“Widow’s Bay” and “The Pitt” emerged as the biggest winners at the 78th Emmy Awards, held overnight Monday at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles and hosted by Mariska Hargitay, star of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”
“Widow’s Bay” stood out as the night’s biggest winner, taking six awards during the main ceremony, including supporting actor for Stephen Root, supporting actress for Kate O’Flynn and outstanding comedy series. Combined with the eight Creative Arts Emmys it won at last week’s ceremony, the Apple TV+ series collected 14 statuettes — a new record for a comedy series, surpassing “The Studio,” which won 13 Emmys in 2025. Both series are Apple TV+ productions.
Series star Matthew Rhys made history of his own with two wins in major acting categories for two different series. In addition to winning lead actor in a comedy series for “Widow’s Bay,” he also won lead actor in a limited or anthology series for his role in “The Beast in Me.”
“The Pitt,” which led this year’s nominations with 25, won only six awards overall. Two, however, came in major categories: lead actor in a drama series for Noah Wyle and outstanding drama series. Four additional wins came at the Creative Arts Emmy ceremonies earlier this month.
Matthew Rhys
(Photo: Chris Pizzello/AP)
This year’s recipient of the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award was Michael J. Fox. The beloved actor, a five-time Emmy winner, has lived with Parkinson’s disease for decades and took the stage in a wheelchair to thunderous applause. Fox received the award for his work supporting research into the disease and efforts to find a cure.
Fox said that he initially kept his Parkinson’s diagnosis private because he feared it could damage his career and alter his relationship with audiences. He worried that people might respond differently to him once they knew he was ill. Instead, he said, the support he received lifted him up and helped him realize that the disease had not taken away his ability to do what he loved, crediting the public for standing by him.
As the applause continued, Fox said he had set out to advocate for patients, raise funds and help advance the search for a cure. He said he surrounded himself with brilliant people to lead the effort and committed to funding the best scientific research available. He added that he was proud of the progress made in helping people with Parkinson’s and their families and expressed deep gratitude to the team that made the work possible.
Fox concluded by saying that he eventually came to understand that living with Parkinson’s did not mean surrendering to the disease.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation, founded in 2000, has funded more than $3 billion in Parkinson’s research.
Michael J. Fox at the Emmy Awards
(Photo: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
The 2026 Emmys marked the first time in 15 years that a woman hosted the ceremony solo, since Jane Lynch in 2011. Hargitay, known primarily as a dramatic actor rather than a comedian, said she had sought help ahead of the ceremony from writers for “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” who themselves won an Emmy this year for writing for a variety program. The result was not especially impressive, and the lackluster linking segments did little to help.
Unlike last year, when “Hacks” actress Hannah Einbinder ended her acceptance speech by calling “Free Palestine!” and actor Javier Bardem, wearing a keffiyeh, criticized Israel on the red carpet, this year’s ceremony featured no notable political tension and was largely free of political declarations or other provocations.
Jean Smart won lead actress in a comedy series for her role in “Hacks” — her eighth Emmy overall and fifth for “Hacks,” out of 15 career nominations. The series ended this year after five successful seasons.
With the win, Smart tied the record for acting Emmy victories, joining Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who also won eight. Louis-Dreyfus still holds the record for most Emmys for a single role, with six wins for “Veep.” Smart, however, set a record of her own: She became the first performer to win an Emmy for every season of a series in which she starred, with five consecutive wins across all five seasons of “Hacks.”
Jean Smart
(Photo: Richard Shotwell/AP)
Rhea Seehorn won lead actress in a drama series for her role in Apple TV+’s sci-fi comedy-drama “Pluribus.”
Veteran actor Stephen Root won supporting actor in a comedy series for “Widow’s Bay,” his first Emmy. Root also thanked Harrison Ford, who was nominated alongside him in the category.
Vince Gilligan and Rhea Seehorn
(Photo: Richard Shotwell/AP)
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” won the Emmy for outstanding variety program, the show’s sixth win in the category. On stage, Colbert thanked “more than 200 people who worked on this show over the years.”
CBS previously canceled Colbert’s show in what the network described as a financial decision, though the timing — just days after Colbert criticized parent company Paramount and its settlement with Donald Trump — prompted claims that political considerations may also have played a role.
Stephen Colbert
(Photo: Chris Pizzello/AP)
After winning her fourth Emmy, this time for “Remarkably Bright Creatures,” 79-year-old Sally Field took the stage to remember her friend Dolly Parton, who died less than a month ago and starred alongside her in the drama “Steel Magnolias.” “If there are truly angels on Earth, then we just lost one,” Field said.
Singer and actress Reba McEntire then took the stage to perform Parton’s “Appalachian Memories.” “I love you, Dolly,” she said at the end of the emotional performance.
Later, Macaulay Culkin, Dan Levy and Annie Murphy took the stage to honor the late Catherine O’Hara and introduce the traditional In Memoriam segment. As singer Noah Kahan performed Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” the names of those who died over the past year appeared on screen, including Robert Duvall, Tim Curry, Sam Neill, Eric Dane and Hayden Panettiere.
Jamie Lee Curtis closed the segment by paying tribute to her late friend Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner.
Full list of winners
Comedy Series: “Widow’s Bay”
Lead Actress In A Comedy Series: Jean Smart, “Hacks”
Lead Actor In A Comedy Series: Matthew Rhys, “Widow’s Bay”
Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series: Kate O’Flynn, “Widow’s Bay”
Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series: Stephen Root, “Widow’s Bay”
From 'Pluribus'
(Photo: Courtesy of Apple TV+)
Drama Series: “The Pitt”
Lead Actress In A Drama Series: Rhea Seehorn, “Pluribus”
Lead Actor In A Drama Series: Noah Wyle, “The Pitt”
Supporting Actress In A Drama Series: Allison Janney, “The Diplomat”
Supporting Actor In A Drama Series: Tom Pelphrey, “Task”
From 'The Pitt'
(Photo: Courtesy of HBO Max)
Limited Series: “DTF St. Louis”
Lead Actress In A Limited Series Or TV Movie: Sally Field, “Remarkably Bright Creatures”
Lead Actor In A Limited Series Or TV Movie: Matthew Rhys, “The Beast in Me”
Variety Series: “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”
Reality Competition Program: “The Traitors”