The Pitt leads Emmy nominations with 25 nods as Widow's Bay challenges Hacks in comedy

The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony will take place on Monday night at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, honoring television productions broadcast between June 2025 and May 2026 across 19 categories. The medical drama "The Pitt" leads the field with 25 nominations and enters the night as the favorite to secure the best drama series award for the second consecutive year. A victory would make it the first series since "Mad Men" in 2009 to win best drama for its first two seasons. Series star Noah Wyle is nominated for best actor in a drama, while co-stars Shawn Hatosy and Katherine LaNasa are nominated in supporting categories. "The Pitt" faces competition from "Pluribus", whose lead Rhea Seehorn is among the contenders for best actress alongside Carrie Coon, Chase Infiniti, Keri Russell, and Zendaya. Other drama series nominees include "Slow Horses", "The Diplomat", and "A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms".

Christopher Rosen, deputy editor of The Ankler, evaluated the drama frontrunner.

If 'The Pitt' doesn't win, it would be a tremendous shock.

Comedy contenders and acting milestones

The comedy categories feature a contest between the debut horror-comedy "Widow's Bay" and the fifth and final season of "Hacks". "Hacks" received 24 nominations for its farewell season, led by Jean Smart, who is competing for best actress in a comedy series. Smart has won four Emmys for the role across previous seasons, and an additional win would give her eight career acting Emmys, tying the record held by Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Cloris Leachman. Allison Janney is also competing for an eighth acting statuette for her role in "The Diplomat".

Rosen assessed Smart's chances heading into the final season vote.

She's never lost from playing this part. I don't see why she would lose for the final season.

"Widow's Bay", which collected 19 nominations and eight trophies during pre-gala ceremonies, is positioned to challenge the single-year comedy record of 13 awards set by "The Studio". Lead actor Matthew Rhys is nominated for best comedy actor and for best actor in a limited series for "The Beast in Me". If Rhys wins both, he will become the first performer to win lead acting Emmys in drama, comedy, and limited series categories. In the supporting comedy field, 84-year-old Harrison Ford is nominated for "Shrinking" and could become the oldest winner in that category. Other comedy nominees include "Abbott Elementary", "The Bear", and "Nobody Wants This".

Limited series and ceremony logistics

The limited or anthology series category features a contest between the HBO Max production "DTF St. Louis" and the second season of Netflix's "Beef". "DTF St. Louis" entered the main ceremony with momentum after David Harbour and Linda Cardellini won acting trophies at the early awards. "Beef" features nominations for lead performers Carey Mulligan and Oscar Isaac. Other productions in the category include "All Her Fault", "The Beast in Me", and "Bait", which earned a nomination for Riz Ahmed. Several notable television titles are absent or reduced in presence: "Heated Rivalry" is not eligible, while the final seasons of "Euphoria" and "Stranger Things" secured fewer nominations than in prior years.

The main ceremony will be hosted by Mariska Hargitay, the star of "Law & Order: SVU". Hargitay entered the week having won two Emmys at the Creative Arts ceremonies for the documentary "My Mom Jayne". Producer Jesse Collins stated that Hargitay will perform musical numbers during the telecast. Red carpet coverage begins on E! at 5 p.m. Eastern, followed by the main telecast on NBC and Peacock at 8 p.m. Eastern.