The reign of “The Studio” didn’t last long.
A year after the Hollywood-skewering series set a single-season record for a comedy with 13 Emmy awards, Apple TV’s “Widow’s Bay” racked up 14 to seize that crown. The darkly comedic horror series won all six categories it was nominated in during the telecast on Monday night, a week after notching eight victories at the early Emmys ceremony.
“Widow’s Bay,” set on a super-haunted island off the coast of New England with a mayor (Matthew Rhys) still determined to increase tourism, triumphed over the final season of voter favorite “Hacks” to win best comedy. The show also landed acting wins for Rhys, Kate O’Flynn and Stephen Root, as well as for director Hiro Murai and writer Katie Dippold.
“I always told myself if I ever won one of these things, I would stay humble, maybe I wouldn’t even display it,” Dippold, the series creator, said as she admired her trophy onstage. “But standing here now: I promise all of you that no one will ever step foot in my home without seeing this thing.”
The ceremony, hosted by “Law & Order: SVU” star Mariska Hargitay, largely stayed clear of politics and current events, though there were a few mentions: “Traitors” host Alan Cumming reminded everyone that Tuesday is National Voter Registration Day. Sally Field noted that storytelling cannot be “silenced or compromised or merged,” a seeming reference to the looming Paramount-Warner Bros. merger. Vince Gilligan mused that you couldn’t make up everything that has happened in the last decade, but urged kindness in a world where some people “get their power from dividing us.”
Here are 10 highlights from the three-hour telecast.
Jean Smart and Allison Janney made history
Two actresses achieved a major milestone: Jean Smart and Allison Janney each scored their eighth Emmy win for acting, tying previous record-holders Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Cloris Leachman. Smart also became the first woman to win an Emmy for every single season of a show, landing the lead comedy actress trophy five times for her role as a stand-up comedian fighting for her legacy on HBO Max’s “Hacks.”
Janney won supporting actress in a drama for Netflix’s “The Diplomat,” specifically for an episode that our Screens critic Monica Hesse described as “an unbearable dinner party where couples hate each other and can’t quit each other. Truly, the closest I think I’ve ever come to understanding the Clintons.”
It was historic for Matthew Rhys, too
Monday was a particularly memorable night for Rhys, who not only won for portraying the flailing mayor at the center of “Widow’s Bay,” but also nabbed a statuette for his performance as an unnerving real estate mogul in “The Beast in Me.” By triumphing in both the drama and limited series categories, he became the first person to win two lead acting Emmys in one evening.
Mariska Hargitay was a very earnest host
Mariska Hargitay said she got two pieces of advice before hosting the Emmys: Don’t do it. And stay away from sincerity. She decided to ignore both.
But she also let loose with various bits: she enlisted Nicole Kidman to poke fun at her endlessly memed “We come to this place for magic” AMC ad and sang a parody of “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” as “I Love TV Screens.” Then there were the celebrity cameos, including New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson and noted “SVU” fan Taylor Swift (more on that later).
Stephen Colbert won for his final season
Stephen Colbert and his former “Late Show” staff got a long, standing ovation when they won for best variety series, their last opportunity to nab this Emmy since the show went off the air in May. The win was an expected outcome, given the circumstances surrounding Colbert’s cancellation: CBS abruptly announced it last year in what it said was a “purely financial decision.”
But for many, the timing carried the stench of suspected political interference coming days after Colbert criticized CBS’s parent company Paramount — which was waiting for government sign-off on an $8 billion merger — for settling a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump. In any event, Colbert accepted the award with his former staff behind him and plugged his former writers and staffers with prospective employers. “If you like the comedy tonight,” he said, “my old writers wrote it.”
“The Pitt” brought it home again
Following the first season of “The Pitt” wasn’t going to be an easy task. But the show kept up its momentum, and Emmy voters rewarded the medical drama with its second consecutive wins for best drama series and best actor in a drama. The latter is a well-deserved acknowledgment of Noah Wyle’s thornier approach to Dr. Robbie this season. But series creator R. Scott Gemmill spoke about the optimism implicit in this often-upsetting show when accepting the award for best drama: “I see a whole community that’s still trying to do the right thing.”
