Fans of haunted islands, hospital crises, and murder mysteries will find plenty to enjoy at the 2026 Emmys.
Gold Derby’s official odds — which combine the predictions of experts from leading media outlets, staff editors, and thousands of users — are predicting the winners of the 19 categories that’ll be handed out at Monday’s 78th Emmy Awards.
Records are on the line as Widow’s Bay could win the most Emmys ever for a comedy series, The Pitt could become the first two-time-winning medical drama in history, and The Traitors could earn the single-year win milestone for reality shows. Other odds leaders include DTF St. Louis for Best Limited Series and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert for Best Variety Series.
Here are the final Emmy winner predictions by genre:
COMEDY
Kate O’Flynn, Stephen Root, and Matthew Rhys in ‘Widow’s Bay’Apple TV
Widow’s Bay is heading into the Primetime ceremony with eight wins under its belt already: guest actress (Betty Gilpin), casting, cinematography, music composition, music supervision, production design, sound editing, and sound mixing.
It is now eligible in six more categories: series, lead actor (Matthew Rhys), supporting actress (Kate O’Flynn and Dale Dickey), supporting actor (Stephen Root), directing, and writing. If it wins them all, its total of 14 would beat the single-year comedy record set by The Studio last year.
Jean Smart is predicted to win her fifth straight Emmy for Hacks and her eighth trophy overall, which would tie the all-time performer record shared by Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. At 74, she would also extend her own milestone as the oldest woman to win Best Comedy Actress. And Best Comedy Supporting Actor front-runners Harrison Ford (Shrinking), age 84, and Root, age 74, are both looking to squash their category’s age record, which was set by then-72-year-old Henry Winkler (Barry).
Predicted winner for Best Comedy Series:Widow’s Bay
Primetime Emmy Awards 2026
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Margo’s Got Money Troubles
6.
Only Murders in the Building
7.
8.
Predicted winner for Best Comedy Actress: Jean Smart (Hacks)
Primetime Emmy Awards 2026
Predicted winner for Best Comedy Actor: Matthew Rhys (Widow’s Bay)
Primetime Emmy Awards 2026
Predicted winner for Best Comedy Supporting Actress: Kate O’Flynn (Widow’s Bay)
Primetime Emmy Awards 2026
Predicted winner for Best Comedy Supporting Actor: Harrison Ford (Shrinking)
Primetime Emmy Awards 2026
Predicted winner for Best Comedy Directing: “Welcome to Widow’s Bay” (Widow’s Bay)
Primetime Emmy Awards 2026
Predicted winner for Best Comedy Writing: “Hacks (Finale)” (Hacks)
Primetime Emmy Awards 2026
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat
DRAMA
Taylor Dearden, Katherine LaNasa, Noah Wyle in ‘The Pitt’Warrick Page/HBO Max
Throughout Emmy history, no medical series has won Best Drama Series twice … until now? (ER and Marcus Welby, M.D. both won the top prize once.) The Pitt has been the overwhelming favorite all season after winning last year and exploding in nominations for Season 2.
The HBO Max show claimed four trophies over the weekend: guest actor (Ernest Harden Jr.), casting, music & lyrics (“Need Someone”), and prosthetic makeup. It’s now eligible in six more categories, but its overlapping bids in supporting actress, supporting actor, and writing could negatively affect its chances.
Rhea Seehorn is out front to win Best Drama Actress for Pluribus after the Vince Gilligan show claimed four Emmys last weekend: main title theme music, picture editing, production design, and sound mixing. And multi-hyphenate Noah Wyle is the front-runner to take home two Emmys as an actor and producer on The Pitt, and could even win a third as a director.
Predicted winner for Best Drama Series:The Pitt
Primetime Emmy Awards 2026
1.
2.
3.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
4.
5.
6.
7.
Your Friends and Neighbors
8.
Predicted winner for Best Drama Actress: Rhea Seehorn (Pluribus)
Primetime Emmy Awards 2026
Predicted winner for Best Drama Actor: Noah Wyle (The Pitt)
Primetime Emmy Awards 2026
Predicted winner for Best Drama Supporting Actress: Katherine LaNasa (The Pitt)
Primetime Emmy Awards 2026
Predicted winner for Best Drama Supporting Actor: Patrick Ball (The Pitt)
Primetime Emmy Awards 2026
Predicted winner for Best Drama Directing: “We Is Us” (Pluribus)
Primetime Emmy Awards 2026
Predicted winner for Best Drama Writing: “We Is Us” (Pluribus)
Primetime Emmy Awards 2026
LIMITED/MOVIE
Jason Bateman and David Harbour in ‘DTF St. Louis’HBO
DTF St. Louis is the limited series to beat after taking home key statuettes over the weekend for supporting acting (Linda Cardellini and David Harbour), and writing and directing (Steven Conrad). Fun fact: 2007 was the last time a limited series/movie won directing and writing (Prime Suspect: The Final Act) but failed to win the top series prize (Broken Trail).
Meanwhile, Season 2 of Beef is expected to walk away with both lead-acting contests for Carey Mulligan and Oscar Isaac. That would echo Season 1’s victories for Ali Wong and Steven Yeun three years ago.
Predicted winner for Best Limited Series:DTF St. Louis
Primetime Emmy Awards 2026
Predicted winner for Best Limited/Movie Actress: Carey Mulligan (Beef)
Primetime Emmy Awards 2026
Predicted winner for Best Limited/Movie Actor: Oscar Isaac (Beef)
Primetime Emmy Awards 2026
VARIETY
Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, and Jimmy Fallon on ‘The Late Show’Scott Kowalchyk/CBS
For the first time, Best Variety Series has been classified as an “area award,” meaning all nominees who receive 90% “yes” votes from Television Academy members will earn Emmys. The Late Show With Stephen Colbert is currently the only one predicted to win, but it’s possible the odds aren’t reflecting the actuality of the unique circumstances. Also in the running are The Daily Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, and Saturday Night Live.
Predicted winner(s) for Best Variety Series: Only The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
Primetime Emmy Awards 2026
1.
2.
Primetime Emmy Awards 2026
1.
2.
Primetime Emmy Awards 2026
1.
2.
Primetime Emmy Awards 2026
1.
2.
Primetime Emmy Awards 2026
1.
2.
REALITY
Alan Cumming in ‘The Traitors’Peacock
With six Emmy wins last weekend — host (Alan Cumming), directing, cinematography, costumes, picture editing, and production design — The Traitors has tied RuPaul’s Drag Race‘s single-year reality record, set in 2020. Best Competition Program is still to be named, and our odds rather expectedly give the edge to The Traitors to win trophy No. 7.
Predicted winner for Best Competition Series:The Traitors
Primetime Emmy Awards 2026
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star Mariska Hargitay, who just won two Emmys for producing and directing My Mom Mayne, hosts the NBC ceremony on Monday night from the Peacock Theatre.
