7 biggest surprises at the 2026 Emmys, from Matthew Rhys’ historic double to Jean Smart’s record
The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards produced several results that changed the awards’ record books. Across the two Creative Arts ceremonies and the September 14 telecast, a first-year comedy set a new benchmark, Matthew Rhys won two lead-acting categories, and Jean Smart completed an uninterrupted five-season run. Other outcomes saw established favorites lose to shows and performers who had not been expected to lead their fields. Here are the seven biggest surprises from the 2026 Emmy Awards.
1. ‘Widow’s Bay’ dominates the comedy categories
‘Widow’s Bay’ ended the three ceremonies with 14 wins from 19 nominations, making it the most-awarded program. The Apple TV series collected eight Creative Arts Emmys before winning all six categories in which it competed during the televised ceremony. Matthew Rhys, Kate O’Flynn and Stephen Root received acting awards, while Katie Dippold and Hiro Murai won for writing and directing, respectively. ‘Widow’s Bay’ bagged the Outstanding Comedy Series award. The show also broke the single-year comedy record set by ‘The Studio,’ which earned 13 Emmys in 2025.
2. Matthew Rhys wins two lead-acting Emmys in one ceremony
Matthew Rhys’ first victory came for playing Nile Jarvis in Netflix’s ‘The Beast in Me,’ where he defeated predicted frontrunner Oscar Isaac. He later returned to the stage after winning lead actor in a comedy series for his performance as Mayor Tom Loftis in ‘Widow’s Bay.’ The two awards made Rhys the first performer in Emmy history to win two lead-acting prizes during the same ceremony. His 2018 drama win for ‘The Americans’ also means that he has now won the lead-actor award across the drama, comedy and limited-series fields.
3. Jean Smart wins for every season of ‘Hacks’ and ties the acting record
Jean Smart prevented ‘Widow’s Bay’ from taking every comedy award by winning lead actress for the fifth and final season of ‘Hacks.’ Smart has now received the category’s Emmy for each of the show’s five seasons, becoming the first performer to win for every season of a series. Also, it was her eighth acting Emmy across ‘Hacks,’ ‘Frasier’ and ‘Samantha Who?’ Her total ties the all-time acting record shared by Cloris Leachman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Allison Janney.
4. ‘DTF St. Louis’ nearly sweeps the limited-series field
‘DTF St. Louis’ entered the televised ceremony with six wins from the Creative Arts Emmys. David Harbour and Linda Cardellini took the two supporting-acting awards, while creator Steven Conrad won for writing and directing. The HBO Max series also received Emmys for cinematography and picture editing before adding Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series to its total, finishing with seven awards. Its final victory came against ‘All Her Fault,’ ‘The Beast in Me,’ ‘Beef,’ and ‘Love Story,’ allowing the series to claim nearly every major limited-series category outside the two lead-acting races.
5. Sally Field becomes the oldest winner in her category
Sally Field won lead actress in a limited or anthology series or movie for playing Tova Sullivan in Netflix’s ‘Remarkably Bright Creatures.’ At 79, Field became the oldest woman to win the category. She prevailed over Claire Danes, Carey Mulligan, Sarah Pidgeon and Sarah Snook to earn the fourth Emmy of her career and her first since 2007. The win also gave ‘Remarkably Bright Creatures’ its second award after the adaptation had already been named Outstanding Television Movie at the Creative Arts Emmys.
6. ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ triumphs after its cancellation
CBS announced the cancellation of ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ in July 2025, and its final episode aired on May 21. More than three months after the show ended its 11-year run, it defeated ‘The Daily Show,’ ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’, ‘Last Week Tonight With John Oliver’ and ‘Saturday Night Live’ for Outstanding Variety Series. The result was notable because the Emmys had merged the former talk and sketch series categories, placing Colbert against John Oliver’s previous category winner. ‘The Late Show’ finished the year with six Emmys overall, while Stephen Colbert and his former team received a standing ovation during the ceremony.
7. Tom Pelphrey earns his first Primetime Emmy for ‘Task’
Tom Pelphrey won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his performance as Robbie Prendergrast in HBO Max’s ‘Task.’ The actor had previously been nominated for ‘Ozark’ in 2022 but left that ceremony without an award. This time, Pelphrey broke through in a category containing several performers from Outstanding Drama Series winner ‘The Pitt.’ His victory was also the only Emmy earned by ‘Task’ across the three ceremonies, giving the crime drama one of the night’s less predictable acting wins.
Taken together, these results show how the 2026 Emmys paired returning winners with several first-time milestones. ‘Widow’s Bay’ and ‘DTF St. Louis’ converted their nominations into wins across multiple categories, while Matthew Rhys, Jean Smart and Sally Field added new records to the Emmy books. Tom Pelphrey received his first Emmy, and ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ ended its run with the top variety prize. Across the three ceremonies, the seven outcomes reshaped records in comedy, acting, limited series, and late-night television.
