2026 Emmys: Widow's Bay upsets, The Pitt triumphs at Canada-preoccupied ceremony
Mariska Hargitay hosted the 78th Emmy Awards, with Taylor Swift cameo, emotional tributes
Despite a raft of surprises that included Canada call-outs, numerous Law & Order gags and Taylor Swift, the biggest surprise of the night was in who took home the gold.
asserted
who → triumph → gold
Because even as the Emmys tends to honour the series and stars with more seasons under their belts, it was Apple TV's smash success Widow's Bay that earned top honours.
asserted
that → tend → honours
Winning lead actor, supporting actress, supporting actor and director — as well as the night's biggest award, best comedy series — the horror-comedy pulled in a record 14 wins off an impressive 19 nominations.
asserted
comedy → win → nominations
That beat the single-season record of 13 wins The Studio earned last year, making Widow's Bay the comedy series with the most ever trophies in a single year.
But the star heading into the night was The Pitt, which led the pack with 25 nominations, including for best drama series — which it won — and supporting actress (Taylor Dearden, Fiona Dourif, Katherine LaNasa and Sepideh Moafi).
asserted
it → beat → which
Its lead Noah Wylie was awarded with outstanding lead actor in a drama series about midway through the ceremony — his second win in the category after triumphing last year as well.
asserted
Wylie → award → category
However The Pitt lost best supporting actor to Tasks' Tom Pelphrey: that show's first of the night off of its six nominations.
asserted
Pitt → lose → nominations
And despite The Pitt's dominance in the best supporting actress in a comedy category, it was The Diplomat's Allison Janney who took home the award.
asserted
who → take → award
It is her eighth career Emmy, following her last win in 2021 for Mom.
asserted
It → follow → Mom
That relatively huge upset set the stage for what would be a night of them — splitting honours between established entertainment juggernauts, and surprise new finds.
asserted
what → set → juggernauts
One of the big moments of the night was a scene-specific recreation of Law & Order by host Mariska Hargitay, in which the show's actual stars — including Ice-T — tried to predict whether or not Taylor Swift would show up at the Emmys.
asserted
Swift → include → Emmys
Swift herself appeared in disguise as one of the SVU detectives, theorizing along with the rest of them.
"Maybe she's going to do one of those cool pre-taped sketch things to support the host," Swift said in the pre-taped sketch.
asserted
Swift → appear → sketch
"Do you think she'll sing?" asked one of the other detectives.
asserted
one → think → detectives
A speech with a bit more heft came from Sally Field, who won outstanding lead actress in a limited or anthology series or movie for Remarkably Bright Creatures.
asserted
who → come → Creatures
The actress, who received her first nomination in 17 years for this role, barrelled off the thanks for different people in her life — before arriving at a familiar one.
“And Canada!
asserted
who → receive → one
!" she said, smiling.
asserted
she → say → ?
Remarkably Bright Creatures was filmed in Deep Cove, B.C.
asserted
Creatures → film → Cove
"The greatest lesson I learned from Catherine, both professionally and personally, was to always say yes.
asserted
I → learn → Catherine
Say yes to her instincts; all of them," Levy said of the comedy legend who died in January.
asserted
who → say → January
Catherine O'Hara wins posthumous Actor Award for role in The Studio
'You can't': Dan Levy says there's no Schitt's Creek sequel without Catherine O'Hara
Also honoured was Michael J. Fox for the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award.
asserted
Fox → win → Award
Fox, who retired from acting in 2020 due to the physical toll of Parkinson's disease, was introduced as a "proud son of Canada" and received a standing ovation.
asserted
who → retire → ovation
"Eventually I understood that accepting Parkinson's didn't mean I had to surrender to it," he said in his acceptance speech.
asserted
he → understand → speech
"It just meant doing what I could for everyone living with this disease.
uncertain
I → mean → disease
Its nominations for its fifth and final season put it ahead of all comedies with a record-breaking 24.
asserted
nominations → put → 24
Lead Jean Smart was, in many bettors' cards, perhaps the biggest lock of the night for best actress in a comedy — an award she won early on, becoming the first woman to win an Emmy for every season of their show.
asserted
she → win → show
Hannah Einbinder, who had a breakthrough win last year as best supporting actress in a comedy after four nominations, was up against Kate O'Flynn, who wowed with a breakout performance in the debut season of Widow's Bay — and who ended up taking home the prize.
asserted
who → have → prize
Her win was followed shortly after by a best supporting actor in a comedy award for Widow's Bay star Stephen Root — a category for which Hacks' Paul W. Downs was nominated.
asserted
Downs → follow → which
The Emmys' track record had suggested they would shower Hacks in awards for its final, send-off season.
uncertain
they → suggest → season
But with 19 nominations for a show with a real campaign and surprise upset win for best comedy series, the trajectory of Widow's Bay was far more successful than previously expected.
asserted
trajectory → expect → Bay
A stunningly bizarre dramedy about an alien invasion and mind control, it was similarly positioned in opposition to The Pitt.
asserted
it → position → Pitt
With four early wins already, the narrative had long been circling around star Rhea Seehorn.
asserted
narrative → circle → Seehorn
Given the entire show's focus on her singular performance, voters rewarded the Better Call Saul star with her first Emmy after four nominations.
asserted
voters → give → nominations
A laughing, tearful Seehorn briefly thanked her co-nominees, cast and crew, her family and Gilligan.
asserted
Seehorn → laugh → nominees
She was eventually played off in the longest speech thus far of the night — where all other winners barely took a minute before rushing off the stage.
asserted
winners → play → stage
- Commotion
How Pluribus turns the zombie genre into a philosophical masterpiece
Kimmel says interview with Democratic candidate won't air on his network show, cites FCC threats
Elsewhere, the limited series categories had a diminished role at the main Emmys show after four of them were demoted to the early Emmys weekend.
asserted
four → turn → weekend
HBO Max's DTF St. Louis was the big winner of those awards, taking best supporting actor and actress for David Harbour and Linda Cardellini.
asserted
Louis → take → Harbour
Beef brought star power to the lead acting categories, with Carey Mulligan, the consensus favourite for best actress in a limited series, however losing to Field.
asserted
Mulligan → bring → Field
The show's Oscar Isaac was favoured for best actor, but was similarly upset by Matthew Rhys for The Beast in Me.
asserted
Isaac → favour → Me
Rhys also won best lead actor in a comedy series for his role in Widows Bay, making him the first man to win two lead actor awards in the same night.
asserted
him → win → night
And after another year of antagonizing U.S. President Donald Trump, the late night shows of Jimmy Kimmel and the now-cancelled Stephen Colbert were both up for outstanding variety series, the latter of whom won.
asserted
latter → antagonize → whom
That show received nine nominations for this Emmys ceremony, following the news that CBS announced its end earlier this year.
asserted
CBS → receive → end
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
