“Widow’s Bay” and “The Pitt” emerged as the top winners at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards on Monday, with the Apple TV comedy-horror series claiming outstanding comedy series and the HBO Max medical drama taking home outstanding drama series for the second consecutive year. Mariska Hargitay hosted the ceremony at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, following two Creative Arts Emmy ceremonies held Sept. 5 and 6.
“Widow’s Bay” also produced three acting winners, with Matthew Rhys earning lead actor, Kate O’Flynn taking supporting actress and Stephen Root winning supporting actor. Hiro Murai won directing for a comedy series, while Katie Dippold won comedy writing. The series finished the overall Emmy competition with a record 14 awards, including those presented during the Creative Arts ceremonies.
Noah Wyle won lead actor in a drama series for “The Pitt,” while Rhea Seehorn earned her first Emmy for lead actress in a drama series for “Pluribus.” Tom Pelphrey was named supporting actor in a drama for “Task,” and Allison Janney won supporting actress for “The Diplomat.” Saul Metzstein won drama directing for “Slow Horses,” while Vince Gilligan won drama writing for “Pluribus.” Jean Smart continued her historic run with her fifth consecutive lead actress Emmy for “Hacks,” becoming the first performer to win that category for every season of a series. Her eighth career Emmy also moved her into a tie with Cloris Leachman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Allison Janney for the most acting wins by a performer.
“DTF St. Louis” won outstanding limited or anthology series, while Matthew Rhys added a second major acting prize as lead actor in a limited series or movie for “The Beast in Me.” Sally Field won lead actress in the category for “Remarkably Bright Creatures.” “The Traitors” captured outstanding reality competition program for the third consecutive year, and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” won outstanding variety series for a second straight time. The ceremony also recognized Michael J. Fox with the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award.
The complete winners from the televised 78th Primetime Emmy categories were: comedy series — “Widow’s Bay”; drama series — “The Pitt”; lead actor, comedy — Matthew Rhys, “Widow’s Bay”; lead actress, comedy — Jean Smart, “Hacks”; lead actor, drama — Noah Wyle, “The Pitt”; lead actress, drama — Rhea Seehorn, “Pluribus”; supporting actor, comedy — Stephen Root, “Widow’s Bay”; supporting actress, comedy — Kate O’Flynn, “Widow’s Bay”; supporting actor, drama — Tom Pelphrey, “Task”; supporting actress, drama — Allison Janney, “The Diplomat”; limited or anthology series — “DTF St. Louis”; lead actor, limited series or movie — Matthew Rhys, “The Beast in Me”; lead actress, limited series or movie — Sally Field, “Remarkably Bright Creatures”; directing, drama — Saul Metzstein, “Slow Horses”; directing, comedy — Hiro Murai, “Widow’s Bay”; writing, drama — Vince Gilligan, “Pluribus”; writing, comedy — Katie Dippold, “Widow’s Bay”; reality competition — “The Traitors”; and variety series — “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
The awards capped a three-night Emmy presentation celebrating television from the 2025-26 season. The Television Academy said “Widow’s Bay” led the Sept. 14 telecast with six victories, followed by “The Pitt” and “Pluribus” with two each. The ceremony also featured recognition of earlier Creative Arts winners, including the “Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny,” which led the first night with seven awards, and “The Muppet Show,” which won outstanding variety special.
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