HBO’s medical drama The Pitt emerged as the frontrunner for the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, earning 25 nominations after the Television Academy announced the 2026 nominees on Wednesday.
The awards ceremony will take place on September 14 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles and will be hosted by Mariska Hargitay. The event will be broadcast on NBC and streamed on Peacock.
The Pitt tops 2026 Emmy nominations
Leading this year’s nominations, The Pitt secured 25 nods across major drama and acting categories.
Comedy series Hacks followed closely with 24 nominations, while Apple TV+ dramas Widow’s Bay and Pluribus received 19 and 18 nominations, respectively.
Among the drama series competing for Outstanding Drama Series are:
The Pitt
Pluribus
The Diplomat
The Gilded Age
Paradise
Slow Horses
Your Friends & Neighbors
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Zendaya returns as Emmy nominee
Zendaya received another Lead Actress in a Drama Series nomination for her performance in Euphoria.
She will compete against Carrie Coon (The Gilded Age), Keri Russell (The Diplomat), Rhea Seehorn (Pluribus) and Chase Infiniti (The Testaments).
In the Lead Actor in a Drama Series category, nominees include Noah Wyle, Sterling K. Brown, Gary Oldman, Mark Ruffalo, and Rufus Sewell.
Hacks headlines comedy categories
In comedy, Hacks earned 24 nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series, where it will compete with:
Abbott Elementary
The Bear
Hacks
Margo’s Got Money Troubles
Nobody Wants This
Only Murders in the Building
Shrinking
Widow’s Bay
Veteran actress Jean Smart received another nomination for Hacks, while Quinta Brunson, Ayo Edebiri, Elle Fanning, and Lisa Kudrow also earned lead comedy actress nominations.
Dancing With the Stars returns
One of the biggest surprises came in the Outstanding Reality Competition Program category, where Dancing With the Stars secured its first Emmy nomination in a decade.
The series joins RuPaul’s Drag Race, Survivor, Top Chef, and The Traitors in the category.
Heated Rivalry ruled ineligible
Despite generating significant attention following its release, sports romance series Heated Rivalry failed to receive any nominations.
According to Television Academy eligibility rules, the series did not qualify because it was fully financed and produced by Canadian broadcaster Crave (Bell Media) without the required level of U.S. production involvement.
Winners announced in September
The winners of the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards will be announced during the live ceremony on September 14, recognising excellence in television across drama, comedy, limited series, reality programming and variety entertainment.