2026's Emmy Nominations Expose the Awards’ Biggest Problem

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Published Jul 10, 2026, 11:59 PM EDT

Erin Konrad's love for everything entertainment dates back to elementary school when she became obsessed with classic Hollywood musicals. When she's not catching up on all her favorite television shows, she's advising her friends and family on what they should binge watch next.

She has her Bachelor's degree in Journalism and a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. Creating content for Collider gives her the opportunity to combine her writing skills with her passion for television and movies. She spends her free time trying to beat her personal record of reading 137 books in a year and cuddling with her dog, Gracie.

The 78th Emmy Award nominations were announced this week. There were several exciting nominations this year, including HBO's Hacks breaking the record for the most nominations for a comedy in a single year. Several actors, including Matthew Rhys, Colman Domingo, Nick Offerman, and Laurie Metcalf, all snagged double nominations. Movingly, the Television Academy also gave a posthumous nomination to the late Rob Reiner for his performance in the final season of The Bear. But in reviewing the overall list of nominees, it quickly became apparent that just a few shows are dominating certain categories, and it's a clear indication that the Emmys may need a significant rule change.

Several Shows Are Dominating the 2026 Emmys' Acting Categories

In recent years at the Emmys, popular series like Succession and The White Lotus have taken up nearly every spot in the acting categories. If you scanned the list of nominations, it almost looked like those were the only two shows released that particular year. It hasn't just been happening in the Drama category; comedies like The Bear and The Studio have also made up the bulk of nominations. In 2026, Emmy voters seem to be falling into the same trap.

It's not surprising that The Pitt nabbed the title of most-nominated show this year, but what's more frustrating is that the series fills nearly the entire Supporting Actress category, for instance, with four of the seven nominations coming from the hit medical drama. Supporting Actor also has three spots filled by cast members from The Pitt. The same goes for DTF St. Louis, which earned three nominations out of the six Limited Series Supporting Actor slots. Hacks did have an incredible final season, but is it actually fair for the show to take up five of the seven slots in the Guest Actress in a Comedy category? That's not to say these actors weren't truly astounding to watch, but by submitting so many names from each show, the studios are chancing that these actors will cancel each other out when it comes time to vote.

The Emmys Need a New Rule Limiting Actor Nominations Per Category

At this point, it's obvious that the Emmys need to institute a rule change restricting series to a specific number of actors per category. Currently, nominations end up feeling exclusive and unfair. There are so many performances from last year that truly deserve recognition, but were shut out because of more buzzworthy shows taking over. Ethan Hawke, Peter Dinklage, and Keith David all offered fantastic performances in Hulu's The Lowdown, while the transcendent, heartbreaking Emilia Jones was shockingly missing from Task's nominees. What about Lucy Halliday, who gave a nuanced performance in The Testaments, or Ashley Padilla, who is single-handedly making Saturday Night Live watchable right now?

The Emmys are also facing a disappointing decline in representation of actors of color. Out of 91 actors, only 18 people of color were nominated this year, which is depressingly even lower than in 2025. Perhaps limiting nominees per show could have allowed one of the stellar actors from AMC's criminally underrated Dark Winds or the brilliant Myha'la from HBO's Industry to snag a spot. By sticking to the status quo, the Emmys are missing the opportunity to shine a light on lesser-known talents.

The Emmys still have a chance to rectify this problem, especially because shows like The Pitt and 19-time-nominated Widow's Bay are likely only going to continue churning out stellar seasons. The cream of the crop of talent must be recognized, but the race would be so much more exciting if there were more variety within each category. If the Emmys want to keep up with the changing times and still honor the best performances, the Television Academy needs to limit how many actors from a series can be nominated in each category, and that needs to happen before 2027 rolls around.

The Emmy Awards will air on Monday, September 14, on ABC or via streaming on Peacock in the U.S.