Emmys 2026: The Pitt Dominates With 25 Nods as Hacks Breaks the Comedy Record
The Pitt leads the 2026 Emmy nominations with 25 nods, Hacks sets a comedy record with 24, and Apple TV's freshman slate crashes the party in force.
Commentary & Analysis ·
Verified key facts
- The Pitt leads the 78th Primetime Emmy nominations with 25 nods, per Variety
- Hacks earned 24 nominations, a new record for a comedy series, breaking the mark of 23 shared by The Bear and The Studio
- Apple TV newcomers Widow's Bay (19) and Pluribus (18) led all first-year shows, per Variety
- HBO Max topped all outlets with 122 nominations, ahead of Netflix on 111 and Apple TV on 87
- Mariska Hargitay hosts the ceremony on 14 September, airing live on NBC and Peacock
A Sophomore Medical Drama Takes Command
The Television Academy's nominations for the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards have set the shape of this year's race. The Pitt, HBO Max's real-time emergency-room drama, leads all programmes with 25 nominations for its second season, per Variety.
The tally confirms the medical drama's rapid rise from word-of-mouth hit to institutional favourite. It won the best drama Emmy last year, and voters have now rewarded its sophomore run with an even broader spread of nominations across acting, directing and writing categories.
The Academy had originally planned to reveal nominees in two batches, on 8 July and 15 July. It instead announced everything in a single sweep to accommodate campaign schedules, per TV Insider, giving strategists a full picture of the field a week early.
Hacks Exits With a Comedy Record
Hacks turned its fifth and final season into a farewell tour of the record books. The comedy earned 24 nominations, the most ever for a comedy series in a single year, per Variety. The previous record of 23 was shared by The Bear in 2024 and The Studio last year.
The record gives the Deborah Vance saga a strong claim on a dominant final night in September. Final seasons often enjoy a sentimental bump with voters, and Hacks now pairs that goodwill with the largest comedy nomination haul in Emmy history.
Apple TV's Freshman Class Crashes the Party
The loudest story among new shows belongs to Apple TV. Widow's Bay, the horror-comedy starring Matthew Rhys, scored 19 nominations to lead all freshman series, per Yahoo Entertainment. Pluribus, the drama from Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, landed 18, including a lead actress nod for Rhea Seehorn.
Cult of Mac tallied Apple TV's overall haul at 87 nominations, with Margo's Got Money Troubles also making a strong showing. For a service long defined by Ted Lasso and Severance, a freshman class this deep marks a genuine broadening of its awards bench.
Elsewhere in the double-digit club, Beef collected 16 nominations, DTF St. Louis took 13, and Saturday Night Live and Spider-Noir earned 11 apiece, per Variety's count of the field.
HBO Max Wins the Network Arms Race
By outlet, HBO Max led everyone with 122 nominations, ahead of Netflix on 111 and Apple TV on 87, per Yahoo Entertainment. The Warner Bros. Discovery streamer also placed three different shows across the best drama and best comedy series races, per Variety.
The platform arms race matters more than usual this year. With Paramount's takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery still grinding through the courts, a table-topping Emmy performance strengthens HBO Max's argument that it remains television's premier prestige brand whatever its corporate future holds.
Snubs: Stranger Things, Nobody Wants This and Hot Ones
The snub list drew as much attention as the nominations. NPR noted that the final season of Stranger Things managed seven nominations but was shut out of the major series, acting and directing categories, a quiet end for Netflix's signature blockbuster.
- Kristen Bell and Adam Brody, both nominated last year for Nobody Wants This, missed out for season two, per NPR
- The Bear star Jeremy Allen White was left off the comedy acting list, per NPR
- YouTube hit Hot Ones was passed over while Kareem Rahma's SubwayTakes made the talk category, per NPR
The SubwayTakes nomination underlines how far the Academy has moved on creator-led programming. A phone-shot interview show riding the New York subway now competes in a category once reserved for network late-night institutions.
The Road to 14 September
The ceremony takes place on Monday 14 September, airing live on NBC and Peacock, with Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay hosting, per CNN. A Monday broadcast is unusual and reflects NBC's autumn scheduling around live sport.
The races now settle into a summer of campaigning. The Pitt looks formidable in drama, but Pluribus gives Gilligan a proven Emmy pedigree to sell. In comedy, the question is simpler: can anything deny Hacks a farewell sweep? Phase-two screeners start shipping within days.
Sources
- Variety - Emmy nominations: The Pitt, Hacks, Pluribus and Widow's Bay lead (8 July 2026)
- CNN - Primetime Emmy Awards 2026: full list of nominees (8 July 2026)
- NPR - Breaking down the nominations, snubs and surprises of the 2026 Emmys (8 July 2026)
- Yahoo Entertainment - Emmy nominations 2026 full list, plus snubs and surprises (8 July 2026)
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