The nominees for the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards are finally here, bringing along most of the expected contenders, and even a few surprises. It’s been an interesting year for television, with juggernauts like “Hacks” and “Stranger Things” wrapping up, newcomers like “Pluribus” and “Widow’s Bay” emerging quickly, and “The Pitt” continuing to dominate the conversation. Most of those showed up among the nominees (sorry “Stranger Things“), as did faithful perennial nominees such as “Abbott Elementary,” “Only Murders in the Building,“ and “Slow Horses.” Let’s dive into the nominees to discuss all the biggest shocks and most disappointing misses.
“HACKS“ SETS A NEW RECORD WHILE “THE BEAR“ STRUGGLES
Previous Outstanding Comedy Series winners “Hacks“ and “The Bear“ just wrapped up their runs (though “The Bear“ is competing for its fourth season, not its final). However, they had significantly different nomination hauls this year. As expected, “Hacks“ received nominations for Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, along with Paul W. Downs and first-time nominee Meg Stalter, in the writing, directing, and Outstanding Comedy Series categories. In fact, with 24 nominations, “Hacks“ set the record for the most nominations for an Outstanding Comedy Series in a single year, notably breaking the record set by “The Bear“ in 2024. Sadly, “The Bear“ underperformed for its second-to-last season. While the show made it into the Outstanding Comedy Series category, Jeremy Allen White and Ebon Moss-Bachrach both missed out for the first time, leaving Ayo Edebiri alone in the top categories. Jon Bernthal also missed out on a Guest Comedy Actor nomination for the first time, replaced by a well-deserved posthumous nomination for Rob Reiner. While “Hacks“ and “The Bear“previously went head-to-head for Outstanding Comedy Series, there’s no doubt who’s coming out on top this time around.
“THE PITT“ CONTINUES ITS DOMINANCE
“The Pitt“ scored a whopping 25 nominations for its second season, the most for any show this year. Though it was already an awards juggernaut after last year’s wins, it nearly doubled its nomination total this go around, up from 13 in its first season. 12 individual actors received nominations among the Drama Categories, including previous winners Noah Wyle, Katherine Lanasa, and Shawn Hatosy. Wyle also received a nod for directing, his first in the category. Though “Pluribus“ also performed admirably, scoring nominations across the board, it would still be quite the shock if “The Pitt” didn’t repeat its Outstanding Drama Series win.
“HALF MAN“ FLOPS
After Richard Gadd’s previous dominance in the Outstanding Limited Series categories for “Baby Reindeer,“ many expected his follow-up series, “Half Man,“ to garner plenty of love too. And yet, shockingly, it received only a single nomination, as Gadd himself landed a Supporting Actor nomination in an Outstanding Limited Series. Jamie Bell, who was largely predicted to win Lead Actor in a Limited Series, was left off the list, while “Half Man“ missed Outstanding Limited Series, Directing, and Writing. Clearly, the voters didn’t vibe with the show, and HBO couldn’t push it higher on their radar.
IT’S “BEEF“ vs. “DTF ST. LOUIS“ FOR LIMITED SERIES
While “Half Man“ floundered, that makes all the more room for “Beef“ and “DTF St. Louis.“ Though the prevailing opinion seems to be that the second season of “Beef” didn’t reach the heights of its first go-round, the series still performed well, earning 16 nominations. Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Yuh-Jung Youn, and Charles Melton all made it in their respective categories, along with one writing and two directing nominations. It’s a solid haul, though Cailee Spaeny was notably left out, despite largely being predicted to win Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series. On the other hand, “DTF St. Louis“ received an admirable 13 nominations, especially overperforming among the actors. Jason Bateman, David Harbour, Richard Jenkins, Linda Cardellini, and Joy Sunday all received nominations in the Supporting Categories, with writing and directing nominations for Steven Conrad. Though “Beef“ has more nominations, the Spaeny snub is hard to ignore, especially when “DTF St. Louis“ scored two nominations in that same category. But will voters be more prone to vote for the more familiar show, after giving so much love to “Beef“ two years ago? For now, the overperformance of “DTF St. Louis“ has me leaning toward it.
