Is it that time again already? You know, where the big screen awards bashes — the BAFTAs, Oscars, *whispers* and Golden Globes — make way for the granddaddy of small screen celebrations, the Emmy Awards? Yes. Yes it is. And this afternoon, Liza Colón-Zayas and Jeff Hiller took to the Academy’s Saban Media Center stage to reveal the nominees for the upcoming 78th Emmys. And coming off the back of another doozy of a year on the box, a mighty trio of top tier shows have emerged as early frontrunners. HBO Max real-tome medical drama The Pitt leads the way with 25 nominations — including a staggering 13 acting nods across its impressive ensemble; Hacks has made Emmy history for a comedy show with a Schitt’s Creek besting 24 nominations; and, in a surprise boon for Apple TV, Matthew Rhys led horror-comedy Widow’s Bay has landed itself a remarkable 19 nods of its own.
Following close on Widow’s Bay heels with 18 and 16 nominations respectively are Vince Gilligan’s original Apple TV offering Pluribus and Netflix anthology show Beef’s second season. While all of the shows already mentioned make up the lion’s share of nominees across the major 2026 Emmys races, this year’s nominations are perhaps already most notable for what isn’t in the running for awards recognition than what is. Excluding the likes of Heated Rivalry, The Vampire Lestat, and The Bear’s last season, which were ineligible for this year’s Emmys, major snubs befell both Stranger Things and Euphoria‘s final runs. Things‘ last outing was a total lockout in the drama and acting races, despite getting a little more love in technical categories. Meanwhile, Colman Domingo and Zendaya’s acting nominations were two of only seven overall noms for Euphoria‘s surely final bow, with Sydney Sweeney a notable omission from this afternoon’s nominees.
Elsewhere, this year’s nominations are peppered with shouts for fan-favourites like Spider-Noir (11 noms), A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms (9), Shrinking (9), and Fallout (9). Film and TV lovers will doubtless be pleased to see that Michael J. Fox’s acting return in sad-com Shrinking landed the screen icon a well-earned nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor In A Comedy Series, a race which poignantly also carries a posthumous nod for the late, great Rob Reiner and his turn in The Bear Season 4. It’s also surely worth noting that the incomparable David Attenborough has made history as the oldest Emmy nominee ever, scoring two narrator nods at the ripe old age of 100!
As you can see, it’s been a busy old year for TV — and that’s not even all the nominations. For a full rundown of all the major categories at this year’s Emmy Awards, see below;
2025 Emmy Awards Nominees List
Outstanding Drama Series
The Diplomat
The Gilded Age
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Paradise
The Pitt
Pluribus
Slow Horses
Your Friends and Neighbors
Outstanding Comedy Series
Abbott Elementary
The Bear
Hacks
Margo’s Got Money Troubles
Nobody Wants This
Only Murders in the Building
Shrinking
Widow’s Bay
Outstanding Limited Or Anthology Series
All Her Fault
The Beast in Me
Beef
DTF St. Louis
Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette
Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series
Carrie Coon, The Gilded Age
Chase Infiniti, The Testaments
Keri Russell, The Diplomat
Rhea Seehorn, Pluribus
Zendaya, Euphoria
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series
Sterling K. Brown, Paradise
Gary Oldman, Slow Horses
Mark Ruffalo, Task
Rufus Sewell, The Diplomat
Noah Wyle, The Pitt
Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary
Ayo Edebiri, The Bear
Elle Fanning, Margo’s Got Money Troubles
Lisa Kudrow, The Comeback
Jean Smart, Hacks
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Wonder Man
Steve Carell, Rooster
Matthew Rhys, Widow’s Bay
Jason Segel, Shrinking
Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building
Outstanding Lead Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie
Claire Danes, The Beast in Me
Sally Field, Remarkably Bright Creatures
Carey Mulligan, Beef
Sarah Pidgeon, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. And Carolyn Bessette
Sarah Snook, All Her Fault
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie
Riz Ahmed, Bait
Jason Bateman, Black Rabbit
Oscar Isaac, Beef
Charlie Hunnam, Monster: The Ed Gein Story
Matthew Rhys, The Beast in Me
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series
Colman Domingo, The Four Seasons
Paul W. Downs, Hacks
Harrison Ford, Shrinking
Nick Offerman, Margo’s Got Money Troubles
Stephen Root, Widow’s Bay
Michael Urie, Shrinking
