The 2026 Emmy nominations have been announced, setting up a competitive race ahead of the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards on September 14. The list brings together returning favourites, major streaming titles, new dramas and breakout comedies, with The Pitt, Hacks, Pluribus and Widow’s Bay among the shows drawing strong attention.
The ceremony will be hosted by Mariska Hargitay and is scheduled to air live on NBC and stream on Peacock. The Television Academy’s official nominations page confirms the nominations announcement and awards schedule.
This year’s nominations matter because the race is not built around one single dominant show. HBO has visible strength through The Pitt and Hacks, while newer titles such as Pluribus and Widow’s Bay have quickly moved into the main awards conversation. The wider entertainment calendar is also busy, with television audiences following major updates such as the Big Brother 28 cast reveal alongside awards-season news.
Best drama, comedy and limited series nominees
The best drama series nominees are The Diplomat, The Gilded Age, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Paradise, The Pitt, Pluribus, Slow Horses and Your Friends & Neighbors.
In comedy, the nominees are Abbott Elementary, The Bear, Hacks, Margo’s Got Money Troubles, Nobody Wants This, Only Murders in the Building, Shrinking and Widow’s Bay.
The limited or anthology series field includes All Her Fault, The Beast in Me, Beef, DTF St Louis and Love Story: John F Kennedy Jr & Carolyn Bessette.
Lead acting nominees
Lead actor in a drama series nominees are Sterling K Brown for Paradise, Gary Oldman for Slow Horses, Mark Ruffalo for Task, Rufus Sewell for The Diplomat and Noah Wyle for The Pitt.
Lead actress in a drama series nominees are Carrie Coon for The Gilded Age, Chase Infiniti for The Testaments, Keri Russell for The Diplomat, Rhea Seehorn for Pluribus and Zendaya for Euphoria.
In comedy, lead actor nominees are Yahya Abdul-Mateen II for Wonder Man, Steve Carell for Rooster, Matthew Rhys for Widow’s Bay, Jason Segel for Shrinking and Martin Short for Only Murders in the Building. Lead actress nominees are Quinta Brunson for Abbott Elementary, Ayo Edebiri for The Bear, Elle Fanning for Margo’s Got Money Troubles, Lisa Kudrow for The Comeback and Jean Smart for Hacks.
For limited or anthology series or movie, lead actor nominees are Riz Ahmed for Bait, Jason Bateman for Black Rabbit, Charlie Hunnam for Monster: The Ed Gein Story, Oscar Isaac for Beef and Matthew Rhys for The Beast in Me. Lead actress nominees are Claire Danes for The Beast in Me, Sally Field for Remarkably Bright Creatures, Carey Mulligan for Beef, Sarah Pidgeon for Love Story: John F Kennedy Jr & Carolyn Bessette and Sarah Snook for All Her Fault.
Supporting acting nominees
Supporting actor in a drama series nominees are Patrick Ball, Shawn Hatosy and Gerran Howell for The Pitt, Billy Crudup for The Morning Show, Jack Lowden for Slow Horses, Tom Pelphrey for Task and Carlos-Manuel Vesga for Pluribus.
Supporting actress in drama includes Taylor Dearden, Fiona Dourif, Katherine LaNasa and Sepideh Moafi for The Pitt, Allison Janney for The Diplomat, Julianne Nicholson for Paradise and Karolina Wydra for Pluribus.
Comedy supporting actor nominees are Colman Domingo for The Four Seasons, Paul W Downs for Hacks, Harrison Ford and Michael Urie for Shrinking, Nick Offerman for Margo’s Got Money Troubles, Stephen Root for Widow’s Bay and Tyler James Williams for Abbott Elementary.
Comedy supporting actress nominees are Dale Dickey and Kate O’Flynn for Widow’s Bay, Hannah Einbinder and Megan Stalter for Hacks, Janelle James for Abbott Elementary, Michelle Pfeiffer for Margo’s Got Money Troubles and Jessica Williams for Shrinking.
Limited series supporting nominees and TV movie
Supporting actor in a limited or anthology series or movie includes Jason Bateman, David Harbour and Richard Jenkins for DTF St Louis, Richard Gadd for Half Man, Charles Melton for Beef and Nick Offerman for Death by Lightning.
Supporting actress nominees are Linda Cardellini and Joy Sunday for DTF St Louis, Dakota Fanning for All Her Fault, Laurie Metcalf for Monster: The Ed Gein Story, Youn Yuh-jung for Beef and Constance Zimmer for Love Story: John F Kennedy Jr & Carolyn Bessette.
The television movie nominees are Heads of State, Miss You, Love You, People We Meet on Vacation, Remarkably Bright Creatures and Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War.
Directing, writing, variety and reality categories
Drama directing nominees are The Gilded Age, Paradise, The Pitt, Pluribus, Slow Horses and Task. Comedy directing nominees are Abbott Elementary, The Bear, The Chair Company, Hacks, The Ms Pat Show and Widow’s Bay. Limited-series directing nominees include two episodes of Beef, along with Black Rabbit and DTF St Louis.
Writing nominees include The Diplomat, The Pitt, Pluribus, Slow Horses and Task in drama; Abbott Elementary, The Chair Company, The Comeback, Hacks, Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat and Widow’s Bay in comedy; and All Her Fault, The Beast in Me, Beef, Death by Lightning and DTF St Louis in limited series.
The variety special live nominees include the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show starring Bad Bunny, the Golden Globes, the Grammys, the Oscars and the Tony Awards. Pre-recorded variety nominees include Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable…, The Muppet Show, Nikki Glaser: Good Girl, Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The Final Show and Wicked: One Wonderful Night. Major concert events remain a strong part of entertainment coverage, including Garth Brooks’ latest tour update.
Reality competition nominees are Dancing with the Stars, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Survivor, Top Chef and The Traitors. Variety series nominees are The Daily Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Late Night With Stephen Colbert and Saturday Night Live.
Why the 2026 Emmy race is open
The 2026 Emmy nominations show a broad television field rather than a narrow contest. The Pitt has major drama strength, Hacks remains powerful in comedy, and newer shows such as Pluribus and Widow’s Bay have enough support to challenge more established titles.
That makes the September ceremony less predictable. Voters could reward familiar names, push new series into the spotlight or divide the biggest awards across drama, comedy, limited series, variety and live-event programming.
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