The Emmys, as it happened
• Remarkable debut: “Widow’s Bay” won best comedy series at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, capping a huge night for Apple TV’s new genre-bending thriller. Matthew Rhys became the first man to win two lead actor categories in the same year for his work on that show and the limited series “The Beast in Me.” “Widow’s Bay” also swept the supporting role in a comedy categories and nabbed writing and directing awards.
• More big winners: Jean Smart made history with a fifth consecutive win for her starring role in the comedy “Hacks.” “The Pitt” took home best drama series and a win for lead actor Noah Wyle. Twisty sci-fi drama “Pluribus” earned awards for best lead actress, Rhea Seehorn, and best writing.
• Touching tributes: Sally Field set the tone for a heartfelt moment honoring the late Dolly Parton, followed by a performance from Reba McEntire. And a moving In Memoriam segment marked a year of massive losses for the industry.
Our live coverage has wrapped, but the night isn’t over — dive into the full winners list or see all the standout looks from our red carpet coverage.
Voters took a trip to "Widow's Bay" and TV stars made history. Catch up on the 2026 Emmys
Voters for the 78th Emmy Awards made no secret that they spent the summer at “Widow’s Bay” — and loved their trip.
The freshman horror-comedy dominated Monday’s Primetime Emmy Awards, taking home six statuettes, including one for history-maker Matthew Rhys, who became the first person to win Emmys in two lead actor categories in the same year. (His other, in the limited series category, was for Netflix’s “The Beast in Me.”) He is now also the first performer to have won in the lead acting category in all three genres, having previously earned an honor in the lead actor, drama category for “The Americans.”
Despite being the most-nominated show going into the ceremony, “The Pitt” walked away with just two awards during Monday’s show, but those were best drama and best actor, drama for lead Noah Wyle. (It also picked up some hardware last week at the primetime pregame ceremony.)
“Hacks” star Jean Smart again clinched the award for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series, becoming the first woman to win the lead category for every season of her show’s run.
Otherwise, the love was spread around. Trippy sci-fi series “Pluribus” was recognized with a writing win and an award for lead actress Rhea Seehorn. “DTF St. Louis” won for best limited series, while supporting actor wins went to “Widow’s Bay,” “The Diplomat” and “Task.”
Outside of the awards, the telecast offered some moving moments to honor those we lost this year, including music icon, philanthropist and actress Dolly Parton and comedy great Catherine O’Hara.
Macaulay Culkin, Annie Murphy and Dan Levy, who all played onscreen children to O’Hara, shared some of their treasured memories of her before the In Memoriam segment. Sally Field paid tribute to her “Steel Magnolias” costar Parton, which was followed by Reba McEntire performing Parton’s “Appalachian Memories.”
Other highlights included John Mulaney presenting the award for lead actor in a drama after doing a hilarious bit “for the fellas” of the Emmys, “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” winning the Emmy for variety series just months after its final episode aired, and Taylor Swift making an appearance… sorta.
All in all, the show ended three minutes early, which means everyone is a winner!
The Emmys telecast ran... early?
Everyone knows that awards shows typically run well beyond their scheduled end times, but this year’s Emmys telecast ended a whole three minutes early.
Luckily, producers handed showbiz vets Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey the baton when they presented the final award of the evening, for outstanding comedy series, with the apparent mandate to help stretch out the final moments of the show.
The iconic duo of “True Detective” fame did what they do best: unbridled banter.
When all was finally said and done, McConaughey and Harrelson presented “Widow’s Bay” with the Emmy and the award show’s host, “Law and Order: SVU” star Mariska Hargitay, came on stage to conclude the ceremony at… dun-dun… 10:57 p.m. ET.
"Widow's Bay" caps remarkable Emmys debut by winning best comedy series
“Widow’s Bay” dominated the evening, so it comes as no surprise that the Apple TV horror-comedy took home the night’s final award for outstanding comedy series.
Dippold thanked Apple for “letting us take this crazy, creative swing. They truly just let us do this weird show.”
“Widow’s Bay” won six Emmys this evening.
The show, which stars Matthew Rhys as the mayor of an island experiencing supernatural phenomena, has been a huge word-of-mouth hit for Apple TV.
CNN’s Dan Heching and David Mack contributed to this report.
"The Pitt" wins best drama series for second year
Hit medical series “The Pitt” has won this year’s outstanding drama series award, the second year in a row the show has taken home the award.
