Widow’s Bay’ Makes Emmy History With Record 14 Wins, ‘The Pitt’ Takes Best Drama
LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES — WEB DESK: Apple TV horror-comedy “Widow’s Bay” emerged as the biggest winner at television’s 78th Emmy Awards, collecting a record 14 awards overall, including Outstanding Comedy Series, while HBO Max medical drama “The Pitt” retained the Outstanding Drama Series title.
“Widow’s Bay,” centred on a New England island community experiencing unexplained supernatural events, collected six awards during Monday night’s main telecast after winning eight during the earlier Emmy ceremonies. Its total of 14 Emmys surpassed the previous single-year record of 13 held by “The Studio.”
Its victories extended across acting, writing, directing and technical categories.
Matthew Rhys won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for “Widow’s Bay,” while Stephen Root and Kate O’Flynn won the supporting actor and actress comedy awards. Katie Dippold took the writing prize and Hiro Murai won for directing.
Rhys also produced one of the night’s biggest individual achievements by winning Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for Netflix’s “The Beast in Me.”
That made him the first performer to win two lead acting Emmys in the same year, according to the Television Academy. He also became the first performer to have won lead-acting Emmys across drama, comedy and limited-series categories.
‘The Pitt’ Wins Drama Again
HBO Max’s “The Pitt” retained its Outstanding Drama Series title, becoming the first programme since “Mad Men” to win the category for each of its first two seasons.
Noah Wyle also won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for a second consecutive year for his performance in the Pittsburgh emergency-room drama. Reuters reported Wyle described the achievement as “overwhelming” during his acceptance speech.
Apple TV’s “Pluribus” also enjoyed a major night, with Rhea Seehorn winning Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
Jean Smart Makes History With ‘Hacks’
Jean Smart claimed another major milestone, winning for “Hacks” and becoming the first performer to win the lead comedy actress Emmy for every season of a show’s run.
It was Smart’s fifth Emmy for playing comedian Deborah Vance.
Her victory also brought her to eight acting Emmy wins, tying the all-time performer record held by Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Allison Janney reached the same eight-win mark after taking the supporting drama actress award for “The Diplomat.”
Elsewhere, “DTF St. Louis” won Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, while Sally Field won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for “Remarkably Bright Creatures.”
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” won Outstanding Variety Series for a second consecutive year, while “The Traitors” secured its third straight Outstanding Reality Competition Series Emmy.
Actor and activist Michael J. Fox received the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award for his decades of work supporting Parkinson’s disease research through his foundation.
The ceremony was hosted by Mariska Hargitay at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles and was broadcast live on NBC and Peacock.
Major 2026 Emmy Winners
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Outstanding Comedy Series | Widow’s Bay |
| Outstanding Drama Series | The Pitt |
| Outstanding Limited/Anthology Series | DTF St. Louis |
| Lead Actor — Comedy | Matthew Rhys, Widow’s Bay |
| Lead Actress — Comedy | Jean Smart, Hacks |
| Lead Actor — Drama | Noah Wyle, The Pitt |
| Lead Actress — Drama | Rhea Seehorn, Pluribus |
| Lead Actor — Limited Series/Movie | Matthew Rhys, The Beast in Me |
| Lead Actress — Limited Series/Movie | Sally Field, Remarkably Bright Creatures |
The major winners are independently confirmed by both Reuters and the Television Academy.
