Another year, another record?
The past six years have seen the Emmy benchmark for comedy climb higher and higher. Schitt’s Creek won nine trophies in 2020, a single-year record at the time that was soon bested twice by The Bear — 10 wins in 2023, 11 wins in 2024 — followed by the massive 13-trophy haul for The Studio last year. Widow’s Bay could blow all of them out of the water.
Apple TV’s quirky horror show earned 19 Emmy nominations, the most this year for a first-season comedy. However, due to its two supporting actress bids and three picture editing nods, Widow’s Bay is actually competing in just 16 categories. That means it can only stand to lose one or two races if it hopes to set a new record of 14 or more Emmy wins for a comedy. (Drama Shōgun remains the single-season Emmy leader with 18 wins.)
Let’s take a closer look at the show’s 16 categories at the 2026 Emmys. Winner odds are based on the Gold Derby predictions from experts at leading media outlets.
BEST COMEDY SERIES
Primetime Emmy Awards 2026
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Only Murders in the Building
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Margo’s Got Money Troubles
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With Widow’s Bay, showrunner Katie Dippold achieved the unthinkable: she made a series about a haunted island that requires human sacrifices actually funny. The show has been on the rise in recent weeks, buoyed by strong word of mouth, a successful Comic-Con appearance, and last-minute campaigning by Apple TV. It’s now the No. 1 choice among our experts to win Best Comedy Series, with 56% predicting its victory — surpassing longtime front-runner Hacks at 44%.
BEST COMEDY ACTOR
Primetime Emmy Awards 2026
Matthew Rhys plays Tom Loftis, the mayor of the titular island town who faces deadly fog, a haunted hotel, and even a zombie during the first season’s 10 episodes. This lineup isn’t really even a race, as every single expert predicts Rhys to win, giving him perfect 100% odds. Fun fact: Rhys could claim three Emmys this year as he’s also a producer on Widow’s Bay and a lead actor on The Beast in Me.
BEST COMEDY SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Primetime Emmy Awards 2026
Dale Dickey (Rosemary) and Kate O’Flynn (Patricia Moyer) are both nominated here, so there’s a risk of vote-splitting. Dickey is a beloved veteran who’s worked with many people in the Television Academy during her decades on the screen. O’Flynn is a British theater actress experiencing her first big TV hit in the United States. O’Flynn currently has the edge in the experts’ predictions at 65%, with runner-up Hannah Einbinder for Hacks coming in at 30% to win this category for the second consecutive time.
BEST COMEDY SUPPORTING ACTOR
Primetime Emmy Awards 2026
Stephen Root (Wyck Crawford) is a former Emmy nominee for Barry who’s now within striking distance of winning his first career trophy. He’s in second place at 24%, with his main competition being living legend Harrison Ford for Shrinking at 65%. Last year proved that Ford was vulnerable at the Emmys when Jeff Hiller for Somebody Somewhere staged a come-from-behind victory; can Root now do the same?
BEST COMEDY DIRECTING
Primetime Emmy Awards 2026
The pilot episode, aptly titled “Welcome to Widow’s Bay,” is out front to win for directing with a 69% chance. It’s directed by Hiro Murai, an 11-time Emmy nominee who previously won for producing The Bear. First-season comedies often win directing, including The Studio last year, The Bear in 2023, Hacks in 2021, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in 2018. Meanwhile, the emotional Hacks series finale from director Lucia Aniello is in the No. 2 position to claim this trophy.
BEST COMEDY WRITING
Primetime Emmy Awards 2026
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Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat
For writing, the Hacks series finale is currently tied with the Widow’s Bay pilot, so this category could go either way. The former is penned by co-showrunners Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky, who won this contest in 2021 and 2024. Katie Dippold wrote the latter and would follow in the footsteps of other solo female winners including Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary) in 2022, Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) in 2019, Amy Sherman-Palladino (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) in 2018, and Tina Fey (30 Rock) in 2008.
BEST COMEDY GUEST ACTRESS
Creative Arts Emmy Awards 2026
Betty Gilpin (Sarah Westcott Warren) has a 33% chance of claiming victory here, with her strongest rival being Kaitlin Olson for Hacks at 58%. Interestingly, Hacks has five guest actresses nominated (Olson, Cherry Jones, Laurie Metcalf, Leslie Bibb, and Lauren Weedman), so they could all split the vote and open up the door for someone like Gilpin, a three-time nominee for GLOW, to finally persevere.
BEST COMEDY GUEST ACTOR
Creative Arts Emmy Awards 2026
Hamish Linklater (Richard Warren) is in third place with 17%, behind two Hollywood icons: Michael J. Fox for Shrinking at 58% and the late Rob Reiner for The Bear at 25%. This is Linklater’s first career Emmy nomination, and he clearly made an impression on voters thanks to his key role as the town’s zombified founder.
CRAFT CATEGORIES
Creative Arts Emmy Awards 2026
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Only Murders in the Building
The remaining eight categories are all considered “below-the-line” as they come in the various aritsan fields and will be presented at the Creative Arts ceremonies. It’s easy to imagine Widow’s Bay cleaning up in these races against its rival half-hour comedies, thanks to the fact that the show is so visually stimulating and pleasing to the ear. The craft nominees are:
- Best Casting
- Best Cinematography (“Our History”)
- Best Music Composition (“Our History”)
- Best Music Supervision (“Beach Reads”)
- Best Picture Editing x3 (“Our History,” “Welcome to Widow’s Bay,” “What To Expect On Your Trip”)
- Best Production Design (“Lodging”)
- Best Sound Editing (“What To Expect On Your Trip”)
- Best Sound Mixing (“What To Expect On Your Trip”)
Find out who wins when the Creative Arts Emmys take place Sept. 5–6 and the Primetime ceremony airs Sept. 14.