The HBO Max medical drama dominated the drama categories once again in 2026, notching 25 nominations — the most of any show. It won nine Primetime Emmys last year, including best drama and best lead actor for Noah Wyle — two wins it has repeated this year.
HBO Max’s series follows emergency department staff at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center as they navigate the challenges of a single 15-hour hospital shift. HBO Max and CNN are both owned by parent company Warner Bros. Discovery.
The show’s creator, R. Scott Gemmill, emphasized the show’s dedication to displaying real human struggles on screen.
“We’ve always tried to be really authentic and tell stories about the real-life heroes of the emergency department who are there for us day in, day out, and we just want to, you know, shine the light on them,” he said.
And he highlighted the importance of the arts.
Macaulay Culkin, Annie Murphy and Dan Levy pay tribute to onscreen mom Catherine O’Hara
Stars connected to the late Catherine O’Hara came onstage to share heartfelt memories of the legendary comedic actress and share what she meant to them.
Culkin went on to quip that although she “forgot” him — twice — in the movies that made them household names, we would never forget her.
“By the way, call your mother tonight. For real,” Culkin also said.
Annie Murphy and Dan Levy, who played O’Hara’s spoiled but sweet children on the Emmy-winning comedy “Schitt’s Creek,” also shared the impact she had on them.
Murphy recounted how so many people approached her after O’Hara’s death in January with kind words, sympathy and specific references from the late performer’s oeuvre, demonstrating how much joy she brought to so many.
After their presentation, singer-songwriter Noah Kahan took the stage to perform “Bridge over Troubled Water” by Simon & Garfunkel while an In Memoriam carousel featuring photographs of the actors Hollywood has lost played onscreen.
Ahead of tonight’s ceremony, the Emmy Awards had a large task with this year’s In Memoriam segment, considering how many greats we’ve lost from the TV industry since last year’s show.
To close the segment, Jamie Lee Curtis came out to pay tribute to legendary late director Burrows, along with “our beloved ‘Meathead’” Rob Reiner, nodding to his early role on TV’s “All In the Family” in the 1970s.
Curtis pointed out that after Reiner’s posthomous Emmy win last week for “The Bear,” he now holds record for the longest gap between acting Emmy wins at 47 years, which broke the 37-year record previously held by Reiner’s father Carl Reiner.
"DTF St. Louis" takes home Emmy for best limited or anthology series
HBO Max’s dark comedy “DTF St. Louis” won the award for outstanding limited or anthology series at the 2026 Emmys.
“I’m so proud to be able to speak on behalf of an extraordinary crew and cast,” screenwriter Steven Conrad said while accepting the award tonight.
The show also picked up limited or anthology series awards for writing, directing and both supporting actor categories at last week’s primetime pregame ceremony.
More on the show: “DTF St. Louis,” starring Jason Bateman, David Harbour and Linda Cardellini, is about a love triangle between three adults experiencing a mid-life crisis that leads to one of them ending up dead.
HBO Max and CNN are both owned by parent company Warner Bros. Discovery.
CNN’s Maureen Chowdhury contributed reporting.
Correction: A previous version of this post misstated the award that Steven Conrad accepted on stage. It was for best limited or anthology series.
Michael J. Fox receives Bob Hope Humanitarian Award
Television great Michael J. Fox is the recipient of the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award, an honor he accepted with gratitude.
After a lengthy and boisterous applause, Fox appeared onstage to accept the award – presented to him by his “Good Wife” costar Julianna Margulies – and began his speech by paying tribute to Hope himself, who he said meant a great deal to his family.
To his parents, Fox said, who were born during the Great Depression, Hope was more than an entertainer: “He was a selfless champion of soldiers and military families like mine for decades.”
“He embodied everything I came to believe in years later,” Fox said. “I learned from his example.”
The lessons he learned from Hope, he added, resonated in his own life when he was “handed a role I wasn’t looking for,” referring to his 1995 Parkinson’s Disease diagnosis, which he received when he was just 29 years old. Worried about whether audiences would continue to accept him after sharing his diagnosis publicly, Fox said that he was moved receiving the support he did from many people in the room tonight.
“It just made me feel like I could keep doing this,” the “Family Ties” star said. “It’s because you stood up for me and I appreciate it.”
Fox said he was proud of the progress he’s made to benefit Parkinson’s patients, families and research to “eradicate this disease forever” with his organization The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
Making his first appearance at the Emmys in over a decade, Fox’s return to the stage came after he appeared as a guest star on Season 3 of “Shrinking,” a role for which he earned a nomination in the guest actor for a comedy series category.
