Emmys 2026 Snubs & Surprises: Apple TV Dominates With Widow's Bay Sweep

Published Sep 14, 2026, 11:00 PM EDT

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It's officially a wrap on the 2026 Emmys. Though several predicted favorites won their categories, the night wasn't without a few thrilling surprises and shocking snubs.

Going into the ceremony, the leading 2026 Emmy nominees were HBO Max's The Pitt (25) and Hacks (24), and Apple TV's Widow's Bay (19) and Pluribus (18). Tonight proved a strong showing for all four shows. Vince Gilligan made his triumphant return to TV, taking home the writing award for Pluribus, while The Pitt repeats last year's wins for best drama series and best lead actor for Noah Wyle.

Notably, Smart set an Emmys record as the first performer to win for every season of her show, taking home the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series award for the final season of Hacks. Smart also ties Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus for most acting wins by an individual performer at eight Primetime Emmy Awards.

The rest of the awards were a little less predictable. Check out the full list of 2026 Emmy winners here and keep reading for our breakdown of tonight's biggest surprises.

Kate O'Flynn Wins Supporting Actor (Comedy) Over Hannah Einbinder

Robert Clark/©Apple TV/Courtesy Everett Collection

The first winner of the night, Kate O'Flynn, got the ball rolling for a Widow's Bay ​​​​​​sweep. There was a chance that last year's winner Hannah Einbinder would have snuck in for Hacks' final season, but in the end, she wasn't able to compete with the juggernaut that became Widow's Bay.

O'Flynn also won against Janelle James (Abbott Elementary), Michelle Pfeiffer (Margo's Got Money Troubles), Megan Stalter (Hacks), Jessica Williams (Shrinking), and her Widow's Bay co-star, veteran actress Dale Dickey. This is O'Flynn's first Emmy win and nomination.

Allison Janney Wins Supporting Actress (Drama) Over Katherine LaNasa

In one of the biggest upsets of the night, Allison Janney won for The Diplomat, triumphing over The Pitt's Katherine LaNasa. After winning the award last year, LaNasa was heavily favored to repeat her victory.

Out of 16 nominations, this is Janney's eighth Emmy win. Praised for stealing the show in The Diplomat season 3, she's also clearly beloved amongst the Television Academy. It's also possible that The Pitt's other nominees canceled each other out, as Taylor Dearden, Fiona Dourif​​​​​, and Sepideh Moafi were up for the award as well, alongside Paradise's Julianne Nicholson and Pluribus' Karolina Wydra​​​​​.

Rhea Seehorn Wins Lead Actress (Drama) Over Keri Russell & Zendaya

Despite being the favorite, Pluribus actress Rhea Seehorn's win for lead actress was hardly a guarantee. She faced serious competition from The Diplomat's Keri Russell, who previously beat her out for the same category at the Actor Awards (formerly known as the Screen Actors Guild Awards), and Zendaya, a two-time winner for Euphoria, nominated for the show's third and final season.

Many voters believe Seehorn's win was long overdue, as her back-to-back losses for her performance in Better Call Saul were considered some of the most egregious recent Emmy snubs. This is Seehorn's first Emmy win in a career total of four nominations.

Stephen Root Wins Supporting Actor (Comedy) Over Harrison Ford

Poor Harrison Ford. This is the Shrinking actor's second year in a row having lost in the same category despite being the favorite. Last year, Ford was beat out by Jeff Hiller for the final season of Somebody Somewhere, and this year, he lost to Stephen Root for Widow's Bay season 1.

Root's win is part of Widow's Bay's Emmy dominance, having won every major acting category it was nominated for, along with a guest actress win for Betty Gilpin. This is Root's first Emmy victory out of two nominations, with the actor also emerging victorious over Colman Domingo (The Four Seasons), Paul W. Downs (Hacks), Michael Urie (Shrinking), and Tyler James Williams (Abbott Elementary).

Tom Pelphrey Wins Best Supporting Actor (Drama) Over Patrick Ball

Though Tom Pelphrey's chances weren't considered impossible, with Task getting snubbed for Outstanding Drama Series, he was considered the spoiler against the favorite, The Pitt's Patrick Ball. But spoil, Pelphrey did. This was Pelphrey's second Emmy nomination and first win.

It appears that, like with the supporting actress category, The Pitt's multiple nominees here canceled each other out, as both Gerran Howell and last year's guest actor winner, Shawn Hatosy, were also in the category alongside previous winner Billy Crudup for The Morning Show, Jack Lowden for Slow Horses, and Carlos-Manuel Vesga for Pluribus.

Sally Field Wins Best Actress (Limited/Anthology/Movie) Over Carey Mulligan

Sally Field squashed Beef's chances at an acting Emmy, triumphing over Carey Mulligan. Love Story's Sarah Pigeon was also a dark horse to win, but she wasn't able to beat out the Remarkably Bright Creatures actress.

This comes on the heels of Remarkably Bright Creatures' win for Outstanding Movie at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards. Like with Janney, Field appears to be an Academy favorite, as this is her fourth Emmy award out of 10 nominations.

Matthew Rhys' Double Win For Lead Actor (Limited/Anthology & Comedy) Set An Emmys Record

Jean Smart wasn't the only one who made Emmys tonight. With a previous win for best lead actor in a drama series for The Americans, Matthew Rhys' two wins for best actor in a limited or anthology series (The Beast in Me) and comedy series (Widow's Bay) make him the first performer ever to take home the lead actor award in all three categories.

Though Rhys was a shoo-in to win for Widow's Bay, he beat out Oscar Isaac, the favorite to win in limited or anthology series for Beef season 2. In total, Rhys has received eight nominations throughout his career.

Saul Metzstein Wins Best Director (Drama) Over Vince Gilligan

Image via MovieStillsDB

Slow Horses upsets the best drama director category for two years in a row. After Adam Randall took the award over his starrier competitors Mike White (The White Lotus) and Ben Stiller (Severance) last year, Saul Metzstein beat out Vince Gilligan for Pluribus and Noah Wyle for The Pitt.

This is Metzstein's first Emmy win out of two nominations. He directed every episode of both Slow Horses seasons 3 and 5, achieving his victory for the latter.

DTF St. Louis Wins Best Limited/Anthology Series Over Beef

This year's Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series race didn't have a runaway favorite like Adolescence or Baby Reindeer. While many viewers may not have watched or even heard of DTF. St Louis, it was the predicted winner, shutting out its biggest competition, Beef.

This won't be a surprise to those who followed the Creative Arts Emmys, as Linda Cardellini and David Harbour won the supporting acting categories, while Steven Conrad also took home writing and directing awards. These awards had previously aired at the Primetime Emmys ceremony, though five total categories were controversially moved to the Creative Arts awards this year.

Widow's Bay Wins Best Comedy Series Over Hacks

Widow's Bay generated huge buzz right from its premiere, and the Apple TV comedy-horror show was able to ride that momentum and sweep every major category, including Outstanding Comedy Series. It had stiff competition in Hacks, a previous winner nominated for its lauded fifth and final season.

Though Widow's Bay was considered the favorite in this 2026 Emmys category, we predicted a win for Hacks, as did Indiewire. This is the second year in a row the Television Academy has awarded a shiny new show in this category, crowning the inaugural season of Apple TV's The Studio last year. It'll be fascinating to see who would emerge victorious if Widow's Bay and The Studio go up against each other at a future ceremony. Either way, it'll be a win for Apple.