78th Emmys Winners: Biggest Victories and Records
The 78th Emmys winners delivered a night of major victories, historic performances and several memorable milestones as television’s biggest stars gathered in Los Angeles to celebrate the 2025-2026 season.
Apple TV’s Widow’s Bay emerged as the biggest winner of the evening, collecting six awards during the televised ceremony and finishing the overall Emmy season with a remarkable 14 victories. HBO Max’s The Pitt also had a strong night, taking home two awards, including Outstanding Drama Series. Apple TV’s Pluribus added two more wins.
The ceremony, hosted by multiple Emmy winner Mariska Hargitay, took place September 14 at the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE. The televised event was the third and final night of this year’s three-part Emmy celebration.
78th Emmys Winners Make History
One of the biggest stories of the night was Widow’s Bay, the comedy-horror series set around a mysterious New England island community.
The show won Outstanding Comedy Series and added victories for several of its leading creative and acting talents. Matthew Rhys won Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series, while Kate O’Flynn and Stephen Root were recognized in the supporting acting categories.
Katie Dippold won for writing, while Hiro Murai took home the directing award.
With six wins on the final night and eight more from the second night of the awards, Widow’s Bay reached 14 Emmys. That total established a new record for a comedy series in a single Emmy season, surpassing the previous mark set by The Studio last year.
The success made Widow’s Bay one of the defining television stories of the year.
The Pitt Dominates the Drama Category
The Pitt continued its impressive Emmy run by winning Outstanding Drama Series.
The HBO Max medical drama also produced another historic moment for Noah Wyle, who won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.
The victory gave The Pitt Outstanding Drama Series wins for its first two seasons. According to the Television Academy, it became the first series since Mad Men to accomplish that feat.
Wyle also became the first actor since Bryan Cranston to win Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for each of a show’s first two seasons.
The achievement adds another major chapter to Wyle’s long television career and underlines the strength of The Pitt among this year’s drama contenders.
Matthew Rhys Makes Emmy History
Matthew Rhys was another standout among the 78th Emmys winners.
The actor won two leading-performance awards during the year. In addition to his comedy victory for Widow’s Bay, Rhys won Outstanding Actor in a Limited Series, Movie for Netflix’s The Beast in Me.
That made him the first performer to win two Emmys for leading performances in the same year. His achievement became even more notable because he previously won a leading drama Emmy for The Americans in 2018.
Rhys is now the first performer to win lead acting Emmys across the drama, comedy and limited-series or movie categories.
Jean Smart and Allison Janney Join Elite Company
The 78th Emmys also produced a historic milestone for two veteran performers.
Jean Smart won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Hacks, giving her a fifth Emmy for the series. Allison Janney won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for The Diplomat.
Both performers reached eight career acting Emmys.
That puts Smart and Janney alongside television legends Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the performers with the most acting Emmy victories.
Smart also established another record. She became the first performer to win an Emmy for every season of the same series.
New Winners and Important Breakthroughs
The ceremony also recognized several first-time Emmy winners.
Kate O’Flynn and Stephen Root earned their first acting victories for Widow’s Bay. Rhea Seehorn won her first Emmy for Pluribus, while Tom Pelphrey received his first win for Task.
Dippold also secured her first Emmy for writing.
For Pluribus creator Vince Gilligan, the night marked another significant achievement. He earned his first individual writing Emmy after previously collecting Emmy victories as a producer on Breaking Bad.
Hiro Murai also made history by becoming the first Asian director to win Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series.
The Traitors and Late Show Continue Their Winning Runs
The reality and variety categories produced repeat champions.
Peacock’s The Traitors won Outstanding Reality Competition Program for the third consecutive time. The series has quickly established itself as one of television’s strongest performers in the reality competition field.
CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert also won its second consecutive Emmy for Outstanding Variety Series.
The victories showed that established favorites remained powerful even as newer programs made major breakthroughs elsewhere across the ceremony.
Michael J. Fox Receives Humanitarian Honor
Beyond competitive awards, the ceremony also featured a special recognition for Michael J. Fox.
The actor, author and philanthropist received the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award for his contributions to Parkinson’s disease research and advocacy. Julianna Margulies, Fox’s former The Good Wife co-star, presented him with the honor.
The ceremony also featured an emotional In Memoriam segment, with Noah Kahan performing “Bridge Over Troubled Waters.” Reba McEntire performed “Appalachian Memories” as part of a tribute to Dolly Parton.
A Night of Major Emmy Moments
The 78th Emmys winners reflected a television landscape where established stars and emerging talent shared the spotlight.
Widow’s Bay dominated the comedy field, The Pitt strengthened its position as a leading drama and performers including Matthew Rhys, Jean Smart and Allison Janney added their names to the Emmy record books.
With historic acting achievements, breakthrough victories and powerful tributes, the 78th Emmy Awards ended the 2025-2026 television season on a high note. The night ultimately proved that television’s biggest awards remain as much about new milestones as they are about celebrating familiar favorites.
