The 2026 Emmy Awards have come and gone; a mixed bag of predictable wins, hit-or-miss jokes and multiple performers making history.
Monday night’s show had Mariska Hargitay as the first woman to host the Emmys in 15 years, with plenty of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” references for the audience to recognize. However, outside of the Taylor Swift skit, Hargitay’s hosting gig will probably not stick with many people.
Swift didn’t actually attend, on account of her husband Travis Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs playing Monday Night Football, which may also explain the decrease in Emmy viewership. According to Variety, the show’s viewership was down 9% from the previous year.
It doesn’t help that 2026 has been a huge year for film, with summer blockbusters getting people off the couch and back in the movie theater.
If the average television enjoyer is going to watch the Emmys, it’d probably be for HBO Max’s “The Pitt,” which once again earned its flowers.
Unsurprisingly, Noah Wyle won Lead Actor in a Drama Series for the second straight year for his role as Michael “Robby” Robinavich. “The Pitt” also took home Best Drama Series. We’ll see how long this tradition continues, as Wyle has made it clear “The Pitt” is not going anywhere anytime soon.
Rhea Seehorn took home Best Actress in a Drama Series for her performance in “Pluribus.” After two nominations for “Better Call Saul,” Seehorn’s first Emmy came from a different Vince Gilligan production.
Repeat winners that made Emmy history are Jean Smart and Matthew Rhys in the comedy categories.
Smart earned her fifth award for her role as Deborah Vance in HBO Max’s “Hacks,” and eighth overall, tying the record for prime-time acting Emmy wins.
Rhys became the first person in Emmy history to win two lead acting awards in one night for his performances in Netflix’s limited series “The Beast in Me” and Apple TV’s comedy “Widow’s Bay.”
Rhys’ victory was one of four “Widow’s Bay” acting wins, breaking the record for comedy series wins in a single season with 14.
HBO Max’s limited series “DTF St. Louis” went home with the second-highest total of wins with seven, including supporting nods from David Harbour and Linda Cardellini.
Other notable acting nods were veteran actresses Sally Field for “Remarkably Bright Creatures” and Allison Janney for “The Diplomat.” Both had incredibly grateful, emotional speeches.
Actor Michael J. Fox’s acceptance of the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award and Reba McEntire’s tribute to the late Dolly Parton brought more intense emotion.
Outside of the touching sentiments, the remainder of the show lacked excitement, with inevitable “Widow’s Bay” and “The Pitt” wins in their respective categories.
As pointed out by Variety, no acting awards in the main show were given out to actors or actresses of color. Ernest Harden Jr. was the only performer of color to get an award for his guest appearance in “The Pitt,” but it was given out a week prior in the non-televised Creative Arts Awards.
Not a great reputation to obtain, especially after the drop in viewers. In general, while the Television Academy is still a prestigious organization, the show’s timing continues to be awkward. Taking place months before the real awards season begins, audiences are left with little buildup or desire to watch.
