Widow's Bay wins 14 Emmys as Apple TV leads 78th Primetime ceremony with 28 awards

Comedy sweep for Widow's Bay

The freshman horror-comedy Widow's Bay earned 14 Emmys at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, setting a new high mark for a comedy series in a single year. The Apple TV series converted 14 of its 19 nominations, taking eight trophies at the Creative Arts Emmys earlier in the month and six during Monday's live broadcast. Matthew Rhys won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for playing Mayor Tom Loftis, while Kate O'Flynn and Stephen Root secured the supporting actress and actor categories. Series creator Katie Dippold won for writing, and Hiro Murai took the comedy directing award for the pilot episode. Dippold originally conceived the project while applying for the writing staff of Parks and Recreation, spending nearly 20 years refining the pilot before Apple TV ordered the series in September 2024. The show won Outstanding Comedy Series over the final seasons of The Bear and Hacks, despite only its first seven episodes being eligible before the 31 May cutoff.

Accepting the comedy series prize, Dippold recognized the network for backing the production.

They truly just let us do this weird show.

Drama and limited series winners

In the drama categories, HBO Max medical series The Pitt won Outstanding Drama Series for the second consecutive year after leading all programs in nominations. Lead actor Noah Wyle repeated his victory for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Rhea Seehorn secured Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role in Apple TV's science-fiction series Pluribus. In the limited series field, HBO Max's DTF St. Louis took Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series along with awards for writing, directing, and supporting performances by David Harbour and Linda Cardellini.

Matthew Rhys added a second win on the night, taking Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for Netflix's The Beast in Me. Sally Field collected her fourth career Emmy, winning Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for Remarkably Bright Creatures.

Acting records and telecast notes

Jean Smart earned the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Hacks. With the victory, Smart became the only performer in television history to win an Emmy for every season of a series. Hacks entered the evening with a record 24 nominations in its fifth and final season, but collected two total awards. In the unscripted categories, The Traitors collected seven total wins, including Outstanding Reality Competition Program and an individual win for host Alan Cumming. The ceremony was hosted by Mariska Hargitay, who became the first woman to host the Primetime Emmys in 15 years.

Apple TV leads network totals

Apple TV accumulated 28 total awards across the 2026 Emmy season, propelled by Widow's Bay, Pluribus, and Slow Horses. The tally placed Apple ahead of HBO and Netflix, which had held the top spot at the Emmys every year since 2003. Apple began buying television projects in 2017 and launched its streaming platform in 2019. Chief executive John Ternus, who took over the role from Tim Cook, joined services head Eddy Cue at the post-ceremony reception in Los Angeles.

At the afterparty, Cue addressed the studio's trajectory over the past seven years.

When we started this seven years ago, it's hard to imagine that we'd be here today.