The Pitt leads Emmy Nominations 2026 with 25 nods, Hacks sets a comedy record. Full nominee list, biggest snubs and how to watch Sept. 14.
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Emmy Nominations 2026: The Pitt And Hacks Lead A Wide-Open Race
Nominations for the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards landed Wednesday morning in Los Angeles, and two shows immediately separated themselves from the pack. HBO Max’s medical drama “The Pitt” pulled in 25 nominations, more than any other program on television. The final season of “Hacks” wasn’t far off — 24 nods, a new all-time high for a comedy in a single season. Actors Liza Colón-Zayas and Jeff Hiller read out the full list from the Television Academy’s Wolf Theatre just after 8:30 a.m. Pacific, and by mid-morning the industry trades were already arguing about who got snubbed.
Twenty-eight of this year’s nominees are first-timers. That number matters more than it might look — it means the race isn’t just a rerun of last year’s winners circle, even with familiar names like Noah Wyle and Jean Smart back at the top of the ballot.
Two HBO Max Shows, One Record
“The Pitt” just wrapped its second season and already looks like the drama to beat again. Wyle picked up nods for acting, directing and producing, and the show landed four supporting actress nominations and three supporting actor nominations — an unusually deep haul for one series in a single year.
“Hacks” broke new ground on the comedy side. Its 24 nominations topped the previous record of 23, set by “The Bear” in 2024 and matched by “The Studio” in 2025. Smart picked up her fifth Lead Actress nomination for playing Deborah Vance; she’s already won the category four times. Paul W. Downs collected three nods of his own — acting, writing and producing the finale.
Behind those two: Apple TV’s horror-comedy “Widow’s Bay,” starring Matthew Rhys as the mayor of an island beset by supernatural trouble, grabbed 19 nominations in its first eligible season. Vince Gilligan’s sci-fi follow-up to “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul,” Apple’s “Pluribus,” landed 18, powered by a Lead Actress nod for Rhea Seehorn. Netflix’s “Beef” picked up 16 for its second season, and HBO Max’s “DTF St. Louis” rounded out the top tier with 13.
Streaming’s Real Scoreboard
Zoom out to the platform level and HBO Max topped the field with 122 nominations — down from 142 last year, but still enough to hold off Netflix’s 111. Both totals dropped from 2025. Apple TV didn’t drop; it climbed to its best-ever showing, somewhere around 89 nominations depending on which outlet’s count you trust, up from roughly 79 a year ago. “Widow’s Bay” and “Pluribus” did the heavy lifting, and Apple is now the only platform with three nominees apiece in both the drama and comedy series categories.
Among broadcast networks, ABC led with 35 to 40 nominations (again, the count varies slightly by outlet), followed by CBS with 32 — nine of them from the now-canceled “Late Show With Stephen Colbert” — and NBC with 29 or 30. “Abbott Elementary” alone accounted for seven of ABC’s nominations, more than any other broadcast series managed in total.
The major categories are below. This isn’t the complete list — that runs into the hundreds once directing, writing and every Creative Arts category are counted — but it covers what most readers are actually searching for.
| Category | Nominees |
|---|---|
| Outstanding Drama Series | The Diplomat, The Gilded Age, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Paradise, The Pitt, Pluribus, Slow Horses, Your Friends & Neighbors |
| Outstanding Comedy Series | Abbott Elementary, The Bear, Hacks, Margo’s Got Money Troubles, Nobody Wants This, Only Murders in the Building, Shrinking, Widow’s Bay |
| Outstanding Limited/Anthology Series | All Her Fault, The Beast in Me, Beef, DTF St. Louis, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette |
| Lead Actor, Drama | Sterling K. Brown (Paradise), Gary Oldman (Slow Horses), Mark Ruffalo (Task), Rufus Sewell (The Diplomat), Noah Wyle (The Pitt) |
| Lead Actress, Drama | Carrie Coon (The Gilded Age), Chase Infiniti (The Testaments), Keri Russell (The Diplomat), Rhea Seehorn (Pluribus), Zendaya (Euphoria) |
| Lead Actor, Comedy | Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Wonder Man), Steve Carell (Rooster), Matthew Rhys (Widow’s Bay), Jason Segel (Shrinking), Martin Short (Only Murders in the Building) |
| Lead Actress, Comedy | Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary), Ayo Edebiri (The Bear), Elle Fanning (Margo’s Got Money Troubles), Lisa Kudrow (The Comeback), Jean Smart (Hacks) |
| Lead Actor, Limited Series/Movie | Riz Ahmed (Bait), Jason Bateman (Black Rabbit), Charlie Hunnam (Monster: The Ed Gein Story), Oscar Isaac (Beef), Matthew Rhys (The Beast in Me) |
| Lead Actress, Limited Series/Movie | Claire Danes (The Beast in Me), Sally Field (Remarkably Bright Creatures), Carey Mulligan (Beef), Sarah Pidgeon (Love Story: JFK Jr. & Carolyn Bessette), Sarah Snook (All Her Fault) |
Who Got Left Out
Every nominations morning produces a list of names that didn’t make it, and this one has a few that will sting. Jeremy Allen White, a two-time winner for “The Bear,” missed the Lead Actor Comedy field entirely — his co-stars Ayo Edebiri and the late Rob Reiner both got in. HBO’s “Industry” went home empty for a fourth straight season despite what critics called its strongest run yet.
