Emmy nominations 2026 are in and The Pitt just made history

The 2026 Emmy nominations dropped on Wednesday, and after weeks of predictions, the actual list is finally locked in.

The Pitt leads the pack with 25 nominations, an enormous haul for a first year medical drama that spent its debut season proving hospital shows still have plenty of ground left to cover. For a series built around the unglamorous chaos of an emergency room, that's a serious vote of confidence from voters who usually reward more prestige coded dramas. Right behind it, Hacks picked up 24 nods in what's being billed as its final season, setting a new record for the most nominations ever earned by a comedy series, a strong way to bow out if this really is the end.

Widow's Bay rounded out the top tier with 19 nominations, followed by Pluribus on 18 and Beef with 16. DTF St Louis also cracked double digits, proof that voters spread the love wider than the usual awards season suspects this year.

The bigger story might be who's running the show in September. Mariska Hargitay, the Law and Order SVU star and an Emmy winner in her own right, is hosting the ceremony, the first woman to take on the job in 15 years. That's a genuinely wild stat for an industry that loves talking about representation more than it acts on it.

The 78th Emmy Awards air live on NBC and stream on Peacock from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on 14 September. Expect The Pitt and Hacks to dominate the conversation right up until the ceremony, and expect plenty of arguments in between about whether either show can actually convert nominations into wins.

For now, the guesswork is over. The list is set, the campaigning starts today, and somewhere in Los Angeles a publicist is already drafting a strategy memo. Mark the date, pick your favourites and get ready to argue about all of it come September.