The nominations for the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards have set the scene for a competitive awards season ahead of the ceremony on 14 September.
The entertainment awards honour an eventful year of television covering 1 June 2025 to 31 May 2026.
From the outright sweeps to the shocking snubs, Film News Blitz’s Zach Heynes runs through the highlights of the nominations list.
‘The Pitt’ and ‘Hacks’ lead the race
HBO Max’s The Pitt and Hacks lead the nominations totals with 25 and 24 respectively.
Both shows are returning favourites, following The Pitt’s successful rookie year and a long-running domination in the comedy category by Hacks.
Although this is the final season for Hacks, the show ends on a celebratory note, with its impressive nomination count breaking the record for the most nominations in the comedy category in a single event.
The success of both shows heavily contributed to HBO Max leading the charge against all other platforms with 122 total nominations.
Notable nominations from the year
After The Pitt and Hacks, the most nominated shows include Widow’s Bay (19), Pluribus (18), Beef (16) and DTF St Louis (13).
Widow’s Bay, Pluribus and DTF Louis all join the upper ranks in their debut year.
Another noteworthy 2026 debut is Apple TV’s Margo’s Got Money Troubles starring Elle Fanning, which is expected to make the most of its eight nominations.
As frequent Emmy victors, it is also no surprise that Abbott Elementary and The Bear’s final season returned to receive multiple recognitions.
The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny scored an impressive nine nominations to join Shrinking and Gary Oldman’s Slow Horses.
Netflix and Apple TV follow HBO Max as the most nominated platforms this year with 111 and 87 nominations respectively.
Empty conclusions for major shows
Although the final season of Hacks received an end-of-show high, a few other major series missed out on a celebratory farewell.
HBO’s Euphoria and Netflix’s worldwide hit Stranger Things did not make the cut for best drama series.
This is the only season of Stranger Things to not receive the nomination.
Although it did receive several other nominations, they were all for technical categories, and Amazon’s The Boys finale experienced a similar fate.
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