Reba McEntire, Sally Field pay tribute to friend Dolly Parton: "Never stopped loving her"
Sally Field set the tone for a heartfelt tribute to the late Dolly Parton at the Peacock Theater tonight. Speaking of her late “Steel Magnolias” costar, Field said, “If there are truly angels on earth, then we just lost one.”
Parton died last month in Nashville at the age of 80 after a brief battle with cancer.
The Oscar- and Emmy-winner called Parton “blisteringly funny” and called out her “bawdy sense of humor that would send any rude guy for a place to hide.”
Field and Parton costarred with Julia Roberts, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah and Olympia Dukakis in the 1989 tearjerker “Steel Magnolias,” based on the stage play of the name name.
After Field’s emotional words, McEntire took the stage to perform Parton’s “Appalachian Memories.”
Music first bonded the pair of country singers.
A decade ago during a master class, McEntire shared that in 1977 she was scheduled to make her debut at The Grand Ole Opry when she was informed the “Jolene” singer had arrived, and they were giving her one of the two songs McEntire was going to sing.
The pair became dear friends over the years, and Parton was there for McEntire in 1991 after a plane crash claimed eight members of McEntire’s band. They enjoyed happier times in 2005 when Parton appeared as a guest star on McEntire’s hit television series “Reba.”
“When I was doing the ‘Reba’ TV show, Dolly spent the whole week with us on set,” she told E! in 2018. “She was one of the guest stars and that’s the last time we really got to sit down and visit.”
They appeared on stage together multiple times, and in January 2026 Parton released the single “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” which featured her, McEntire, Lainey Wilson, Miley Cyrus and Queen Latifah on Parton’s 80th birthday.
After Parton’s death, McEntire posted a message praising “my buddy Dolly” on social media.
Remember: While Parton is best known for her contributions to music, she also starred in films and on television. “Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Town Square” won her a Primetime Emmy for outstanding TV movie in 2021, and she was nominated four other times by the Television Academy.
Before she became a household name, Parton cut her teeth on television’s “Porter Wagoner Show” in the late 1960s and early ‘70s. She went on to make memorable guest appearances and cameos on dozens of shows and TV movies over the years. In 2022, she appeared in the series finale of Netflix’s “Grace and Frankie” alongside her costars from the film “9 to 5,” Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.
Vince Gilligan says "Pluribus" premise isn't as weird as "our current reality"
Vince Gilligan has won another Emmy award for his latest project, the Apple TV sci-fi drama “Pluribus.”
In his speech, Gilligan focused on the state of society, particularly its divisions compared to the premise of the show.
“‘Pluribus,’ it’s so weird. A world in which everybody gets along. It’s so sci-fi,” Gilligan joked. “But think about it — there’s nothing weirder than our current reality.”
Gilligan also spoke out against divisiveness in society. “We will never agree on everything, but we can show respect to one another, maybe even kindness. And we can stop listening to a relative few who tell us that is for suckers and who get their power from dividing us. My two cents.”
Stephen Colbert thanks staff after 11-year run comes to a close with another Emmy win
Just a few months after his show was cancelled, Stephen Colbert took home what might be his show’s last award, the Emmy for best variety series.
He used the opportunity to express his gratitude for the show’s staff, the “over 200 people who threw themselves at this show for 11 years to try to do the best show they possibly could for you.”
“The thing about these late shows is that, besides being a really good, steady job, is that they require so many people that they’re a fantastic incubator for young people to come in to learn to work professionally on a deadline, in cooperation, in collaboration, and that is the future of our business that we have to look after,” he said.
Colbert noted those staff are all now available for work. “Hire them; they will make your show better, and they will make your day easier,” he said.
And he thanked the show’s audience. “We hope you enjoyed the show,” he said. “We had a great time doing it for you.”
Colbert made no mention of the drama that engulfed his late night show near its finale. CBS ended “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” in May 2026 after 11 seasons. Paramount cited financial pressures in announcing the decision last year, but many Colbert fans blamed political pressures — namely President Donald Trump’s contempt for the host, a longtime critic. The 2025 announcement also came just two weeks after the parent company of CBS, Paramount, settled a lawsuit lodged by Trump against the network’s news operation.
