“Widow’s Bay,” a series about the eccentric residents of a haunted New England island, won outstanding comedy series at the Emmy Awards on Monday night, beating previous winner “Hacks.”
Critics praised the show’s original premise in a television landscape crowded with reboots and revivals.
“Widow’s Bay” collected 14 Emmys—more than any other series and a new high for a comedy—capping a late surge that made it an industry word-of-mouth hit.
Star Matthew Rhys, who plays a beleaguered mayor, won outstanding lead actor in a comedy series. It was the first of two acting Emmys he received Monday and made him the first performer to win lead acting awards in limited series, comedy, and drama. He previously won for “The Americans” in 2018.
“The Pitt” won outstanding drama series for the second straight year, becoming the first show to take the award for its first two seasons since “Mad Men” in 2009. Noah Wyle won outstanding lead actor in a drama series for the second consecutive year.
Seven more takeaways:
A four-way tie for most acting Emmys. Jean Smart and Allison Janney each earned their eighth acting Emmy, tying Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus for the most by a single performer. Smart won outstanding lead actress in a comedy for “Hacks,” giving her a win for every season of the series—the first actress to do so.
Janney’s win for Netflix’s “The Diplomat” was a surprise. “This is not what I had planned for at all,” she said in her acceptance speech.
Apple finishes first. Apple TV won more Emmys than any other network or streamer, a first for the company. Less than a decade after entering original programming, Apple joined a short list of outlets that have led a single Emmys night since 2003; only HBO and Netflix had previously done so.
Other major wins. HBO’s “DTF St. Louis” won outstanding limited series, defeating the second season of Netflix’s “Beef.” Rhea Seehorn won her first Emmy, for outstanding lead actress in a drama series for “Pluribus,” after three unsuccessful nominations for “Better Call Saul.”
Sally Field won her first Emmy in 19 years, taking outstanding lead actress in a limited series for Netflix’s “Remarkably Bright Creatures.”
Two tributes. Michael J. Fox received a standing ovation as he accepted the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award from a wheelchair. Reba McEntire performed “Appalachian Memories” in a tribute to Dolly Parton.
Reba performs a heartfelt tribute to the legendary Dolly Parton 🦋#Emmys LIVE on NBC and streaming on Peacock. pic.twitter.com/rXV9kZrgGZ
— NBC Entertainment (@nbc) September 15, 2026
The show’s host, Mariska Hargitay, the longtime star of “Law & Order: SVU,” corralled her friend, Taylor Swift, into a pretaped segment spoofing “SVU.” She also sang several numbers throughout the telecast, including a TV-screen-themed rewrite of the song “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll.”