Emotions flowed with tributes to Dolly Parton, Catherine O’Hara and Rob Reiner
The most touching moments of the night were tributes to three entertainment giants who died in the past year. Dolly Parton’s “Steel Magnolias” co-star Sally Field remembered Parton as both “blisteringly funny” and deeply humanitarian. Reba McEntire, a country icon in her own right, performed her longtime friend Parton’s song “Appalachian Memories,” closing with “I love you, Dolly.”
Catherine O’Hara’s former co-stars Macaulay Culkin, Annie Murphy and Dan Levy represented two generations of famous TV and film families. Culkin, who played O’Hara’s famously left-behind son in “Home Alone,” said she was “my mom, our mom, all of our moms.”
Jamie Lee Curtis paid tribute to Rob Reiner, her former “New Girl” and “The Bear” co-star. Her voice broke as she called Reiner, who was killed in December, “generous and kind and funny as hell.”
The funniest block of the night came from John Mulaney
John Mulaney earned our laughs with a routine based on the category he was presenting, best lead actor in a drama, by basically saying that, well, finally men will be recognized.
“This one’s for the fellas! Let’s talk about the men tonight!” He paid homages to the nominees, “they can play anything,” he said, “not just doctors. They can play a cop, or an FBI agent or a secret agent, and that’s it, no other examples.” He even had a prop – Frank Vincent’s “A Guy’s Guide to Being a Man’s Man,” which he checked out from a library. But the jaw-dropping moment came when he quoted an infamous DJ Khaled line about men not needing to pleasure women in the bedroom (which we can’t really repeat, and NBC muted.) “But these nominees know that is BS. They know there’s often less pressure on them if they do that first.”
Michael J. Fox got a rare Emmys honor
Five-time Emmy winner Michael J. Fox became just the sixth person to accept the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award since its founding in 2002. The 65-year-old actor, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991, was honored for his decades of advocacy work with the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
Greeted with a seismic ovation, Fox began his speech by reflecting on what Bob Hope meant to him and his parents, who were in the military. “To them, Bob was more than an entertainer,” Fox said. “He was showing up for the troops in Berlin, Saigon and the Middle East with a turkey leg, golf club and if you’re lucky, Lola Falana.”
Taylor Swift made an appearance
Any self-respecting Taylor Swift fan knows that one of her three cats is named Olivia Benson, Mariska Hargitay’s long-running character on “SVU.” So it was no surprise that in one of Hargitay’s pre-taped bits, she invoked Swift, who is a friend. But in a real shock, the pop superstar herself showed up to play a rookie cop, wearing a gray pantsuit and a serious expression.
The case the “SVU” team had to solve: Would Swift show up at the Emmys? Using two crime boards, they tried to connect Emmy nominees with the titles of Swift songs. (SNL tapes in New York … “Welcome to New York” … was that anything?!) Swift, whose Eras Tour film got five Emmy nominations, showed off her comedic chops. Eventually, the cops realized that Swift would not be at the Emmys — because it was Monday night and she would be at her husband Travis Kelce’s football game.
“Well if she’s not there, I’m not watching,” Ice-T declared.
Taylor Swift is wanted at the Emmys
#Emmys LIVE on NBC and streaming on Peacock. pic.twitter.com/Pb59goEkxw
— NBC Entertainment (@nbc) September 15, 2026
Sarah Michelle Gellar reminded everyone about the fate of “Buffy”
In honor of the 30-year anniversary of the premiere of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz appeared to present an award together.
“You know, Sarah, I always thought that Buffy and Angel would end up together,” Boreanaz said.
“Well,” Gellar said, “I guess we won’t find out.”
This, of course, was a reference to the fact that the “Buffy” reboot destined for Hulu was abruptly killed this year, to the shock of the cast and crew.
The post The best moments — and biggest shocks — of the 2026 Emmy Awards appeared first on Washington Post.
