Saturday, September 12, 2026

'Widow's Bay' wins 8 Emmys and could win up to 6 more

I closed 'PBS NewsHour' on 9/11 25 years later by telling my readers, "Stay tuned for more Emmy Awards coverage. Tragedy today, comedy tomorrow." I begin by sharing 78th Emmys Nominations: Comedy Series from the Television Academy.

The nominees for Outstanding Comedy Series are Abbott Elementary, The Bear, Hacks, Margo's Got Money Troubles, Nobody Wants This, Only Murders In The Building, Shrinking and Widow's Bay.
Widow's Bay was the big winner Sunday night, taking home eight Emmys. It also has seven nominations at next Monday's Primetime Emmy Awards, tying it with Hacks, which only earned one Emmy on Sunday. Abbott Elementary follows with six pending nominations but no wins, then Shrinking with five nominations, Margo's Got Money Troubles with four nominations pending and three wins, The Bear with three nominations and one win, Only Murders in the Building with two nominations, and Nobody Wants This with only this one.

Gold Derby's prognosticators reacted to Widow's Bay's Creative Arts Emmy Awards eight wins the same way they did to DTF St. Louis winning six Emmy Awards, elevating it over the prior favorite, Hacks. The latest odds have improved 26% for Widow's Bay while they've dropped 24% for Hacks, as 87.0% of experts, 70.0% of editors, and 65.8% of users are now voting for Widow's Bay, while 13.0% of experts. 30.0% of editors, and 32.7% of users are sticking with Hacks. The remaining 1.5% of users have made long-shot bets on the rest of the nominees, 0.4% each for Abbott Elementary and The Bear (lo, how the mighty have fallen!), 0.3% each for Margo's Got Money Troubles and Only Murders in the Building, and 0.1% for Nobody Wants This. No one picked poor Shrinking.

The next category in Gold Derby order is 78th Emmys Nominations: Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

The nominees for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series are Quinta Brunson, Ayo Edebiri, Elle Fanning, Lisa Kudrow and Jean Smart.
Meanwhile, the Gold Derby odds have actually improved for Jean Smart by 2% this week as every editor, 91.7% of experts, and 92.1% of users expect she will repeat for her final turn at the role. Speaking of final turns, the remaining 8.3% of experts along with 5.6% chose Lisa Kudrow for her final season of The Comeback. The rest of the users distributed their picks among Saturn Award winner Elle Fanning with 1.4%, Quinta Brunson with 0.8%, and Ayo Edebiri with 0.2%.

The last category that the Television Academy uploaded a video for is 78th Emmys Nominations: Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.

The nominees for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series are Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Steve Carell, Matthew Rhys, Jason Segel, and Martin Short.
On the other hand, the odds for Matthew Rhys increased 2% this week as every editor and expert along with 95.5% of users expect he will walk away from the podium with his second Emmy (he's likely to get a third for the show as a producer). Martin Short is the users' second choice with 3.0%, followed by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Jason Segal tied at 0.6%, then Steve Carell with the final 0.3%.


The Gold Derby odds for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series had been close until Sunday, but that night's results caused Kate O'Flynn to fly high above Hannah Einbeinder, as O'Flynn's chances rose 16%, while Einbeinder's dropped 14% and Janelle James' odds sank 2% with hers. O'Flynn is now the choice of 83.3% of experts, 60.0% of editors and 74.3% of users, while Einbeinder retains 12.5% of experts, 30.0% of editors, and 21.7% of users. James has the remaining 4.2% of experts plus 2.5% of users. Professional and user opinion splits on the rest of the field, as the last 10.0% of experts but only 0.4% of users decided Dale Dickey deserves the Emmy, while 1.1% of users made Michelle Pfeiffer their choice. No one is picking Megan Stalter or Jessica Williams.


Harrison Ford's odds dropped 8% this week pulling Paul W. Downs 3% with him while Stephen Root's chances rose 11%. Even so, Ford still leads with the support of 58.3% of experts, 20.0% of editors, and 57.2% of users, while Root is gaining as the choice of 80.0% of editors, 25.0% of experts, and 33.9% of users. Gold Derby's editors really like Widow's Bay. Downs' chances depend on retaining 12.5% of experts and 4.7% of users. Professionals and amateurs diverge on fourth on the odds, as 4.2% of experts but only 0.4% of users count Colman Domingo in, while 3.1% of users opt for Nick Offerman. Tyler James Williams' chances also fell 1% this week as he now has the votes of 0.5% of users, while Michael Urie retains the support of 0.1% of users.

Those are all the nominees in front of the camera. Follow over the jump for all the nominees behind the camera and the winners on Sunday night.

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
  • Abbott Elementary: "Ballgame" – Randall Einhorn (ABC)
  • The Bear: "Bears" – Christopher Storer (FX)
  • The Chair Company: "Life goes by too f**king fast, it really does." – Andrew DeYoung (HBO)
  • Hacks: "Hacks" – Lucia Aniello (HBO Max)
  • The Ms. Pat Show: "Give It Arrest" – Mary Lou Belli (BET+)
  • Widow's Bay: "Welcome to Widow's Bay!" – Hiro Murai (Apple TV)
    • Despite my using the image for Lucia Aniello of Hacks, she's in second in Gold Derby's odds behind Hiro Murai of Widow's Bay, whose chances rose 13% this week while Aniello's fell 12%. Muri is the choice of 92.0% of experts, 90.0% of editors, and 83.5% of users while Aniello retains 8.0% of experts, 10.0% of editors, and 15.4% of users. The rest of the nominees have 0.1-0.6% users support each.
    Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
    • Abbott Elementary: "Team Building" – Quinta Brunson (ABC)
    • The Chair Company: "Life goes by too f**king fast, it really does." – Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin (HBO)
    • The Comeback: "Valerie Does It All" – Michael Patrick King and Lisa Kudrow (HBO)
    • Hacks: "Hacks" – Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky (HBO Max)
    • Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat: "Mergers and Acquisitions" – Anthony King (Prime Video)
    • Widow's Bay: "Welcome to Widow's Bay!" – Katie Dippold (Apple TV)
    Hacks' odds fell 6% but the show still leads, barely, as the choice of 52.0% of experts, 30.0% of editors, and 76.7% of users while Widow's Bay rose 6% but still sits in a close second with 48.0% of experts, 70.0% of editors, and 20.9% of users. I told you, the editors love Widow's Bay. The rest of the nominees have between 1.4% and 0.2% of users choosing them.


    The Twitter/X graphic above lists the eight Emmy Awards Widow's Bay won Sunday. I'm embedding the video for one of them, Guest Actress in a Comedy Series: 78th Emmy Awards.

    Betty Gilpin accepts the Emmy for Guest Actress in a Comedy Series at the 78th Emmy Awards.
    Wow! I think more winners should write poems for their acceptance speeches!

    That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned for The Pitt and other drama nominees tomorrow as the Sunday entertainment feature.

    Previous posts about the 2026 Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards
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