Well, as predicted, the Emmy voters didn’t listen to me. Foolishness!
The 2026 Emmy Award nominations were announced Wednesday morning, and they were, basically, a snooze fest. It was as if the entire Television Academy took a nap on their laptops and accidentally filled out their ballots with their drool.
Sure, everyone expected the likes of Hacks, The Pitt, Widow’s Bay, and Pluribus to do well this year. But, reading the list of nominations, you’d think that voters forgot there were any other shows. Don’t get me wrong, the final season of Hacks was exquisite and Widow’s Bay was a refreshing, excellently crafted blast. Pluribus was so good, and The Pitt, well, it at least had a strong string of final episodes. I’m not like…mad mad that they were showered with so much love. But in a year with so much great comedy, especially, I feel like we could’ve shared the wealth.
Just how much did these shows dominate? Of The Pitt’s 25 nominations, 13 were in the acting categories. Thirteen! Imagine being on that show and not having received a nod. How embarrassing.
Hacks gave those doctors and nurses a run for their money, with a whopping 10 acting mentions among its 24 nominations. Five of those alone are all in the Guest Actress category, which is wild. I mean, would I boot any of the murderer’s row of women from that lineup: Leslie Bibb, Cherry Jones, Laurie Metcalf, Kaitlin Olson, and Lauren Weedman? Absolutely not. But the domination is something to marvel at—and, if I was the publicist for any show that was not Hacks, be a bit peeved over.
I’m about to rant some more, but before I do, let me spotlight the things that delighted me.
I was hoping and praying for Kate O’Flynn to be nominated for her riotous turn in Widow’s Bay, and was pleasantly surprised to see her co-star, Dale Dickey, nominated alongside her. Plus, Stephen Root, Hamish Linklater, Betty Gilpin, and Matthew Rhys being recognized! (We embrace hypocrisy in this household. As frustrated as we were by the flood of acting nods for other shows, we’re thrilled about this one.)
I love when an actor who wasn’t on anyone’s radar shows up in an Emmy race, which happened this year for Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who stars in Disney+’s Wonder Man. Abdul-Mateen isn’t exactly an Emmys newbie, having won in 2020 for his role in Watchmen. But a series like Wonder Man is typically ignored by story Emmy voters, so his recognition here is definitely a (fun) surprise.
There are some things that might tickle pop culture fans. Taylor Swift’s variety special about the final show in her Eras tour is up for five awards. (She’s competing against The Muppet Show. Sorry, Taylor. We’re Team Miss Piggy, always.)
Lady Gaga is nominated for Original Song for “The Dead Dance” in Wednesday. And obviously, Bad Bunny was nominated for his epic Super Bowl Halftime Show performance.
The internet’s most rabid fanbase will also be very happy because, while Heated Rivalry was deemed ineligible for the Emmys because it is an international production, Connor Storrie was nominated for Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for hosting Saturday Night Live. An Emmy trophy would look so good in the cottage, right?
While I find it annoying that the Emmys only recognize Bravo shows in the Unstructured Series when there’s a scandal, I’m glad that Summer House followed in Vanderpump Rules’ footsteps with its first nod, since it was a truly fantastic season. But what is it going to take for a Real Housewives franchise to be nominated?! Another fun nominee for Bravo fans is Ariana Madix, who was nominated for best Reality Host for Love Island USA.
But now it’s time to continue griping. Here’s my biggest grievances over what I consider to be the day’s biggest snubs.
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