‘Widow’s Bay’ Dominates, and 7 Other Takeaways From the 2026 Emmys

“Widow’s Bay,” the Apple TV show about the oddball residents of a haunted New England island, took best comedy honors at the Emmy Awards on Monday night, besting a former winner in the category, “Hacks.”

Praised by critics for a strikingly original concept in a landscape of reboots and revivals, “Widow’s Bay” won 14 statuettes, more than any other series, and set a new high for a comedy series. The wins capped a spirited run for the series that became a word-of-mouth sensation in the entertainment industry over the last few months.

The show’s star, Matthew Rhys, who plays a put-upon mayor, won for best actor in a comedy, the first of two acting Emmys he won on Monday night. Those wins marked a new record: He is the first performer to win a lead acting Emmy in limited, comedy and drama series (he previously won for “The Americans” in 2018).

“The Pitt” took best drama honors for a second year in a row, and became the first series to win the award for its first two seasons since “Mad Men” pulled off that accomplishment in 2009. Noah Wyle also won his second consecutive best acting in a drama Emmy.

Here’s are seven more takeaways from the ceremony:

A four-way tie for most Emmys: Jean Smart and Allison Janney both elbowed their way into the Emmy record books when they nabbed their eighth acting win, tying a record with Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus for the most by a single performer. Smart won for best actress in a comedy for her role as a Las Vegas comedian in “Hacks,” giving her five wins for all five seasons of the show, the first time an actress pulled off that feat. Janney’s win, for Netflix’s “The Diplomat,” was a surprise. “This is not what I had planned for at all,” she said as she accepted.
Apple takes gold: Apple TV ended the night with more Emmys than any other outlet, a first for the tech giant. Apple began its foray into the entertainment world less than a decade ago and now it joins a rarefied field. Since 2003, only two other networks have claimed the bragging rights for the most Emmys in a single year: HBO and Netflix.
A fond farewell for Colbert: Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show,” which CBS canceled and which went off the air in May, won the late-night prize for the second year in a row. Colbert, sporting a gray goatee, used his speech to encourage television executives to hire his former colleagues, many of whom have been without jobs for four months.
A near sweep: If it weren’t for Smart’s win in “Hacks,” “Widow’s Bay” would have swept all the comedy awards handed out on Monday. The series also won for best supporting actors (Kate O’Flynn and Stephen Root), directing (Hiro Murai) and writing (Katie Dippold, who created the series). In the technical and off-camera awards handed out earlier this month, the show took home eight awards, including best casting and best production design.
A quick Swift cameo: The show’s host, Mariska Hargitay, the longtime star of “Law & Order: SVU,” corralled her friend, Taylor Swift, into a pretaped segment spoofing “SVU.” She also sang several numbers throughout the telecast, including a TV-screen-themed rewrite of the song “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll.”
Other key wins: The HBO show “DTF St. Louis” won best limited series, besting the second season of the Netflix anthology, “Beef.” Rhea Seehorn won her first Emmy for best actress in drama for “Pluribus,” after being overlooked three times for “Better Call Saul.” Sally Field also won her first Emmy in 19 years, taking lead actress in a limited series for Netflix’s “Remarkably Bright Creatures.”
Two tributes: In one of the show’s more emotional moments, Michael J. Fox was greeted by an enormous standing ovation when he came on stage in a wheelchair to accept the Bob Hope Humanitarian award. Reba McEntire also sang “Appalachian Memories” in a tribute to Dolly Parton.