We have officially entered Emmys season when the best in American television and digital streaming programs are recognized and awarded. The Emmy Awards usually take place over at least two weeks, with the Creative Art Emmy Awards held first, before the Primetime Emmy Awards. The two-day Creative Art Emmy Awards were held on the 5th and 6th of September, and the Primetime Emmy Awards and Governors Gala will be held on the 14th of September, 2026.
What is the difference between the Creative Arts Emmy Awards and the Primetime Emmy Awards?
The main difference between the two is that the Creative Arts Emmys honour technical and behind the scenes work such as editing, sound mixing, and costuming. While the Creative Arts Emmy Awards also include some performance categories, the majority of the categories recognize the “below-the line” achievements.
This year, however, the Board of Governors that oversees the Emmys made a controversial decision to move 5 categories from the Primetime Awards to the Creative Arts Awards. These include:
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited/Anthology Series or Movie
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited/Anthology Series or Movie
Outstanding Writing for a Limited/Anthology Series or Movie
Outstanding Directing for a Limited/Anthology Series or Movie
Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series
HBO Max’s Hacks and The Pitt as well as Netflix’s Beef led the nominations for the creative arts awards, with Hacks earning 17 nominations and Beef and The Pitt both earning 13. However, Katie Dippold’s Apple TV comedy drama, Widow’s Bay, received the most Creative Arts Emmy Awards wins with 8 wins, while the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny was runner up with 7 wins, and DTF St. Louis and The Traitors both won 6 awards each.
Full Primetime Emmy Award Nominees List
This year, The Pitt once again took the lead with 25 total nominations across both the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Creative Arts Emmy Awards. This was closely followed by Hacks with 24 nominations and Apple TV’s shows Widow’s Bay and Pluribus with 19 and 18 total nominations respectively.
Multiple Black creators also received notable nominations across the Emmy Awards this year, with Abbott Elementary as a standout series, receiving a nomination in nearly every comedy series category. The lead and supporting actor and actress categories were filled with Black talent including Zendaya, Ayo Edebiri, Coleman Domingo, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Sterling K. Brown, Jessica Williams, Tyler James Williams, Janelle James, Chase Infiniti, Tramell Tillman and many more.
We also saw Black talent behind the scenes, specifically Black women, receive multiple nominations such as directors Salli Richardson-Whitfield (The Gilded Age, Task) and Hanelle M. Culpepper (Paradise), hairstylist Kimberly Kimble (Euphoria) and choreographer Charm La’Donna (The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show).
Outstanding Comedy Series
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Abbott Elementary (ABC)
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The Bear (FX)
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Hacks (HBO Max)
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Margo's Got Money Troubles (Apple TV)
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Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
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Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
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Shrinking (Apple TV)
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Widow's Bay (Apple TV)
Outstanding Drama Series
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The Diplomat (Netflix)
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The Gilded Age (HBO)
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A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (HBO)
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Paradise (Hulu)
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The Pitt (HBO Max)
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Pluribus (Apple TV)
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Slow Horses (Apple TV)
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Your Friends & Neighbors (Apple TV)
Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series
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All Her Fault (Peacock)
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The Beast in Me (Netflix)
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Beef (Netflix)
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DTF St. Louis (HBO)
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Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette (FX)
Outstanding Reality Competition Program
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Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
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RuPaul's Drag Race (MTV)
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Survivor (CBS)
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Top Chef (Bravo)
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The Traitors (Peacock)
Outstanding Variety Series
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The Daily Show (Comedy Central)
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Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC)
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Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
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The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS)
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Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
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Yahya Abdul-Mateen II – Wonder Man as Simon Williams / Wonder Man (Disney+)
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Steve Carell – Rooster as Greg Russo (HBO)
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Matthew Rhys – Widow's Bay as Tom Loftis (Apple TV)
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Jason Segel – Shrinking as Jimmy Laird (Apple TV)
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Martin Short – Only Murders in the Building as Oliver Putnam (Hulu)
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
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Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary as Janine Teagues (ABC)
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Ayo Edebiri – The Bear as Sydney Adamu (FX)
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Elle Fanning – Margo's Got Money Troubles as Margo Millet (Apple TV)
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Lisa Kudrow – The Comeback as Valerie Cherish (HBO)
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Jean Smart – Hacks as Deborah Vance (HBO Max)
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
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Sterling K. Brown – Paradise as Xavier Collins (Hulu)
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Gary Oldman – Slow Horses as Jackson Lamb (Apple TV)
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Mark Ruffalo – Task as Tom Brandis (HBO)
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Rufus Sewell – The Diplomat as Hal Wyler (Netflix)
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Noah Wyle – The Pitt as Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch (HBO Max)
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
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Carrie Coon – The Gilded Age as Bertha Russell (HBO)
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Chase Infiniti – The Testaments as Agnes MacKenzie (Hulu)
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Keri Russell – The Diplomat as Katherine "Kate" Wyler (Netflix)
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Rhea Seehorn – Pluribus as Carol Sturka (Apple TV)
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Zendaya – Euphoria as Rue Bennett (HBO)
