The 2026 Emmy nominations were revealed in a massive 118-category announcement, highlighting a breakout performance from Apple’s Widow’s Bay and The Pitt, alongside newcomer Pluribus. While the television academy’s 26,000 members made their selections, the process sparked immediate debate, including criticism over the exclusion of Survivor from the outstanding sound mixing category for a reality program.
Among the most notable absences this year is Netflix’s Stranger Things. Despite its status as a foundational show for the platform, it was omitted from the main categories entirely. Unless voters favored its prosthetic design or stunt coordination, the final season failed to gain traction, a result that likely falls short of Netflix’s expectations. Similarly, the series Half Man was largely shut out, despite a supporting actor nomination for Richard Gadd, failing to secure the prestige recognition it sought.
Other surprises included the absence of Jon Hamm in the acting categories for Apple’s Your Friends and Neighbors, despite the show receiving a best drama nomination. Paul Anthony Kelly also missed out on a nomination for Love Story: John F Kennedy Jr and Carolyn Bessette, even as the series earned multiple nods, including a standout recognition for Sarah Pidgeon.
Matthew Rhys emerged as a major winner, securing nominations for two distinct roles across different genres: as Nile Jarvis in Netflix’s The Beast in Me for actor in a limited or anthology series, and as Tom Loftis in Apple’s Widow’s Bay for actor in a comedy series. Rhys joins a cohort of multi-hyphenate nominees this year, including Colman Domingo, Jason Bateman, Martin Short, Laurie Metcalf, and Nick Offerman.
But, on the slim off-chance that you didn’t come here for an explosive 800-word screed about the injustice of failing to recognise a 26-year-old television programme in a category I didn’t know existed until about 15 minutes ago, the Emmys fortunately managed to ignore a wealth of bigger shows, too. Chiefly I’m talking about Stranger Things here. Widow’s Bay stands out as a potential powerhouse, with 18 possible Emmys on the table, though it faces stiff competition from Hacks, which secured a record-breaking 24 nominations. Meanwhile, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms earned a best drama nomination, marking a significant achievement for a series positioned as an underdog in the Game of Thrones franchise. The Emmy awards ceremony is scheduled to take place this September.
In honesty he is not the only multi-hyphenate nominee this year, because there were a glut of them. Colman Domingo was nominated for both Euphoria and The Four Seasons, Jason Bateman was nominated for Black Rabbit and DTF St Louis and Martin Short was nominated for Only Murders in the Building and Match Game. Similarly Laurie Metcalf received nominations for both Monster: The Ed Gein Story and Hacks, and Nick Offerman was nominated for Margo’s Got Money Troubles and Death By Lightning.
