Emmy Final Voting Opens: The Pitt Leads 25 Nominations, Hacks Sets Comedy Record
Final-round voting for the 78th Emmy Awards opened on Monday, August 17, 2026, giving the Television Academy's roughly 20,000 members ten days to pick this year's winners. Ballots close at 10:00 p.m. PT on August 26 (Television Academy).
To mark the start of voting, The Hollywood Reporter hosted a THR Live broadcast on Instagram that same day, an Emmy-focused conversation led by awards editor Beatrice Verhoeven and deputy awards editor Brande Victorian (The Hollywood Reporter).
The nominations were announced back on July 8, and a few shows pulled away from the pack. The Pitt, a medical drama on Max, leads all contenders with 25 nominations. Hacks, the HBO Max comedy about a veteran stand-up and her young writer, received 24 — a record for a comedy series in a single year. Newcomer Widow's Bay picked up 19, the most for any new show this cycle.
The Pitt's acting nominations are crowded with its own cast. Katherine LaNasa, who won best supporting actress in a drama series last year, is nominated again in the same category. She is joined by three co-stars: Sepideh Moafi, Fiona Dourif and Taylor Dearden.
A recent rule change by the TV Academy could produce an unusual outcome in the variety talk series category. The Academy merged the scripted and variety talk series categories, meaning the combined field could yield as many as five winners in that single category.
For viewers wondering what to watch for, Variety's 2026 Emmy predictions — published August 14 — identify The Pitt, Hacks and Beef as frontrunners heading into final voting (Variety). Variety's guest-acting predictions include Michael J. Fox, Shailene Woodley, Colman Domingo and Jamie Lee Curtis, while its supporting actor in a limited series picks name David Harbour, Jason Bateman, Charles Melton, Richard Gadd, Richard Jenkins and Nick Offerman.
The Creative Arts Emmy Awards — the ceremony for technical and below-the-line categories, held separately from the main telecast — are scheduled for September 5–6. The 78th annual Emmy Awards air live on NBC and Peacock on Monday, September 14, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
For fans of these shows, the next two weeks are the quiet part: no red carpets, no speeches, just voters filling out ballots. The drama resumes on September 14.
