Widow’s Bay leads 2026 Emmy night two with 8 wins as Betty Gilpin earns first Emmy

Widow’s Bay emerged as the biggest winner on night two of the 78th Emmy Awards, collecting eight trophies as Apple TV’s horror comedy converted its breakout first season into a major awards showing. Betty Gilpin also earned the first Emmy of her career for her guest performance as Sarah Westcott Warren.

The Television Academy confirmed that Widow’s Bay led Sunday’s ceremony with eight wins. DTF St. Louis followed with six, Spider-Noir took five, and both The Pitt and Pluribus collected four. The results came during the second of three nights making up the 2026 Emmy Awards.

AP reported that Widow’s Bay topped the night while several acting categories produced notable firsts and career milestones. The main Emmy telecast is still to come on September 14, so Sunday’s results represent the craft, guest performance and selected scripted categories presented ahead of the televised ceremony.

2026 Emmy night two biggest winners

Program	Wins	Notable results
Widow’s Bay	8	Betty Gilpin plus casting, production design, sound, cinematography and music wins
DTF St. Louis	6	David Harbour and Linda Cardellini won supporting acting awards
Spider-Noir	5	Wins included cinematography, title design, visual effects and stunts
The Pitt	4	Ernest Harden Jr. won guest actor in a drama series
Pluribus	4	Wins included main title theme, production design, editing and sound mixing

Widow’s Bay turns a breakout debut into an eight-Emmy night

Widow’s Bay entered the awards season as one of 2026’s most closely watched new comedies after receiving 19 nominations. On Sunday, it won across both performance and craft categories, a spread that showed support for the series beyond a single department.

According to the Television Academy recap, the show won for guest actress, casting, production design, sound editing, sound mixing, cinematography, music supervision and music composition. That made it the night’s most awarded program.

The result also gives Apple TV momentum before the September 14 ceremony, where Widow’s Bay remains nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series and other major categories. The show’s 19 nominations made it the most nominated new program in the comedy field this year.

Betty Gilpin wins her first Emmy for Widow’s Bay

Gilpin won Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for playing Sarah Westcott Warren, a character at the center of a flashback episode that expands the history behind the island’s supernatural mystery.

Yahoo Entertainment reported that the award was Gilpin’s first Emmy win. She had previously been nominated three times for her supporting performance as Debbie Eagan in Netflix’s GLOW.

Gilpin’s victory came in a crowded category that also included Leslie Bibb, Jamie Lee Curtis, Cherry Jones, Laurie Metcalf, Kaitlin Olson and Lauren Weedman. Her win added an acting prize to a night in which Widow’s Bay was already dominating technical categories.

DTF St. Louis follows with six wins

HBO’s DTF St. Louis finished second on the night with six Emmys. David Harbour and Linda Cardellini won the supporting actor and supporting actress awards for a limited or anthology series or movie, while creator Steve Conrad won for both writing and directing.

The series also won for picture editing and cinematography. Its six-award total put it just behind Widow’s Bay and established it as one of the strongest limited-series performers heading into the final Emmy ceremony.

The Pitt and Pluribus each collect four

The Pitt added four Emmys to its awards haul. Ernest Harden Jr. won Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his performance as Louie Cloverfield, while the medical drama also won for casting, prosthetic makeup, and music and lyrics for the song ‘Need Someone.’

The Television Academy’s official page for The Pitt lists the HBO Max drama among the year’s most heavily nominated programs. It entered the season with 25 nominations, the most of any series in 2026.

Apple TV’s Pluribus also took four awards, winning for main title theme music, production design, picture editing and sound mixing. The drama entered the Emmy race with 18 nominations and remains one of Apple’s leading contenders at the final telecast.

Rob Reiner receives a posthumous Emmy for The Bear

One of the night’s most notable individual results came in Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, where the late Rob Reiner won for his performance in The Bear. The Television Academy included Reiner among Sunday’s acting winners, adding a posthumous honor to a career that spanned television, film, acting and directing.

Shailene Woodley won guest actress in a drama series for Paradise, while Ernest Harden Jr. took the corresponding guest actor award for The Pitt. Together with Gilpin’s win, the acting categories gave the night several high-profile individual moments alongside the craft awards.

Spider-Noir takes five craft Emmys

Spider-Noir finished with five awards, all in craft categories. The series won for cinematography, stunt coordination for a comedy, main title design, special visual effects and sound editing. The haul placed it third among Sunday’s programs by total wins.

I Love Lucy receives the first Legacy Award

The ceremony also introduced the Television Academy’s new Legacy Award, created to recognize a program with a lasting generational impact on television and popular culture. I Love Lucy, which marks its 75th anniversary this year, became the inaugural recipient.

The Television Academy said the award honors shows that remain relevant to audiences, culture and the television industry long after their original run.

When is the main 2026 Emmy Awards ceremony?

The 78th Emmy Awards conclude on Monday, September 14, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The ceremony will air live on NBC at 8 p.m. ET and 5 p.m. PT and stream on Peacock. Mariska Hargitay is hosting.

The September 5 and 6 ceremonies will be edited into a separate broadcast airing on FXX on September 12 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, with streaming availability on Hulu the following day. That means several of the biggest series still have major acting and program categories left to be decided.

What the night means before the final Emmys ceremony

Sunday’s results gave Widow’s Bay the clearest early momentum, but they do not determine how the major series and lead acting races will finish on September 14. Craft awards can signal broad support for a show, yet the final ceremony uses separate categories and voting outcomes.

For now, Widow’s Bay leaves night two with the largest haul, Betty Gilpin has her first Emmy, DTF St. Louis has a six-award showing, and The Pitt and Pluribus each head into the final ceremony with four additional wins already secured.