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series
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Riz Ahmed – Bait as Shah Latif (Prime Video)
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Jason Bateman – Black Rabbit as Vince Friedken (Netflix)
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Charlie Hunnam – Monster: The Ed Gein Story as Ed Gein (Netflix)
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Oscar Isaac – Beef as Joshua Martín (Netflix)
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Matthew Rhys – The Beast in Me as Nile Jarvis (Netflix)
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series
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Claire Danes – The Beast in Me as Aggie Wiggs (Netflix)
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Sally Field – Remarkably Bright Creatures as Tova Sullivan (Netflix)
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Carey Mulligan – Beef as Lindsay Crane-Martín (Netflix)
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Sarah Pidgeon – Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette as Carolyn Bessette (FX)
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Sarah Snook – All Her Fault as Marissa Irvine (Peacock)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
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Colman Domingo – The Four Seasons as Danny (Netflix)
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Paul W. Downs – Hacks as Jimmy LuSaque Jr. (HBO Max)
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Harrison Ford – Shrinking as Dr. Paul Rhoades (Apple TV)
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Nick Offerman – Margo's Got Money Troubles as James "Jinx" Millet (Apple TV)
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Stephen Root – Widow's Bay as Wyck Crawford (Apple TV)
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Michael Urie – Shrinking as Brian (Apple TV)
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Tyler James Williams – Abbott Elementary as Gregory Eddie (ABC)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
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Dale Dickey – Widow's Bay as Rosemary (Apple TV)
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Hannah Einbinder – Hacks as Ava Daniels (HBO Max)
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Janelle James – Abbott Elementary as Ava Coleman (ABC)
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Kate O'Flynn – Widow's Bay as Patricia Moyer (Apple TV)
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Michelle Pfeiffer – Margo's Got Money Troubles as Shyanne (Apple TV)
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Megan Stalter – Hacks as Kayla Schaefer (HBO Max)
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Jessica Williams – Shrinking as Gaby Evans (Apple TV)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
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Patrick Ball – The Pitt as Dr. Frank Langdon (HBO Max)
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Billy Crudup – The Morning Show as Cory Ellison (Apple TV)
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Shawn Hatosy – The Pitt as Dr. Jack Abbot (HBO Max)
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Gerran Howell – The Pitt as Dr. Dennis Whitaker (HBO Max)
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Jack Lowden – Slow Horses as River Cartwright (Apple TV)
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Tom Pelphrey – Task as Robbie Prendergrast (HBO)
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Carlos Manuel Vesga – Pluribus as Manousos Oviedo (Apple TV)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
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Taylor Dearden – The Pitt as Dr. Mel King (HBO Max)
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Fiona Dourif – The Pitt as Dr. Cassie McKay (HBO Max)
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Allison Janney – The Diplomat as President Grace Penn (Netflix)
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Katherine LaNasa – The Pitt as Dana Evans (HBO Max)
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Sepideh Moafi – The Pitt as Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi (HBO Max)
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Julianne Nicholson – Paradise as Samantha "Sinatra" Redmond (Hulu)
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Karolina Wydra – Pluribus as Zosia (Apple TV)
Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
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Abbott Elementary: "Ballgame" – Randall Einhorn (ABC)
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The Bear: "Bears" – Christopher Storer (FX)
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The Chair Company: "Life goes by too f**king fast, it really does." – Andrew DeYoung (HBO)
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Hacks: "Hacks" – Lucia Aniello (HBO Max)
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The Ms. Pat Show: "Give It Arrest" – Mary Lou Belli (BET+)
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Widow's Bay: "Welcome to Widow's Bay!" – Hiro Murai (Apple TV)
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
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The Gilded Age: "My Mind Is Made Up" – Salli Richardson-Whitfield (HBO)
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Paradise: "Exodus" – Hanelle Culpepper (Hulu)
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The Pitt: "12:00 P.M." – Noah Wyle (HBO Max)
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Pluribus: "We Is Us" – Vince Gilligan (Apple TV)
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Slow Horses: "Scars" – Saul Metzstein (Apple TV)
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Task: "Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a river." – Salli Richardson-Whitfield (HBO)
Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
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Abbott Elementary: "Team Building" – Quinta Brunson (ABC)
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The Chair Company: "Life goes by too f**king fast, it really does." – Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin (HBO)
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The Comeback: "Valerie Does It All" – Michael Patrick King and Lisa Kudrow (HBO)
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Hacks: "Hacks" – Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky (HBO Max)
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Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat: "Mergers and Acquisitions" – Anthony King (Prime Video)
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Widow's Bay: "Welcome to Widow's Bay!" – Katie Dippold (Apple TV)
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
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The Diplomat: "Amagansett" – Peter Akerman and Debora Cahn (Netflix)
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The Pitt: "1:00 P.M." – Kirsten Pierre-Geyfman and R. Scott Gemmill (HBO)
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The Pitt: "12:00 P.M." – Valerie Chu (HBO)
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Pluribus: "We Is Us" – Vince Gilligan (Apple TV)
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Slow Horses: "Scars" – Will Smith (Apple TV)
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Task: "A Still Small Voice" – Brad Ingelsby (HBO)
The Bob Hope Humanitarian Award will also be presented at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards to Michael J. Fox. The actor and activist is being recognized for his “transformative contributions to Parkinson’s disease research and advocacy.”
The 2026 Primetime Emmy Awards are guaranteed to be entertaining, and we are looking forward to some captivating fashion, memorable moments, and of course, like Issa Rae famously stated on the red carpet at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards, we’re "rooting for everybody Black"!
