Updated September 14, 2026 at 9:14 PM PDT
The Pitt and Widow's Bay took home the top prizes in television at the Emmy Awards on Monday night. And actor Matthew Rhys became the first person to win in two lead acting categories in one night. Here are our takeaways from the 2026 Emmy Awards — and see the red carpet looks here and the list of winners here.
Widow's Bay was the hot comedy property. Drama series recognition was shared more widely. The Apple TV horror/mystery/comedy series Widow's Bay not only won outstanding comedy series, but also brought home awards for lead actor (Matthew Rhys), supporting actress (Kate O'Flynn), supporting actor (Stephen Root), along with writing and directing. The only "major" category it didn't receive an award in is lead actress (which went to Hacks' Jean Smart), where it didn't have an eligible candidate. On the other hand, while The Pitt took home outstanding drama series and Noah Wyle repeated last year's win as lead actor, Rhea Seehorn won lead actress for Pluribus, Allison Janney won supporting actress for The Diplomat, Tom Pelphrey won supporting actor for Task, Vince Gilligan won for writing Pluribus, and Saul Metzstein won for directing Slow Horses.
Matthew Rhys pulls off the double play. Rhys won for lead actor in both the limited series category (for The Beast in Me with Claire Danes) and comedy series (for Widow's Bay). This makes him the first actor to ever win lead performance awards in two categories in the same year. Rhys also won for lead actor in a drama series for his work in The Americans back in 2018, so he's won in three lead categories overall, and that's some serious versatility.
Rhea Seehorn wins an Emmy at last, while Jean Smart wins her last Hacks Emmy. For years, while she was on Better Call Saul, Rhea Seehorn was a frequently cited example of an overlooked performer. She was eventually nominated for her supporting role in that show twice, though she didn't win. In the Apple science fiction show Pluribus, creator Vince Gilligan's follow-up to Saul, Seehorn plays a miserable widowed novelist dealing with the end of humanity as she knows it. This time, she did not have to wait to be recognized. She won her first Emmy for lead actress in a drama for the show's first season. Meanwhile, Jean Smart completed an impressive sweep, winning lead comedy actress for the fifth time — meaning she won every year she was eligible for the now-concluded Hacks. Smart's character, the legendary comedian Deborah Vance, would likely enjoy having gone undefeated.
Host Mariska Hargitay had the time of her life. The opening number was corny and cringe — so much so that it almost came all the way back around to being endearing. But over the course of the evening, Hargitay made jokes about how long her show, Law & Order: SVU, has been on the air, she participated in skits, and she actually showed some chops with her delivery of standard awards banter. She is not a comedian by profession, but she was impressively game, and that may be the most important quality a host can bring. It was a strangely paced evening that ended with what seemed to be Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey trying to fill time, but Hargitay did what she could to keep the energy up.
