LOS ANGELES
Television's most competitive year in recent memory got its official scorecard this week, as the Television Academy unveiled nominations for the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards. The announcement, delivered Wednesday morning, confirmed what industry insiders had been buzzing about for months: 2026 is shaping up to be one of the deepest, most fiercely contested Emmy races in years, with three-time-over records falling before the ceremony even airs.
"The Pitt" Dominates, Again
Leading the pack with a staggering 25 nominations is "The Pitt," HBO Max's real-time medical drama that has become the show to beat since its debut. The series enters this year's race as the reigning Outstanding Drama Series champion, having swept five trophies last September, including a Lead Actor win for Noah Wyle and a Supporting Actress win for Katherine LaNasa. Its 25 nods this cycle — spanning acting, writing, directing and a deep bench of technical categories — signal that the show's grip on the drama field hasn't loosened in its second eligible season.
The breadth of the nominations is as notable as the number: "The Pitt" isn't simply the most decorated show by volume, it's nominated across nearly every corner of the ballot, from sound editing to guest performances, suggesting Academy voters see it as not just a hit but a genuinely well-crafted one from top to bottom.
"Hacks" Rewrites Comedy History — Twice in Two Years
If "The Pitt" owns the drama conversation, "Hacks" has quietly staged one of the more remarkable runs in Emmy history on the comedy side. The Jean Smart-led series about a legendary comedian and her young writing partner picked up 24 nominations for its fifth and final season — a new record for the most nominations ever earned by a comedy series in a single year.
That record didn't stand for long by historical standards, either: "Hacks" leapfrogged the previous record-holders, "The Bear" and "The Studio," each of which had topped out at 23 nominations in recent cycles. The fact that a show can now break a comedy nomination record that itself was set only a year or two prior says something about how crowded — and how good — the top tier of prestige comedy has become. For "Hacks," which has used its final season to deepen the dynamic between Smart's Deborah Vance and Hannah Einbinder's Ava, the nominations amount to a send-off befitting one of the decade's most acclaimed comedies.
The Newcomers Crash the Party
Behind the two juggernauts, the nominations morning also delivered a strong showing for freshman and sophomore series looking to establish themselves. "Widow's Bay" pulled in 19 nominations, the most of any new show this year, while Apple TV's first-season sci-fi drama "Pluribus" — from "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul" creator Vince Gilligan — collected 18 nods in its debut eligibility window. "Beef," "DTF St. Louis" and "Saturday Night Live" rounded out the field of double-digit nominees, with "Spider-Noir" also landing 11.
Streaming and cable's shifting balance of power was on full display in the network tallies, too: HBO Max led all platforms with 122 total nominations, reasserting its dominance even as competitors like Apple TV and Netflix continue to chip away with buzzy limited series and genre swings.
A Host With Something to Prove — and Something to Honor
Perhaps the most emotionally resonant story of the morning belonged to Mariska Hargitay, who will host the ceremony on September 14 — the first woman to host the Emmys in 15 years. Hargitay, best known as Olivia Benson on "Law & Order: SVU," also picked up three nominations of her own this year, for her directorial documentary "My Mom Jayne," a deeply personal project about her late mother, actress Jayne Mansfield.
Reacting to the nominations, Hargitay didn't hide how much the recognition meant to her. "On behalf of my mom and myself, thank you," she said. "I'm profoundly grateful to have this moment with her." The documentary, which traces Mansfield's complicated legacy as a 1950s sex symbol who was also a trained violinist and multilingual intellectual often overshadowed by her image, gives Hargitay's hosting turn an unusually personal throughline heading into September.
What This Means for Your Watchlist
For viewers trying to figure out what's actually worth their time this fall, the nominations double as a reliable shortcut. If you haven't started "The Pitt," its sweep across acting and craft categories suggests the hype is earned rather than manufactured — and with a new season already filming, there's no better moment to catch up before it returns. "Hacks" fans, meanwhile, get one last go-round to see whether the show can convert its record-breaking nomination haul into actual wins for its farewell season, a feat that eluded plenty of beloved shows in their final laps.
And for anyone hunting for their next obsession, "Pluribus" and "Widow's Bay" represent the two newest shows the industry is betting will define the next several years of prestige television — worth a look before their second seasons make them harder to catch up on cold.
Looking Ahead to September 14
The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards air live on NBC and Peacock at 8 p.m. ET on Monday, September 14, with Hargitay presiding over a ceremony that will need to navigate an unusually stacked field of contenders. Whether "The Pitt" can convert its nomination haul into another trophy sweep, or whether "Hacks" rides its record-breaking morning to a fitting final bow, the run-up to September promises to be one of the more closely watched award seasons in recent memory — a rare case where the nominations morning alone made for genuinely great television news.
