Down the Line voting often scores big, but the 2026 Emmy Awards could shake up tradition. Some of this year’s biggest shows are only recognized in acting categories, but don’t participate in series nominations. Below, Variety breaks down the nominees into several major categories. (Here’s the full list of nominations in case it’s helpful.)
drama
In the drama category, last year’s winner “The Pit,” which won trophies for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Guest Actress, will return for season 2. In terms of overall nominations, he leads the way with 25 nominations, 13 of which are for acting. This time, “The Pit” will compete against two other HBO Max series in this category, “The Gilded Age” and “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.” Netflix’s “The Diplomat” and Hulu’s “Paradise” were nominated for series, one of seven total nominations for each show. Apple TV also received three nominations in this category. “Slow Horses” earned its third nomination in the category, with new series “Pluribus” and “Your Friends & Neighbors” both in the race. “Pluribus” received a whopping 18 nominations in its first season (Lea Seehorn is the frontrunner for Best Actress), but “Your Friends and Neighbors” received the only nomination in this category. Brad Ingelsby’s Tusk, on the other hand, received no series nominations, but was praised for its writing, directing, cinematography and editing, and also received acting nominations for Mark Ruffalo (lead) and Tom Pelphrey (supporting).
Actor/actress, drama guest appearance
Last year, “The Pit” received 13 nominations. This year, this is the number of actors who received praise from the show, with five in the guest actor and guest actress categories. Ernest Harden Jr., Jeff Kober, Brittany Allen, Tal Anderson, and Tina Ivlev all received recognition for the medical drama, even though some were not submitted to HBO. Instead, they filed themselves. But will they cancel each other out? There’s always the possibility of multiple nods in one show. The guest actor category also includes big-name actors such as Colman Domingo from the final season of Euphoria, Jeff Hiller from Pluribus, Bradley Whitford from The Diplomat, and Jonathan Pryce from Slow Horses. Guest actresses include Shailene Woodley, who was an early front-runner for Paradise, Miriam Schorr, who starred in Pluribus, and Merritt Wever, who starred in The Gilded Age.
comedy series
“Hacks” broke the record for most nominations for a comedy series (24), and with this being the final season of the popular HBO Max comedy, it seems like a likely frontrunner. That said, this is not an easy category, and it’s mostly filled with returning shows, including FX’s “The Bear,” ABC’s “Abbott Elementary,” Netflix’s “Nobody Wants This,” Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” and Apple TV’s “Shrinking.” But the two new series in this series are strong contenders. Apple TV’s “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” which earned eight nominations, and then there’s Apple TV’s “Widow’s Bay,” which has spoilers for the race. The horror-comedy earned 19 nominations, including six acting nods, with Matthew Rhys receiving Best Actor nominations for both the film and limited series The Beast in Me, as well as nominations for screenplay, direction, and casting.
Guest actor/actress, comedy
This year, some of the biggest stars have made it to the guest actors and actresses list in the comedy category. Two-time Emmy winner Rob Reiner, who earned a posthumous nomination for his role in The Bear, will be hard-pressed to top. But if anyone can do it, it’s probably the beloved Michael J. Fox, nominated for The Shrinking. Other actors in this category include Christopher Macdonald of “The Hux,” Hamish Linklater of “Widow’s Bay,” Brett Goldstein of “The Shrinking,” and Connor Story of “Saturday Night Live” host “Rivals.” Jamie Lee Curtis (The Bear) and Betty Gilpin (Widow’s Bay) are the only two guest actresses not from Hux, while Cherry Jones, Laurie Metcalfe, Leslie Bibb, Lauren Weedman, and Kaitlin Olson make up the rest. Again, cancellations are a possibility, but there’s a good chance “The Hux” will do very well on Emmy night.
disney
Limited series or anthology series
In its first season, Netflix’s “Beef” won the trophy for Best Limited/Anthology Series. This time around, the show didn’t get as much buzz, but it still earned 16 nominations, including lead actor and actress and supporting actor and actress. Others in this category include Netflix’s “The Beast in Me,” FX’s “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette,” Peacock’s “All Her Fault” and HBO Max’s “DTF St. Louis.” The latter also garnered numerous acting nominations, with Linda Cardellini, Joy Sunday, Jason Bateman, David Harbour, and Richard Jenkins filling out the supporting roles. Although “All Her Fault” was released in November and was an early flop, its star Sarah Snook won a Broadcast Critics Association Award trophy, and the show received two Golden Globe nominations and one nomination for Best Actor. Monsters: The Ed Gein Story didn’t quite come close in series nominations, but star Charlie Hunnam earned a lead actor nomination and Laurie Metcalf earned her second nomination of the year for her supporting role in the Netflix horror drama. Netflix’s “Death by Lightning” and Prime Video’s “Bait” didn’t earn series nominations, but their actors were recognized. Nick Offerman received a Best Supporting Actor nomination (his second of the year, along with supporting comedy actor for Margo’s Got Money Trouble), and Riz Ahmed received a limited nomination for Best Actor.
reality
As I’ve written many times before, one of the most difficult categories to break into is real-world competition, where there are always the same winners year after year. At one point, “The Amazing Race” won for seven years in a row, then “RuPaul’s Drag Race” won for four years in a row. For the past two years, “Traitor” has been winning the trophy. This year, “The Amazing Race” will be off the air and ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” will return for the first time in 10 years, which isn’t all that surprising after a massive 34 seasons. “Top Chef” and “Survivor” also had big seasons with their 50th editions, with four of the five nominees confirmed as hosts: RuPaul, Jeff Probst, Kristen Kish and Alan Cumming to round out the category. Ariana Madix unexpectedly came in fifth place as host of Peacock’s Love Island USA. Who becomes the front-runner may depend on who runs the most effective campaign in the second stage.