2026 Emmy Award Winners
Outstanding drama series
WINNER: The Pitt
The Diplomat
The Gilded Age
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Paradise
Pluribus
Slow Horses
Your Friends and Neighbors
Outstanding comedy series
WINNER: Widow's Bay
Abbott Elementary
The Bear
Nobody Wants This
Hacks
Margo's Got Money Troubles
Only Murders in the Building
Shrinking
Outstanding limited or anthology series
WINNER: DTF St. Louis
All Her Fault
The Beast In Me
Beef
Love Story
Outstanding variety series
WINNER: The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
The Daily Show
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
Saturday Night Live
Outstanding lead actor in a drama series
WINNER: Noah Wyle, The Pitt
Sterling K. Brown, Paradise
Gary Oldman, Slow Horses
Mark Ruffalo, Task
Rufus Sewell, The Diplomat
Outstanding lead actress in a drama series
WINNER: Rhea Seehorn, Pluribus
Carrie Coon, The Gilded Age
Chase Infiniti, The Testaments
Keri Russell, The Diplomat
Zendaya, Euphoria
Outstanding lead actor in a comedy series
WINNER: Matthew Rhys, Widow's Bay
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Wonder Man
Steve Carell, Rooster
Jason Segel, Shrinking
Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building
Outstanding lead actress in a comedy series
WINNER: Jean Smart, Hacks
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary
Ayo Edebiri, The Bear
Elle Fanning, Margo's Got Money Troubles
Lisa Kudrow, The Comeback
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
Sarah Snook, All Her Fault
Outstanding lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie
WINNER: Matthew Rhys, The Beast In Me
Riz Ahmed, Bait
Jason Bateman, Black Rabbit
Charlie Hunnam, Monster: The Ed Gein Story
Oscar Isaac, Beef
Outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series
WINNER: Kate O'Flynn, Widow's Bay
Dale Dickey, Widow's Bay
Hannah Einbinder, Hacks
Janelle James, Abbott Elementary
Michelle Pfeiffer, Margo's Got Money Troubles
Megan Stalter, Hacks
Jessica Williams, Shrinking
Outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series
WINNER: Stephen Root, Widow's Bay
Colman Domingo, The Four Seasons
Paul W. Downs, Hacks
Nick Offerman, Margo's Got Money Troubles
Michael Urie, Shrinking
Tyler James Williams, Abbott Elementary
Outstanding supporting actor in a drama series
WINNER: Tom Pelphrey, Task
Patrick Ball, The Pitt
Billy Crudup, The Morning Show
Shawn Hatosy, The Pitt
Gerran Howell, The Pitt
Jack Lowden, Slow Horses
Carlos Manuel-Vesga, Pluribus
Outstanding supporting actress in a drama series
WINNER: Allison Janney, The Diplomat
Taylor Dearden, The Pitt
Fiona Dourif, The Pitt
Katherine LaNasa, The Pitt
Sepideh Moafi, The Pitt
Julianne Nicholson, Paradise
Karolina Wydra, Pluribus
Outstanding supporting actress in a limited or anthology series or movie
WINNER: Linda Cardellini, DTF St. Louis
Dakota Fanning, All Her Fault
Laurie Metcalf, Monster: The Ed Gein Story
Joy Sunday, DTF St. Louis
Youn Yuh-jung, Beef
Constance Zimmer, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette
Outstanding supporting actor in a limited or anthology series or movie
WINNER: David Harbour, DTF St. Louis
Jason Bateman, DTF St. Louis
Richard Gadd, Half Man
Richard Jenkins, DTF St. Louis
Charles Melton, Beef
Nick Offerman, Death by Lightning
Outstanding writing for a drama series
WINNER: Vince Gilligan, Pluribus
Peter Ackerman, Debora Cahn, The Diplomat
Kirsten Pierre-Geyfman, R. Scott Gemmill, The Pitt
Valerie Chu, The Pitt
Will Smith, Slow Horses
Brad Ingelsby, Task
Outstanding directing for a comedy series
WINNER: Hiro Murai, Widow's Bay
Randall Einhorn, Abbott Elementary
Christopher Storer, The Bear
Andrew DeYoung, The Chair Company
Lucia Aniello, Hacks
Mary Lou Belli, The Ms. Pat Show
Outstanding directing for a drama series
WINNER: Saul Metzstein, Slow Horses
Salli Richardson-Whitfield, The Gilded Age
Hanelle M. Culpepper, Paradise
Noah Wyle, The Pitt
Vince Gilligan, Pluribus
Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Task
Outstanding writing for a comedy series
WINNER: Katie Dippold, Widow's Bay
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary
Tim Robinson, Zach Kanin, The Chair Company
Michael Patrick King, Lisa Kudrow, The Comeback
Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, Jen Statsky, Hacks
Anthony King, Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat
Outstanding reality competition program
WINNER: The Traitors
Dancing With the Stars
RuPaul's Drag Race
Survivor
Top Chef
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