Tyler James Williams, Abbott Elementary
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series
Patrick Ball, The Pitt
Billy Crudup, The Morning Show
Shawn Hatosy, The Pitt
Gerran Howell, The Pitt
Jack Lowden, Slow Horses
Tom Pelphrey, Task
Carlos-Manuel Vesga, Pluribus
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie
Jason Bateman, DTF St. Louis
Richard Gadd, Half Man
David Harbour, DTF St. Louis
Richard Jenkins, DTF St. Louis
Charles Melton, Beef
Nick Offerman, Death by Lightning
Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series
Dale Dickey, Widow’s Bay
Hannah Einbinder, Hacks
Janelle James, Abbott Elementary
Kate O’Flynn, Widow’s Bay
Michelle Pfeiffer, Margo’s Got Money Troubles
Megan Stalter, Hacks
Jessica Williams, Shrinking
Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
Michael J. Fox, Shrinking
Brett Goldstein, Shrinking
Hamish Linklater, Widow’s Bay
Christopher McDonald, Hacks
Rob Reiner, The Bear
Connor Storrie, Saturday Night Live
Best Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
Leslie Bibb, Hacks
Jamie Lee Curtis, The Bear
Cherry Jones, Hacks
Laurie Metcalf, Hacks
Kaitlin Olson, Hacks
Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series
Taylor Dearden, The Pitt
Fiona Dourif, The Pitt
Allison Janney, The Diplomat
Katherine LaNasa, The Pitt
Sepideh Moafi, The Pitt
Julianne Nicholson, Paradise
Karolina Wydra, Pluribus
Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie
Linda Cardellini, DTF St. Louis
Dakota Fanning, All Her Fault
Laurie Metcalf, Monster: The Ed Gein Story
Joy Sunday, DTF St. Louis
Yuh-Jung Youn, Beef
Constance Zimmer, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette
Outstanding Guest Actor In A Drama Series
Colman Domingo, Euphoria
Ernest Harden Jr., The Pitt
Jeff Hiller, Pluribus
Jeff Kober, The Pitt
Jonathan Pryce, Slow Horses
Bradley Whitford, The Diplomat
Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series
Brittany Allen, The Pitt
Tal Anderson, The Pitt
Tina Ivlev, _The Pitt
_Miriam Shor, Pluribus
Merritt Wever, The Gilded Age
Shailene Woodley, Paradise
Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series
Abbott Elementary (Quinta Brunson for “Team Building”)
The Chair Company (Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin for “Life goes by too f**king fast, it really does”)
The Comeback (Michael Patrick King and Lisa Kudrow for “Valerie Does It All”)
Hacks (Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky for “Hacks”)
Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat (Anthony King for “Mergers and Acquisitions”)
Widow’s Bay (Katie Dippold for “Welcome to Widow’s Bay”)
Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series
The Diplomat (Peter Akerman and Debora Cahn for “Amagansett”)
The Pitt (Kirsten Pierre-Geyfman & R. Scott Gemmill for “1:00 PM”)
The Pitt (Valerie Chu for “12:00 PM”)
Industry (Mickey Down and Konrad Kay for “Dear Henry”)
Pluribus (Vince Gilligan for “We Is Us”)
Slow Horses (Will Smith for “Scars”)
Task (Brad Ingelsby for “A Still Small Voice”)
Outstanding Writing For A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie
All Her Fault (Megan Gallagher for “Episode 8”)
The Beast in Me (Gabe Rotter and Daniel Pearle for “Sick Puppy”)
Beef (Lee Sung Jin for “All the Things We’re Never Gonna Have”)
DTF St. Louis (Steven Conrad)
Death by Lightning (Mike Makowsky)
Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series
Abbott Elementary (Randall Einhorn for “Ballgame”)
The Bear (Christopher Storer for “Bears”)
The Chair Company (Andrew DeYoung for “Life goes by too f**king fast, it really does”)
Hacks (Lucia Aniello for “Hacks”)
The Ms. Pat Show (Mary Lou Belli for “Give It Arrest”)
Widow’s Bay (Hiro Murai for “Welcome to Widow’s Bay”)
Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series
The Gilded Age (Salli Richardson-Whitfield for “My Mind Is Made Up”)
Paradise (Hanelle M. Culpepper for “Exodus”)
The Pitt (Noah Wyle for “12:00 PM”)
Pluribus (Vince Gilligan for “We Is Us”)
Slow Horses (Saul Metzstein for “Scars”)
Task (Salli Richardson-Whitfield for “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a river”)
Outstanding Directing For A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie
Beef (Jake Schreier for “It Will Stay This Way and You Will Obey”)
Beef (Lee Sung Jin for “Oh, the Comfort, the Inexpressible Comfort”)
Black Rabbit (Jason Bateman for “The Black Rabbits”)
DTF St. Louis (Steven Conrad)
For the complete list of nominees, head to the Television Academy website. The 78th Emmy Awards will take place at the Peacock Theatre, Los Angeles, on Sunday 14 September at 1am BST — so buckle up for a late night telly fans!
