LOS ANGELES â The 2026 Emmy Awards delivered major upsets and historic wins Monday night as Rhea Seehorn finally became an Emmy winner, Jean Smart extended her remarkable run with Hacks, and nomination leader The Pitt suffered an early defeat despite entering television’s biggest night as a favorite.
Rhea Seehorn chokes up in her acceptance speech for her first ever Emmy.
â DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) September 15, 2026
See the full winners list: https://t.co/7rIuXlwYlJ pic.twitter.com/ek5r1GDDoA
The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards at the Peacock Theater brought together the season’s biggest shows, with The Pitt, Hacks, Widow’s Bay and Pluribus dominating the conversation.
Matthew Rhys makes Emmy history: The Welsh actor became the first performer to win two lead acting Emmys in the same year, taking Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for Widow’s Bay and Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series for The Beast in Me.
Widow’s Bay keeps surging: Katie Dippold won Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, while Hiro Murai took Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series. Kate O’Flynn and Stephen Root had already scored supporting acting wins.
Pluribus adds another major win: Vince Gilligan won Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series after Rhea Seehorn claimed Lead Actress in a Drama.
DTF St. Louis wins limited series: The HBO Max drama took Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, beating The Beast in Me, Beef, All Her Fault and Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette.
Stephen Colbert wins: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was named Outstanding Variety Series, defeating The Daily Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Last Week Tonight and Saturday Night Live.
Slow Horses scores directing win: Saul Metzstein won Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for âScars.â
Michael J. Fox honoured: The five-time Emmy winner received the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award for his decades of Parkinson’s advocacy and research fundraising.
Mariska Hargitay hosts: The Law & Order: SVU star became the first woman to host the Emmys in 15 years, leading a ceremony packed with musical numbers, tributes and celebrity appearances.
Mariska Hargitay hosted the NBC ceremony, becoming the first woman to host the Emmys in 15 years. The Law & Order: SVU star opened with a TV-themed musical segment before joking about her exceptionally long run as Olivia Benson.
Emmys 2026 winners so far
The televised ceremony quickly produced a mix of favorites and surprises:
- Lead Actress, Drama: Rhea Seehorn â Pluribus
- Lead Actress, Comedy: Jean Smart â Hacks
- Supporting Actress, Drama: Allison Janney â The Diplomat
- Supporting Actress, Comedy: Kate O’Flynn â Widow’s Bay
- Supporting Actor, Comedy: Stephen Root â Widow’s Bay
- Lead Actor, Limited/Anthology: Matthew Rhys â The Beast in Me
- Reality Competition: The Traitors
Sally Field, Reba McEntire lead emotional Dolly Parton tribute at 2026 Emmys https://t.co/7UbdcyLWN1 pic.twitter.com/DlgoSeH22F
— New York Post (@nypost) September 15, 2026
Rhea Seehorn finally gets her Emmy
Rhea Seehorn’s victory for Pluribus delivered one of the night’s biggest emotional moments.
Seehorn had previously been nominated for her acclaimed portrayal of Kim Wexler in Better Call Saul without winning. Her performance in Vince Gilligan’s Pluribus finally brought her an Emmy.
Her competition included Zendaya for Euphoria, Keri Russell for The Diplomat, Carrie Coon for The Gilded Age and Chase Infiniti for The Testaments.
An emotional Seehorn thanked her family, fellow nominees and Gilligan, praising the collaborative environment he created.
Jean Smart makes history with Hacks
Jean Smart won lead comedy actress for the fifth and final season of Hacks, completing an extraordinary awards run as Deborah Vance.
Smart has now won the category for all five seasons of the show. The victory gave her eight career Emmys and made her the first female performer to win an Emmy for every season of a series lasting more than three seasons.
Hacks entered the awards with 24 nominations, the most of any comedy this year.
Allison Janney stuns The Pitt
The biggest early setback for The Pitt arrived in supporting drama actress.
The medical drama had four nominees â Taylor Dearden, Fiona Dourif, Katherine LaNasa and Sepideh Moafi â but Allison Janney won for The Diplomat.
The victory gave Janney her eighth career Emmy and showed why The Pitt’s ceremony-leading 25 nominations did not guarantee a sweep. The show had nevertheless already collected four awards during the earlier ceremonies.
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Widow’s Bay becomes the breakout threat
Widow’s Bay entered the main ceremony with considerable momentum after earning 19 nominations and eight earlier Emmy wins.
That continued when Kate O’Flynn won supporting comedy actress, followed by Stephen Root winning supporting comedy actor. Root’s victory was his first Emmy.
The two acting awards strengthened the newcomer’s challenge to Hacks and turned Widow’s Bay into one of the ceremony’s biggest stories.
The strength of this year’s field was already apparent from the 2026 Emmy nominations and major contenders, with The Pitt leading on 25 nominations, followed by Hacks with 24, Widow’s Bay with 19 and Pluribus with 18.
Matthew Rhys pulls off another surprise
Matthew Rhys won lead actor in a limited or anthology series for The Beast in Me, beating a field that included Oscar Isaac for Beef.
Rhys also entered the ceremony nominated for his work in Widow’s Bay, giving him recognition across two different programs in the same Emmy season.
The Traitors keeps winning
The Traitors won Outstanding Reality Competition Program, continuing a dominant awards run. The victory meant the show had won all six Emmys for which it was nominated this year.
Alan Cumming accepted for the team, joking about a show built around treachery and betrayal bringing people together before using part of his speech to highlight voter registration in the United States.
Mariska Hargitay takes over Emmy night
Hargitay’s opening included New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson in a pre-recorded segment and appearances from familiar television faces including Jean Smart and Jennifer Coolidge.
She later joked about never having experienced a series finale after more than two decades on Law & Order: SVU. Nicole Kidman also appeared during an opening gag centered on the difference between movies and television.
A nomination lead was no guarantee
The early results made one thing clear: this was not simply a night for the shows with the largest nomination totals.
The Pitt entered with 25 nods, yet Janney defeated four of its actresses in one category. Widow’s Bay, meanwhile, converted its breakout first season into major acting victories, while Seehorn finally turned years of Emmy recognition into a win.
The ceremony came during a busy stretch for major entertainment stories, including renewed attention around Oasis and its anticipated 2027 tour announcement, as television, music and celebrity news competed for audience attention.
The Television Academy provides official information on nominees, categories and Emmy results.
Smart’s five-season Hacks streak, Seehorn’s breakthrough and the unexpected strength of Widow’s Bay ultimately gave viewers more to follow than the nomination leaderboard alone suggested.
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