On the evening of September 14th local time, the 78th U.S. Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony concluded at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. “Widow’s Cove,” “Pittsburgh Paramedics” and “DTF St. Louis Diary” won the best drama series in the comedy, drama and limited series/anthology categories respectively. In particular, “Widow’s Cove” led the list of this year’s Emmy Awards winners with 14 awards and broke many records.
“The Incredible Hulk” Mark Ruffalo (left), Zendaya (center), and Tom Holland bump into each other at the Emmy Awards.
This year’s red carpet was still star-studded, with almost all nominees in attendance. “Spider-Man” Tom Holland accompanied his beloved wife Zendaya, who was nominated for Best Actress in a Drama Series for “Euphoria”; in addition, Mark Ruffalo, Florence Pugh and many other film actors also came to support. Even pop queen Taylor Swift appeared in a live skit, partnering with host Mariska Hargitay to star in a spin-off of the American drama “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”
The Emmy Awards aired a sketch starring Taylor Swift and this year’s host Mariska Hargitay.
In the comedy category, “Widow’s Cove”, which will premiere in April 2026, won six awards including Best Drama Series, Best Actor (Matthew Rhys), Best Supporting Actor (Stephen Root), Best Supporting Actress (Kate O’Flynn), and Best Director (Hiro Murai). Including creative arts awards, this dark comedy horror series won a total of 14 awards, setting the best record for a new drama in the history of the Emmy Awards. At the same time, Hiroshi Murai also became the first Asian to win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Director in a Comedy Series. With the outstanding performance of “Widow’s Bay”, Apple TV+ also led the way with 28 awards, becoming the best-performing broadcast platform at this year’s Emmy Awards.
Stills from “Widow’s Cove”. Matthew Rhys (center), Stephen Root (left), and Kate O’Flynn (right) all won Emmy Awards.
What’s more worth mentioning is that Matthew Rhys not only won the Best Actor in a Comedy category for “Widow’s Cove”, but also won the Best Actor in the limited series/anthology category this year for “The Beast in My Heart”. Including the Best Actor in a Drama Series he won for “The Americans” in 2018, it equals a grand slam in three major drama categories, making him the first person in the history of the Emmy Awards.
Matthew Rhys won two awards for Best Actor in a Comedy and Limited Series/Anthology Series.
When speaking on stage, the actor from Wales, in addition to expressing his gratitude to his family and colleagues who participated in the creation, also paid special tribute to “those great and outstanding Welsh people”. “They, like anyone else, are the force that nourishes and cultivates this land. We are a small but powerful people.” An extremely powerful nation. This is really unbelievable.” Thinking that on the same day as the award, the leaders of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland had just signed a joint memorandum of understanding demanding the right to hold an independence referendum, Matthew Rhys’s speech was even more meaningful.
“Writer” star Jean Smart has set a record for winning awards every season of the same show.
At this year’s Emmy Awards, Matthew Rhys was not the only actor to break records. Jane Smart won the Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series for the fifth time for “Desperate Writers,” setting a record for an actor to win the award in every season of the same series. At the same time, Jane Smart, who has accumulated eight awards, has also become the actor with the most awards at the Emmy Awards, tied with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Klaus Litman.
Rhea Seehorn won the award for Best Actress in a Drama Series for “The Rejoicers.”
In the drama category, “Pittsburgh” (Season 2), which led the way with 25 nominations, won 6 awards including Best Drama Series and Best Actor (Noah Wyle), achieving consecutive wins in these two awards. Rhea Seehorn, the star of “The Intolerance”, won the Best Actress Award, which can be regarded as making up for the regret that she missed the Best Supporting Actress Award twice on the set of “Better Call Saul”, which had poor awards luck.
In terms of limited series/anthology series, “DTF St. Louis Diaries”, which tells the story of a middle-aged love triangle, was the biggest winner, winning 5 awards including Best Drama Series, Best Supporting Actor (David Harbour), and Best Supporting Actress (Linda Cardellini).
List of major award winners:
【Drama】
Best TV Series: “Pittsburgh’s Paramedics”
Best Actor: Noah Wyle, “Pittsburgh Paramedics”
Best Actress: Rhea Seehorn, “The Rejoicers”
Best Supporting Actor: Tom Palfrey, “The Squad”
Best Supporting Actress: Allison Janney, “The Diplomat”
Best Director: Saul Metstein, “The Blighted Man”
Best Screenplay: Vince Gilligan, “The Rejoicers”
【Comedy】
Best Drama Series: “Widow’s Cove”
Best Actor: Matthew Rhys, “Widow’s Cove”
Best Actress: Jean Smart, “Desperate Writer”
Best Supporting Actor: Stephen Root, “Widow’s Cove”
Best Supporting Actress: Kate O’Flynn, “Widow’s Cove”
Best Director: Hiroshi Murai, “Widow’s Cove”
Best Screenplay: Cady Dippold, “Widow’s Cove”
[Limited series/Anthology series/TV movie]
Best TV Series: “DTF St. Louis Diaries”
Best TV Movie: “Lucky Has Eight Tentacles”
Best Actor: Matthew Rhys, “The Beast in My Heart”
Best Actress: Sally Field, “Lucky Has Eight Tentacles”
Best Supporting Actor: David Harbour, “DTF St. Louis Diaries”
Best Supporting Actress: Linda Cardellini, “DTF St. Louis Diary”
Best Director: Steve Conrad “DTF St. Louis Diary”
