2026 Emmy Nominations: The Pitt Leads with 25 Nods as Hacks Sets All-Time Comedy Record
The Television Academy announced the 78th Primetime Emmy nominations on July 8, 2026, and HBO Max had one of its strongest years in the ceremony's history. The Pitt, the emergency room drama starring Noah Wyle, led all programs with 25 nominations in its second season. Hacks, in its fifth and final season, received 24 nominations, setting a new record for the most ever earned by a comedy series in a single year. The previous record of 23 was shared by The Bear in 2024 and The Studio in 2025.
The platform breakdown
HBO Max led all streaming services with approximately 122 nominations. Apple TV+ had its best awards day in company history, posting roughly 87 nominations across its slate. Netflix landed in between with about 111. Major broadcast networks were shut out of the drama series category for the seventh consecutive year, with ABC's Abbott Elementary the lone bright spot for traditional television, earning seven nominations overall and three for creator and star Quinta Brunson.
What The Pitt pulled off
The show drops viewers into a single brutal shift at a Pittsburgh emergency room and plays out almost in real time. That format turned out to be exactly what Emmy voters responded to. In its first season last year, The Pitt won best drama series, best actor for Noah Wyle, and best supporting actress for Katherine LaNasa. It came back for a sophomore run and owned the acting categories again.
The Pitt claimed four of the seven supporting actress spots, with nominations for LaNasa, Taylor Dearden, Fiona Dourif, and Sepideh Moafi. It also landed three supporting actor nominations, for Patrick Ball, Shawn Hatosy, and Gerran Howell. Wyle received nominations for acting, directing, and producing.
Hacks goes out on top
Jean Smart has won best actress in a comedy for all four previous seasons of Hacks. With 24 nominations for the final season, the show is the heavy favorite in multiple categories. Co-star Hannah Einbinder received a supporting nomination for the fifth time, and co-creator Paul W. Downs earned three nods for acting, writing, and producing. The last-season narrative is doing real work here: Emmy voters tend to reward a beloved show on its way out, and Hacks has given them every reason to do it.
The newcomers making noise
Apple TV+ scored two major first-season entries. Pluribus, created by Breaking Bad's Vince Gilligan, earned 18 nominations including a lead drama actress nod for Rhea Seehorn, who is currently the favorite to win that category. Widow's Bay picked up 19 nominations, the most of any new show. Netflix's new season of Beef led the limited or anthology series field with 16 nominations, with Carey Mulligan, Oscar Isaac, and Charles Melton all receiving individual nods.
The snubs worth noting
The final season of Stranger Things missed both the outstanding drama category and the acting races, a first for the show in those fields. The Amazing Race, a 10-time Emmy winner, suffered an unexpected shutout. Heated Rivalry, one of the year's most watched series, was ineligible because it was financed outside the United States.
Also nominated: the late Rob Reiner for a guest acting role on The Bear, Bad Bunny for his Super Bowl halftime show, and Taylor Swift for the Eras Tour final concert special, filed just days after her marriage to Travis Kelce in New York City.
When and how to watch
The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards air live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Monday, September 14, 2026, on NBC and Peacock. Mariska Hargitay hosts, the first woman to hold that role in 15 years. Nominations were announced at the Television Academy's Wolf Theatre in North Hollywood by actors Liza Colon-Zayas and Jeff Hiller.