“WIDOW’S BAY” MAKES A SPLASH
Among new shows, “Widow’s Bay“ came out on top with 19 nominations, the most for any first-season show this year. It scored nominations in each of its eligible categories, with Matthew Rhys picking up a Lead Actor nomination (alongside his nomination in Outstanding Limited Series for “The Beast in Me”). Kate O’Flynn and Stephen Root scored nominations as expected, but it was Dale Dickey who shockingly landed in Supporting Actress, too. She’s been a well-respected character actress for years, so to see her get this recognition is special. Hamish Linklater and Betty Gilpin also appeared in the Guest categories for their turns as the town’s historical founders. “Hacks“ is a formidable challenger this year in Outstanding Comedy Series, but Rhys seems like he could cruise to another Emmy win.
“THE AMAZING RACE” IS NOT SO AMAZING ANYMORE
After two decades of dominance in Outstanding Reality Competition Series, “The Amazing Race“ has missed a nomination entirely for the first time. Since the category’s founding in 2003, “The Amazing Race“ has never missed an eligible year. The only other year it wasn’t nominated was 2020, when the show didn’t have an eligible season. For a series with 10 wins in the category, nearly half the category’s existence, it’s nearly inconceivable to see it miss here. “Dancing With The Stars“ seems to have pushed it out, receiving its first nomination since 2016.
A SLEW OF SERIES WITH ONLY ONE NOMINATION EACH
We don’t often see shows scoring Outstanding Series nominations without at least one acting, writing, or directing nomination, but this year we had two: “Your Friends & Neighbors“ in Outstanding Drama Series and “Nobody Wants This“ in Outstanding Comedy Series. While Kristen Bell and Adam Brody had received nominations for the first season, the Netflix series couldn’t get them in this time around. The show didn’t have nearly as much buzz as it did in its first season, but it still made it into the Outstanding Comedy Series category. Conversely, Apple TV’s “Your Friends & Neighbors” didn’t receive any Emmy nominations in its first season but grew in popularity in its second season. Many had predicted Jon Hamm would receive a nomination for Lead Actor, but it never panned out. It’s fairly surprising to see a series like this still make it into Outstanding Drama Series without its lead coming along too. Typically, shows with an Outstanding Series nomination but no acting nominations are ensembles or genre fare, like “3 Body Problem“ just a few years ago.
On the other hand, two shows received acting nominations with no other support, and both are about actors in search of their big break. Riz Ahmed scored a nod in Lead Actor in a Limited Series for his turn as an actor desperate to become James Bond in “Bait.“ The Prime series never really took off in the way they had hoped, but it’s great to see Ahmed land here. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II shockingly made it into the Lead Actor in a Comedy Series category for “Wonder Man,” playing an actor trying to suppress his superpowers to land a big role. While the Television Academy doesn’t typically like genre fare unless it seems truly prestigious, like “Game of Thrones,“ Disney+ has proven an uncanny knack for getting its major shows in, like “The Mandalorian,” “Andor,“ and “WandaVision.”
Also…
- “The Comeback“ scored a nomination for Lisa Kudrow and its writing, but otherwise underperformed.
- Steve Carell showed up for “Rooster,“ but Bill Lawrence’s HBO series didn’t find other support.
- Chase Infiniti may not have gotten an Oscar nomination earlier this year, but the Television Academy tried to rectify it with a nomination for “The Testaments.”
- “The Diplomat“ has continued to grow each season, this time with nominations for Rufus Sewell, Allison Janney, and Bradley Whitford alongside Keri Russell.
- “Task“ slightly underperformed, missing an Outstanding Drama Series nomination despite scoring nominations for directing, Mark Ruffalo, and Tom Pelphrey. Can Pelphrey win without an Outstanding Drama Series nomination?
As a whole, though there’s much to discuss, there weren’t too many genuine shocks among the nominees. They did, however, seem to reveal much about the direction of the potential winners. What will prevail in Outstanding Limited Series, “Beef“ or “DTF St. Louis?” Can anything stop “Hacks“ or “The Pitt“? How many Emmys will Matthew Rhys be holding at the end of the night? These and more questions will continue to roll around as we approach the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, which will air on September 14th, 2026.
What was your biggest shock from this morning’s nominations? Did these change your predicted winners? What do you think will win Outstanding Limited Series? Please let us know over on our X account. We have updated our Emmy winner predictions, and a podcast recap is coming your way later today. You can watch Matt Neglia, Giovanni Lago, and me react to the Emmy Nominations live in full on our Patreon here or the edited version on our YouTube here.