The bigger surprise sits on the drama side. “Stranger Things” picked up seven nominations for its farewell season, but all of them landed in technical categories — no Outstanding Drama Series nod, no acting recognition for a cast that carried the show for a decade. “Outlander” ended its run with nothing at all, and “Landman” Season 2, which many critics rated above its first, was shut out completely.
Then there’s the eligibility confusion. “Heated Rivalry,” the Canadian hockey drama that built one of the loudest fan followings of the year, was never actually snubbed — it simply isn’t eligible, since it’s a fully Canadian production. Co-lead Connor Storrie still landed a nomination, just for a different reason: guest-hosting “Saturday Night Live” in February.
| Name / Show | Category | What Happened |
|---|---|---|
| Jeremy Allen White | Lead Actor, Comedy | Two-time winner for “The Bear” missed the field; co-stars Ayo Edebiri and Rob Reiner both made it in. |
| Industry (Season 4) | Outstanding Drama Series | HBO’s finance drama went unnominated for a fourth straight season despite strong reviews. |
| Stranger Things (final season) | Series / Acting | Landed 7 nominations, all in technical categories — no series or cast recognition for its finale. |
| Outlander (final season) | All categories | Shut out entirely as the long-running Starz drama closed its story. |
| Landman (Season 2) | All categories | Zero nominations despite a season several critics rated above the first. |
| Michelle Pfeiffer | Lead Actress, Limited Series | Widely tipped for “The Madison,” missed that category — though she landed a supporting comedy nod for “Margo’s Got Money Troubles.” |
| Candice Bergen | Guest Actress, Comedy | Five-time winner missed out; “Hacks” claimed five of the category’s seven slots. |
| Jon Hamm | Lead Actor, Drama | “Your Friends & Neighbors” earned a Drama Series nod, but Hamm himself was passed over despite 8 prior Mad Men nominations. |
| The Lowdown | All categories | Ethan Hawke’s well-reviewed FX drama didn’t register a single nomination. |
| Heated Rivalry | Not eligible | Fully Canadian production, so ineligible by rule — not a snub. Co-lead Connor Storrie still got a nod for guest-hosting SNL. |
Apple’s Quiet Build
The story underneath the numbers belongs to Apple TV. It has chased an Outstanding Drama or Comedy Series win for years without landing one, and this is the deepest field it’s ever put up — three series apiece in both top categories, plus acting nominations spread across “Widow’s Bay,” “Pluribus,” “Shrinking” and “Margo’s Got Money Troubles.” Whether any of that converts into an actual trophy in September is a separate question. Depth in nominations and depth in wins haven’t always tracked together for streamers still establishing themselves with Television Academy voters.
When And Where To Watch
The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards air Monday, September 14, live on NBC and Peacock at 8 p.m. ET — a shift from the usual Sunday slot, made necessary by an NFL game on NBC that week. The ceremony happens at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. Mariska Hargitay hosts for the first time, making her the first woman to host the Emmys in 15 years. The Creative Arts Emmys, covering the technical and below-the-line categories, run separately on September 5 and 6.
Peacock’s live feed is largely restricted to US viewers, so audiences in Pakistan and elsewhere outside the country typically follow along through same-day recaps and clips rather than the broadcast itself — worth knowing if you’re hoping to catch Wyle or Smart’s reaction live.
The Bottom Line
For Emmy Nominations 2026
Nominations morning always reads like a scoreboard, but the numbers underneath tell a more interesting story this year: a legacy cable brand in “The Pitt” holding its ground against streaming money, a comedy closing out its run by breaking the very record it spent five seasons chasing, and a platform in Apple TV finally building the kind of depth that eventually turns nominations into wins. September 14 will settle which of those threads actually holds up.
FAQs
The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards air Monday, September 14, 2026, live on NBC and Peacock at 8 p.m. ET from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The Creative Arts Emmys take place separately on September 5 and 6.
HBO Max’s “The Pitt” led all programs with 25 nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series and a Lead Actor nod for Noah Wyle.
Yes. Its 24 nominations topped the previous record of 23, set by “The Bear” in 2024 and matched by “The Studio” in 2025.
It’s a fully Canadian production, which makes it ineligible for the Emmys under Television Academy rules, regardless of its popularity. Co-lead Connor Storrie still earned a nomination for a guest-hosting appearance on “Saturday Night Live.”
Mariska Hargitay, star of “Law & Order: SVU,” is hosting for the first time — the first woman to host the ceremony in 15 years.
Peacock’s live stream is largely restricted to US audiences, so most international viewers, including in Pakistan, follow the results through same-day recaps rather than the live NBC broadcast.
The complete list, covering every category, is published on the Television Academy’s official Emmys website.
Sources
- Deadline — 2026 Emmy nominations full list and network scorecard
- CNN — Primetime Emmy Awards 2026 nominee coverage
- The Hollywood Reporter — 2026 Emmys network/platform nomination breakdown
- Variety — Emmy snubs and surprises, network totals
- NPR — 2026 Emmy nominations coverage and analysis
- CBS News — 78th Primetime Emmy Awards nomination list
- Television Academy (official) — category nominee records
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