Emmys 2026: How The Pitt and Hacks Pulled Ahead
The Pitt went into the 78th Emmy Awards on September 14, 2026, with 25 nominations, more than any other program. Hacks led the comedy field with 24 nominations in its final season. Global News
The main telecast followed the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on September 5 and 6, 2026. The Television Academy published separate winners lists for Night One on September 5 and Night Two on September 6.
Drama and comedy series
In drama series, the eight nominees listed by The Guardian were The Diplomat, The Gilded Age, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Paradise, The Pitt, Pluribus, Slow Horses and Your Friends & Neighbors. The Guardian
In comedy series, the eight nominees listed were Abbott Elementary, The Bear, Hacks, Margo's Got Money Troubles, Nobody Wants This, Only Murders in the Building, Shrinking and Widow's Bay. Hacks was the nominations leader among comedies. The Pitt earned its 25 nominations in its sophomore season, or second season. AP
Lead and supporting acting races
For lead actor in a drama series, the nominees listed were Sterling K. Brown for Paradise, Gary Oldman for Slow Horses, Mark Ruffalo for Task, Rufus Sewell for The Diplomat and Noah Wyle for The Pitt. For lead actress in a drama series, the nominees listed were Carrie Coon for The Gilded Age, Chase Infiniti for The Testaments, Keri Russell for The Diplomat, Rhea Seehorn for Pluribus and Zendaya for Euphoria.
For supporting actor in a drama series, the seven names listed were Patrick Ball for The Pitt, Billy Crudup for The Morning Show, Shawn Hatosy for The Pitt, Gerran Howell for The Pitt, Jack Lowden for Slow Horses, Tom Pelphrey for Task and Carlos-Manuel Vesga for Pluribus. Three of the seven were from The Pitt.
Early Creative Arts winners
On Creative Arts Night One, Bad Bunny Halftime Show, The Traitors and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert led Night One. Television Academy Among confirmed 2026 winners, The Traitors won Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program — an award for unscripted reality TV — and DTF St. Louis won Outstanding Writing For A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie. Betty Gilpin was listed as a 2026 winner for Outstanding Guest Actress, and Rob Reiner was listed as a 2026 winner in an Outstanding Guest category.
The broader context here is concentration versus closure. A second-season drama with 25 nominations has entries across acting, writing and craft ballots, like holding tickets in many different raffles. A final-season comedy with 24 nominations has a different kind of leverage. Voters often weigh continuing stories against farewells.
In my view, what this means for programmers and studios is parallel bets. Established procedurals and slow-building prestige dramas sit beside high-concept shows like Pluribus and Paradise. Comedy is split between ensemble network-style shows, smaller auteur-driven half-hours and true-crime satire. With reality, variety and writing prizes decided a week before the main telecast, the later drama and comedy votes take place on a narrower field.
