HOLLYWOOD—On Wednesday, July 8, the start of awards season is getting underway. How so? The contenders for the 2026, Primetime Emmy Awards were announced by former Emmy winners Liza Colon-Zayas and Jeff Hiler. Big questions going into awards season on the TV front is rather anyone can stop “The Pitt.” Who is the comedy king at the current moment? Will there be any major surprises?

Well leading the pack of all contenders was the TV series “The Pitt” with a total of 25 nominations, with another HBO series, “Hacks” not far behind with 24 nominations. “Widow’s Bay” earned 19 nominations.

Were there snubs? Of course, there wasn’t much love for the final season of “Euphoria” where on the acting front only Zendaya is a contender after earning a nomination for Lead Actress in the final season. No love for Jacob Elordi or Sydney Sweeney. Not much love for “The Morning Show” or “Half Man.” I expected much more for “Half Man” considered how critically acclaimed the series was.

To view a full list of contenders, visit: https://www.televisionacademy.com/. A partial list of this year’s nominees are listed below:

Outstanding Drama Series

-“The Diplomat”
-“The Gilded Age”
-“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”
-“Paradise”
-“The Pitt”
-“Pluribus”
-“Slow Horses”
-“Your Friends & Neighbors”

Outstanding Comedy Series

-“Abbott Elementary”
-“The Bear”
-“Hacks”
-“Margo’s Got Money Troubles”
-“Nobody Wants This”
-“Only Murders in the Building”
-“Shrinking”
-“Widow’s Bay”

Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series

-“All Her Fault”
-“The Beast in Me”
-“Beef”
-“DTF St. Louis”
-“Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette”

Outstanding Variety Series

-“The Daily Show”
-“Jimmy Kimmel Live”
-“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver”
-“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert”
-“Saturday Night Live”

Outstanding Reality Competition Series

-“Dancing With the Stars”
-“RuPaul’s Drag Race”
-“Survivor”
-“Top Chef”
-“The Traitors”

Outstanding Host For Reality TV or Reality Competition Program

-RuPaul Charles “RuPaul’s Drag Race”
-Alan Cumming “The Traitors”
-Kristen Kish “Top Chef”
-Ariana Madix “Love Island”
-Jeff Probst “Survivor”

Lead Actor in a Drama Series

-Sterling K. Brown “Paradise”
-Gary Oldman “Slow Horses”
-Mark Ruffalo “Task”
-Rufus Sewell “The Diplomat”
-Noah Wyle “The Pitt”

Lead Actress in a Drama Series

-Carrie Coon “The Gilded Age”
-Chase Infiniti “The Testaments”
-Keri Russell “The Diplomat”
-Rhea Seehorn “Pluribus”
-Zendaya “Euphoria”

Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

-Patrick Ball “The Pitt”
-Billy Crudup “The Morning Show”
-Shawn Hatosy “The Pitt”
-Gerran Howell “The Pitt”
-Jack Lowden “Slow Horses”
-Tom Pelphrey “Task”
-Carlos-Manuel Vesga “Pluribus”

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

-Taylor Dearden “The Pitt”
-Fiona Dourif “The Pitt”
-Allison Janney “The Diplomat”
-Katherine LaNasa “The Pitt”
-Sepideh Moafi “The Pitt”
-Julianne Nicholson “Paradise”
-Karolina Wydra “Pluribus”

Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

-Yahya Abdul-Mateen II “Wonder Man”
-Steve Carell “Rooster”
-Matthew Rhys “Widow’s Bay”
-Jason Segal “Shrinking”
-Martin Short “Only Murders in the Building”

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

-Quinta Brunson “Abbott Elementary”
-Ayo Edebiri “The Bear”
-Elle Fanning “Margo’s Got Money Troubles”
-Lisa Kudrow “The Comeback”
-Jean Smart “Hacks”

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

-Dale Dickey “Widow’s Bay”
-Hannah Einbinder “Hacks”
-Janelle James “Abbott Elementary”
-Michelle Pfeiffer “Margo’s Got Money Troubles”
-Megan Stalter “Hacks”
-Jessica Williams “Shrinking”

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

-Colman Domingo “The Four Seasons”
-Paul W. Downs “Hacks”
-Harrison Ford “Shrinking”
-Nick Offerman “Margo’s Got Money Troubles”
-Stephen Root “Widow’s Bay”
-Michael Urie “Shrinking”
-Tyler James Williams “Abbott Elementary”

Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or TV Movie

-Riz Ahmed “Bait”
-Jason Bateman “Black Rabbit”
-Charlie Hunnam “Monster: The Ed Gein Story”
-Oscar Isaac “Beef”
-Matthew Rhys “The Beast in Me”

Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or TV Movie

-Claire Danes “The Beast in Me”
-Sally Field “Remarkably Bright Creatures”
-Carey Mulligan “Beef”
-Sarah Pidgeon “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette”
-Sarah Snook “All Her Fault”

Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or TV Movie

-Jason Bateman “DTF St. Louis”
-Richard Gadd “Half Man”
-David Harbour “DTF St. Louis”
-Richard Jenkins “DTF St. Louis”
-Charles Melton “Beef”
-Nick Offerman “Death by Lightning”

Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or TV Movie

-Linda Cardellini “DTF St. Louis”
-Dakota Fanning “All Her Fault”
-Laurie Metcalf “Monster: The Ed Gein Story”
-Joy Sunday “DTF: St. Louis”
-Youn Yuh-jung “Beef”
-Constance Zimmer “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette”

The 2026 Primetime Emmy Awards will be held on Monday, September 14 at 8 p.m. on NBC and Peacock. The ceremony will be hosted by “Law and Order: SVU” star Mariska Hargitay. Hmm, don’t know her comedy chops, so that is indeed an interesting choice.