Widow’s Bay leads all new shows with 19 Emmy nominations
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Apple TV's horror-comedy series Widow's Bay has emerged as the standout newcomer of the 2026 Emmy Awards, securing 19 nominations — more than any other new show this year. The achievement underlines Apple's growing reputation not just for prestige science fiction but for genre television more broadly, and reinforces the wider dominance of streaming services across this year's awards.
The show, which follows a Jaws-style mayor attempting to turn his haunted island town into the next Martha's Vineyard, earned recognition across writing, directing and acting, with creator Katie Dipold, director Hiro Murai, and actors Matthew Rhys and Kate O'Flynn all nominated. Its 19 nominations narrowly beat fellow Apple TV series Pluribus, which received 18. In terms of overall studio tallies, HBO Max led with 122 nominations, followed by Netflix on 111 and Apple third on 87, while HBO Max's The Pitt topped all individual shows with 26 nominations.
- Widow's Bay tops all new shows with 19 Emmy nominations.
- It narrowly beat Apple's Pluribus, which earned 18.
- HBO Max led studios with 122 noms; The Pitt topped shows with 26.
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Widow's Bay is an Apple TV horror-comedy about a small-town mayor trying to turn his haunted island into a glossy holiday destination, in the vein of Jaws. It has become the most-nominated new show at the 2026 Emmy Awards, drawing recognition for its writing, directing and acting, including nods for creator Katie Dipold, director Hiro Murai, and stars Matthew Rhys and Kate O'Flynn.
The Emmys are the television industry's leading US awards, handed out annually to recognise achievement across drama, comedy and other categories. A high nomination count for a debut series is notable because it signals strong early industry regard, and can shape a show's profile and future awards chances.
The result also reflects a broader shift in television, with streaming services increasingly dominating the nominations that were once led by traditional broadcast and cable networks. Apple, HBO Max and Netflix all received large numbers of nominations this year, underlining how central streaming platforms have become to prestige television.
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Originally published by Engadget as “Apple’s Widow’s Bay has the most Emmy noms of any new show this year”.