s Drag Race

Winner: The Traitors

Survivor

Top Chef

Outstanding Variety Series

The Daily Show

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Winner: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Saturday Night Live

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series

Winner: Vince Gilligan, Pluribus

Debora Cahn, The Diplomat

Kirsten Pierre-Geyfman and R. Scott Gemmill, The Pitt

Valerie Chu, The Pitt

Will Smith, Slow Horses

Brad Ingelsby, Task

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series

Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary

Tim Robinson, The Chair Company

Winner: Katie Dippold, Widow’s Bay

Michael Patrick King, The Comeback

Lucia Aniello, Hacks

Anthony King, Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series

Salli Richardson-Whitfield, The Gilded Age

Hanelle M. Culpepper, Paradise

Winner: Saul Metzstein, Slow Horses

Noah Wyle, The Pitt

Vince Gilligan, Pluribus

Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Task

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series

Randall Einhorn, Abbott Elementary

Christopher Storer, The Bear

Winner: Hiro Murai, Widow’s Bay

Andrew DeYoung, The Chair Company

Lucia Aniello, Hacks

Mary Lou Belli, The Ms Pat Show