Emmys 2026 winners list: The TV shows that took top honours

The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards are here, celebrating the biggest shows, brightest stars and performances from this past year.

The Pitt and Hacks lead the pack of nominations

Kayla McLean · CBC News

· Posted: Sep 14, 2026 7:19 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

Listen to this article

Estimated 6 minutes

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.

The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards are here, celebrating the biggest shows, brightest stars and performances from this past year.

The ceremony is underway live from the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles, hosted by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star Mariska Hargitay.

HBO is already coming in hot with not one but two smash hits leading the pack of nominations.

The Noah Wyle-led medical drama The Pitt tops the nominations with 25 nods, including one of the night's top prizes, outstanding drama series. The pile of nominations also puts Wyle in a strong spot for outstanding lead actor in a drama series. 

• Updated

  Red carpet looks from the 2026 Emmy Awards

HBO's buddy comedy Hacks follows close behind with 24 nominations — breaking the record for the most Emmy nominations for a comedy series in a single year. The previous record of 23 nominations was held by both The Bear and The Studio.

Hacks is also in the running for outstanding comedy series, where it faces off against Shrinking and The Bear.

Apple TV is having a moment on the leaderboard, too, with its comedy-horror series Widow's Bay landing an impressive 19 nods. Its post-apocalyptic Pluribus is not far behind with 18, just ahead of Netflix's Beef, which picked up 16 nominations for its second season.

• The Pitt, Hacks lead 2026 Emmy nominations

Speaking of back-to-back hits, all eyes will be on Zendaya to see whether she can make Emmy history again.

The Euphoria star is chasing a third outstanding lead actress in a drama series win, which would make her the youngest performer ever to claim the award three times.

Zendaya became the youngest winner in the category at age 24, then made history again in 2022 as the youngest two-time winner for her role as Rue Bennett. She's nominated again this year for the show's final season.

Several stars have already taken home trophies from the two-night Creative Arts Emmy Awards held on Sept. 5 and 6.

That includes Bad Bunny, who became a first-time Emmy winner for his highly watched Apple Music Super Bowl LX halftime show, which took home seven awards, including outstanding variety special (live).

Espresso singer Sabrina Carpenter also won her first Emmy as an executive producer and performer on The Muppet Show, which won outstanding variety special (pre-recorded).

• Commotion

  Did the Emmys get it right this year?

The late Rob Reiner was also honoured posthumously, winning outstanding guest actor in a comedy series for his role as Albert on The Bear.

This year’s marquee show will also introduce the Emmys' first new award in nearly 20 years: the Legacy Award. Organizers say the award will honour "programs that have made a profound and lasting impact on audiences and remain relevant to society, culture and the industry."

Below is a list of the nominees and winners in the major categories, which will be updated live as Monday night's ceremony unfolds:

Best drama series

• The Diplomat.
• The Gilded Age.
• A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
• Paradise.
• The Pitt.
• Pluribus.
• Slow Horses.
• Your Friends & Neighbors.

Best comedy series

• Abbott Elementary.
• The Bear.
• Hacks.
• Margo’s Got Money Troubles.
• Nobody Wants This.
• Only Murders in the Building.
• Shrinking.
• Widow’s Bay.

Best limited or 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

• Keri Russell, The Diplomat.
• Rhea Seehorn, Pluribus.
• Zendaya, Euphoria.
• Chase Infiniti, The Testaments.
• Carrie Coon, The Gilded Age.

Lead actor, comedy

• Steve Carell, Rooster.
• Matthew Rhys, Widow’s Bay.
• Jason Segal, Shrinking.
• Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building.
• Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Wonderman.

Lead actress, comedy

• WINNER: Jean Smart, Hacks.
• Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary.
• Elle Fanning, Margo’s Got Money Troubles.
• Lisa Kudrow, The Comeback.
• Ayo Edebiri, The Bear.

Supporting actor, drama

• Patrick Ball, The Pitt.
• Billy Crudup, The Morning Show.
• Shawn Hatosy, The Pitt.
• Gerran Howell, The Pitt.
• Jack Lowden, Slow Horses.
• Tom Pelphrey, Task.
• Carlos-Manuel Vesga, Pluribus.

Supporting actress, drama

• 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.

Supporting actor, comedy

• Colman Domingo, The Four Seasons.
• Paul W. Downs, Hacks.
• Harrison Ford, Shrinking.
• Nick Offerman, Margo’s Got Money Troubles.
• Stephen Root, Widow’s Bay.
• Micheal Urie, Shrinking.
• Tyler James Williams, Abbott Elementary.

Supporting actress, comedy

• 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.

Lead actor, limited series, anthology or movie

• WINNER: Matthew Rhys, The Beast in Me.
• Charlie Hunnam, Monster: The Ed Gein Story.
• Oscar Isaac, Beef.
• Jason Bateman, Black Rabbit.
• Riz Ahmed, Bait.

Lead actress, limited series, anthology or movie

• Claire Danes, The Beast in Me.
• Carey Mulligan, Beef.
• Sarah Pidgeon, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette.
• Sarah Snook, All Her Fault.
• Sally Field, Remarkably Bright Creatures.

Supporting actor, limited series, anthology 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.

Supporting actress, limited series, anthology 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. and Carolyn Bissette.

Guest actor, drama

• WINNER: Ernest Harden, Jr., The Pitt.
• Colman Domingo, Euphoria.
• Jeff Hiller, Pluribus.
• Jeff Kober, The Pitt.
• Jonathan Pryce, Slow Horses.
• Bradley Whitford, The Diplomat.

Guest actress, drama

• WINNER: Shailene Woodley, Paradise.
• Brittany Allen, The Pitt.
• Tal Anderson, The Pitt.
• Tina Ivlev, The Pitt.
• Miriam Shor, Pluribus.
• Merritt Wever, The Gilded Age.

Guest actor, comedy

• WINNER: Rob Reiner, The Bear
• Michael J. Fox, Shrinking.
• Brett Goldstein, Shrinking.
• Hamish Linklater, Widow’s Bay.
• Christopher McDonald, Hacks.
• Connor Storrie, Saturday Night Live.

Guest actress, comedy

• WINNER: Betty Gilpin, Widow's Bay.
• Leslie Bibb, Hacks.
• Jamie Lee Curtis, The Bear.
• Betty Gilpin, Widow’s Bay.
• Cherry Jones, Hacks.
• Laurie Metcalf, Hacks.
• Kaitlin Olson, Hacks.
• Lauren Weedman, Hacks.

Outstanding variety series

• The Daily Show.
• Jimmy Kimmel Live!
• Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
• Saturday Night Live.

Outstanding reality competition program

• Dancing with the Stars.
• RuPaul’s Drag Race.
• Survivor.
• Top Chef.
• The Traitors.

For a complete list of nominations in all categories, visit the Emmys website.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kayla McLean is a web journalist with CBC News in Toronto. She grew up in Brampton, Ont., and received her bachelor of arts in media production at Toronto Metropolitan University. Before joining CBC in 2024, she worked as a breaking news reporter at Global News Toronto — covering everything from crime, sports, festivals and politics. She also reported for Global News's current affairs show, The New Reality, covering stories with a focus on racial equality and climate justice. She also previously held positions as a chase producer and writer for CTV News Channel.