“The Late Show” franchise had been a cornerstone of the CBS lineup for more than thirty years. Founding host David Letterman built the show into a beloved brand in the 1990s with his Top Ten lists and “Stupid Human Tricks.” He handed off to Colbert in 2015, who further energized the time slot with sharp-edged political humor. Trump’s election in 2016 changed the trajectory of Colbert’s version of “The Late Show.” The host broke out from the late-night pack as his harsh criticism of Trump galvanized viewers.
The show won the Primetime Emmy for outstanding talk series last year and has won five additional trophies so far this year for its final season.
The "Widow's Bay" and "Slow Horses" directors who took home an Emmy
In another win for Apple TV’s “Widow’s Bay” tonight, Japanese filmmaker Hiro Murai took home the award for outstanding directing for a comedy series.
The horror-comedy, which stars Matthew Rhys as mayor of an island experiencing supernatural phenomena, has been a huge word-of-mouth hit for Apple TV. For its first season, the show received 19 Emmy nominations.
Another directing win: Scottish film director Saul Metzstein won the Emmy tonight for outstanding director for a drama series for “Slow Horses.”
Metzstein thanked Will Smith, the show’s creator, during his acceptance speech, calling the comedian and writer “the nicest man in the entire world and the best showrunner anyone could work for.”
“Slow Horses,” which stars Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Rosalind Eleazar and Kristin Scott Thomas, brings espionage to the small screen. The Apple TV show follows a team of exiled MI5 agents in the UK as they try to protect the country from danger.
CNN’s Dan Heching and David Mack contributed reporting.
Taylor Swift showed up, kind of, on a "Law & Order: SVU" spoof, and it adds up
It was the ultimate crossover.
Cris Abrego, the chairman of the Television Academy, didn’t confirm to CNN on the red carpet whether or not Taylor Swift would be showing up at the Emmys to support her homegurl Mariska Hargitay as host, but the music megastar did appear in a pre-taped segment that turned heads and drew laughs.
After all, Swift named one of her cats “Olivia Benson” after Hargitay’s character on “Law Order: Special Victims Unit.”
So we should have known when Hargitay popped up on her show’s set with some of her costars trying to “crack the case” on whether Swift would be present or not.
“In order to crack a Swiftie case you gotta think like a Swiftie cause the Swifties thing everything is a clue to what she’ll do next,” Hargitay said before rolling out a clue board with clippings and red strings just like on a crime procedural.
There was plenty of numerology (if you know you know) and convoluted connections, like going from “DTF St. Louis” and its 13 Emmy nominations to Swift’s new husband, Travis Kelce, wearing a red jersey playing football for the Kansas City Chiefs, which is “also in Missouri,” Hargitay noted.
Before we knew it, Swift herself was there, dressed in her best detective suit to say that the whole thing wasn’t adding up. She even brought her cat along!
“Our perp has a clear MO. A lot of this doesn’t fit the pattern and I don’t think everything is a clue,” Swift said. “I think what we’re gonna be looking for is hiding in plain sight.”
Surely you jest, Tay!
She even reacted to the famous “dun dun” sound from “SVU.”
That other sound you heard was the Swiftes shrieking in delight.
Matthew Rhys makes Emmys history with second lead actor win
Matthew Rhys has won the Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series for his role in the horror comedy hit “Widow’s Bay,” marking his second win of the night and an impressive historical moment.
The win came after he scored the trophy for lead actor in a limited series or TV movie for Netflix’s “The Beast in Me” earlier in the night, becoming the first male to win two lead actor categories in the same year.
Taking the stage for the second time, Rhys humbly shook his head while the audience gave him a rousing standing ovation. The cameras cut to his partner Keri Russell, who was clapping and cheering him on.
During his speech, Rhys credited his win to the “depraved and twisted mind” of “Widow’s Bay” creator Katie Dippold, jokingly adding that her genius really does “live in the recesses of her disturbed brain.”
After the Welsh actor thanked his cast, crew and some of his past mentors, he went on to thank “the good people of Wales.”
“We are a small but mighty nation,” he added.
"Widow's Bay" Katie Dippold gushes over Emmy for outstanding writing for a comedy series
Katie Dippold won the Emmy for outstanding writing in a comedy series for the Apple TV’s “Widow’s Bay.”
“This is crazy,” Dippold said while accepting her trophy. “I always told myself if I ever won one of these things I would stay humble, you know, maybe I wouldn’t even display it,” she continued.
“But standing here now, I promise all of you now, no one will ever step foot in my home without seeing this thing,” Dippold added.
