The 2026 Emmy Awards winners list is in, with the Apple TV+ horror comedy ‘Widow’s Bay’ dominating the comedy categories and Matthew Rhys making history as the first performer to win in two lead acting categories on the same night.
According to NPR, the ceremony was hosted solo by Mariska Hargitay at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles on Monday, 14 September (02:00 on Tuesday, 15 September 2925 SAST), and aired live on NBC and Peacock.
Drama, comedy and limited series winners
The Pitt won outstanding drama series, continuing its strong run since debuting on Max.
Widow’s Bay took outstanding comedy series on its way to a 14-award haul across the main ceremony and the earlier Creative Arts Emmys, a record for a comedy series in a single year.
HBO’s DTF St. Louis won outstanding limited or anthology series, and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert won outstanding talk series.
Lead and supporting acting winners
Noah Wyle won lead actor in a drama for The Pitt, and Rhea Seehorn finally claimed her first Emmy, for lead actress in a drama, for Pluribus, after years of nominations for Better Call Saul without a win.
Matthew Rhys won lead actor in a comedy for Widow’s Bay and lead actor in a limited series for The Beast in Me. Jean Smart won lead actress in a comedy for Hacks, a category she has now won every year the show has been eligible.
In the supporting categories, Stephen Root and Kate O’Flynn won for Widow’s Bay, Tom Pelphrey won for Task and Allison Janney won for The Diplomat. David Harbour and Linda Cardellini won supporting honours in the limited series category for DTF St. Louis. Sally Field won lead actress in a limited series for Remarkably Bright Creatures.
Directing, writing and reality winners
Hiro Murai won directing in a comedy series for Widow’s Bay, and its creator, Katie Dippold, won for writing. Saul Metzstein won directing in a drama series for Slow Horses, and Vince Gilligan won for writing on Pluribus. The Traitors won outstanding reality competition series.
Standout moments of the night
The most talked-about win of the night belonged to Colbert. The Late Show, cancelled by CBS after 33 years on air, beat Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Last Week Tonight With John Oliver for outstanding writing in a variety series, ending Last Week Tonight‘s decade-long hold on the category.
Accepting the award, Colbert used the moment to lobby for his former staff.
“They are all tech avail. Hire them. They will make your show better.”
— Stephen Colbert, accepting the Emmy for outstanding writing in a variety series
Rhys’s double win drew similar attention. He took lead actor in a comedy for his role as a small-town mayor in Widow’s Bay and lead actor in a limited series for The Beast in Me on the same night, a first in Emmy history.
Dippold, accepting the writing award for Widow’s Bay after nearly two decades developing the project, thanked the streamer for backing an unconventional show.
“Thank you, Apple, for letting us take this crazy, creative swing.”
— Katie Dippold, accepting the Emmy for outstanding writing in a comedy series
Hargitay’s hosting stint was also a point of discussion. She became the first woman to solo-host the ceremony in 15 years, opening with a musical number and a run of jokes aimed at Nicole Kidman’s cinema advertisement and Law & Order creator Dick Wolf, before closing on a more sincere note about television’s role in storytelling.
The ceremony also marked the end of an era for Colbert’s Late Show, which wrapped its run in May after contract talks with CBS collapsed. The network attributed the cancellation to rising production costs and falling ratings, though the timing, during Paramount’s Skydance merger process, drew scrutiny at the time.