“It will have it’s own spotlight. It is going to sit on a rotating turntable. I will create a system of mirrors, so that no matter where you stand in my home this is going to be in your direct eyeline,” she quipped, before thanking Apple TV and the cast and crew of the show, including “genius” director Hiro Murai.
The horror-comedy has won four Emmys so far this evening. It stars Matthew Rhys as mayor of an island experiencing supernatural phenomena, has been a huge word-of-mouth hit for Apple TV.
Dippold was a writer for “Parks and Recreation” and co-wrote the 2016 “Ghostbusters” reboot. In describing the show’s influences, star Rhys said Dippold drew on both of those previous projects, adding a dash of “Twin Peaks” and “The Office.”
CNN’s Matt Meyer contributed to this report.
Tom Pelphrey gives special shoutout to "my love, my best friend" Kaley Cuoco during speech
Tom Pelphrey won the Emmy Award tonight for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series for his role as Robbie Prendergrast in the HBO crime drama “Task.”
Pelphrey also thanked his “Task” co-star, “the beautiful Mark Ruffalo,” and expressed his gratitude to HBO executives, showrunners and others on the show’s team. He then finished his acceptance speech with an emotional shoutout to his fiancée, “The Big Bang Theory” actress Kaley Cuoco.
The actor had previously been nominated for an Emmy in 2022 for his role in “Ozark.”
"Our unique storytelling matters," says Emmy winner Sally Field
After accepting her Emmy for best lead actress in a limited series or TV movie for her work on “Remarkably Bright Creatures,” Sally Field gave an impassioned defense of the arts – and made what seemed to be a dig at the proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (CNN’s parent company) by Paramount Skydance.
A two-time Oscar winner, tonight’s Emmy win was Field’s fourth – she previously won statuettes for her work on the TV movie “Sybil” and the series “ER” and “Brothers and Sisters.”
John Mulaney wants to appreciate the men during lead actor presentation
John Mulaney is out here repping the guys.
The comedian presented the award for lead actor in a drama to Noah Wyle for “The Pitt,” using the opportunity to honor the the acting “bros” during his presenting bit.
Since the creation of television, Mulaney joked, “men have been historically unrepresented,” mentioning Henry Winkler’s Fonzie on “Happy Days” as an example.
Mulaney’s profanity-laced presentation went on to poke fun at those in the running, which included Mark Ruffalo, Sterling K. Brown, Gary Oldman and Rufus Sewell.
Some of them, he said, do method acting and some “do regular, less annoying” acting.
"The Pitt" star Noah Wyle calls best lead actor Emmy win "overwhelming"
“The Pitt” star Noah Wyle has won the award for outstanding lead actor in a drama series. “This is overwhelming,” he said accepting the Emmy.
“I have to tell you, I don’t know (if) there’s an actor my age that didn’t look at ‘Prick Up Your Ears’ and ‘Sid and Nancy’ and think that’s the benchmark that I want to hit one day in my career,” he continued.
Wyle, who grew up in Los Angeles, called himself a “Hollywood kid” and said he “was raised on a television.”
Former “ER” actor Wyle stars in and executive produces “The Pitt.” He portrays Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch.
This post has been updated with remarks from Wyle.
Nick Offerman won the "first job" game
Thanks so much for the visual, Nick Offerman!
Emmys host Mariska Hargitay did a bit where she talked about how the celebs in attendance at the Emmys weren’t always stars, and noted that her first job was working at a Los Angeles bookstore called Book Soup.
Out in the audience, she asked this year’s two-time nominee Colman Domingo about his first job, which he said as manning the fry station at a McDonalds. “Abbott Elementary” star and nominee tonight Quinta Brunson answered that she was a student dance teacher.
Their fellow nominee Nick Offerman quipped that he was an “erotic painter.”
Come again?
When Hargitay asked for details, he said he “painted houses.”
Like the rest of us, nominee Rhea Seehorn was so intrigued she couldn’t even answer the first-job question, and then Offerman’s deets got even better.
He explained that it was “erotic” because he “was in the nude.” He appeared flummoxed that people weren’t getting it.
“I don’t see why this is so hard to understand. It was kind of a standard gig,” he said. “I would strip down and dump a can of paint over my head and then roll my nude male body around the house’s exterior.”
By the way, it was “erotic for the house,” he added. That’s probably completely not true, but it’s fun to imagine that he was being serious.
Alan Cumming urges Americans to vote after "The Traitors" wins
Alan Cumming used his victory speech after accepting the best reality competition program Emmy for “The Traitors” to urge Americans to register to vote.
