The Emmy Awards will be held Sept. 14, 2026, and broadcast on NBC and Peacock, although some winners have already been announced. AmNews readers may remember that last year, in an effort to be your friendly neighborhood guide to television achievement (or in some cases, underachievement), I ranked the nominees, from my least favorite to my most favorite, in four marquee categories: outstanding television movie, limited series, comedy series, and drama series.
This year, rather than weigh in on all 26 entries, I now present Dubious Distinctions — some notable features of this year’s nominees that may not otherwise get recognized, but will help you make discerning choices.
Most inexplicably overlooked: “A Man on the Inside”(Zero nominations) and “Industry” (Zero nominations)
It’s baffling how both of these series have been consistently ignored by the Emmys.
Granted, “A Man on the Inside” (Ted Danson is an amateur detective investigating low-stakes crimes) can be pretty saccharine at times, but productions like “Ted Lasso,” “Shrinking” and “The Good Place” have already proven that shows that are sweet and harmless can also be smart and poignant. Not only is it refreshing to see a quality comedy that focuses on the lives of older people, but Ted Danson continues to prove his versatility and impeccable comic timing.
In the meantime, if you’ve never worked in the world of finance and investment banking, chances are you won’t understand a word anyone is saying in “Industry.” But who needs decipherable language when you’ve got Masters of the Universe cannibalizing each other, and juicy storylines generously soaked in sex, drugs, and endless backstabbing. The intensity level in “Industry” starts at eleven and works its way up, and the latest season starts to get a bit sloppy drunk on its own thrills, but the performances by Myha’la, Ken Leung, and Marisa Abela will keep you shamelessly riveted and entertained.
Hardest to kill: “Only Murders in the Building” (5 nominations)
What started off as a whimsical comic murder mystery set in an Upper West Side apartment building has now in season 6 spread to London like a bad case of Yankee COVID. I was willing to indulge the silly sleuthing antics of Martin Short, Steve Martin, and Selena Gomez for the first couple of seasons, especially when it poked fun at true crime podcasting, but as I suffered through jokes and plot lines that became more hackneyed with each successive season, I was forced to cry “no mas.”
Most maddeningly miscategorized: “The Bear” (8 nominations)
Few will argue that “The Bear” is an often breathtaking dissection of the Michelin-star restaurant ethos, the obsessive spirit that leads to great culinary accomplishments and self destruction.
And for those who have soured on Season 4, take solace in the fact that this year’s Emmys are considering Season 3. But “The Bear’s” inclusion in the comedy category feels increasingly disingenuous. What’s the strategy here? Submit “The Bear” as a comedy because it will have an easier time winning? And what I wrote last year holds true today: “Comedy is, at best, a side-hustle technique in ‘The Bear.’ Yes, there are times when ‘The Bear’ is trying to make you laugh or employs dark humor, but the predominant goal is to make you keep ALL of your emotional responses on high alert — to empathize, to cry, to be anxious, to feel.”
Most fetishized lead performance: “Hacks” (24 nominations)
Jean Smart is an undeniably accomplished actor, but her diva character in “Hacks” is tedious as hell. Smart’s four consecutive awards (when “Hacks” was eligible) for “Outstanding Lead Actress In a Comedy Series” feels more like a lifetime achievement award stuck on repeat rather than the acknowledgement of superior artistry. A more accomplished comic performance than Quinta Brunson, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph or Ayo Edebiri every year since 2022? Yeah, right. I guess I should learn to expect less from a category that once nominated Selena Gomez for “Only Murders in the Building.”
Most prophetically named series: “Nobody Wants This” (2 nominations)
Nobody can deny the chemistry between Kristen Bell and Adam Brody, who play a gentile and rabbi who find love in a world that ain’t feelin’ it. And anyone can appreciate the clever comedic writing and smart performances from the likes of supporting actors, Timothy Simons and Justine Lupe. But why would someone allow writer Erin Foster to create a politically avoidant romcom that is composed of strikingly stereotypical and cartoonish Jewish characters and situations, especially at a time of fraught identity politics for Jews stateside and abroad? Somebody, anybody, should have said “no.”
Most deserving of a Mark Twain special jury prize: “Abbott Elementary” (7 nominations)
I will keep screaming this from the rooftop: Nothing tackles urban American public education with more grace and wit than “Abbott Elementary.” What is particularly sly is its racial perspective which pokes fun at white wokeism and Black altruism with a lovingly gentle touch. As a network show, “Abbott Elementary” is forced to churn out two dozen episodes per season, so the humor can sometimes sag, but never has a more finely tuned ensemble stepped onto a sitcom set. In the end, “Abbott Elementary” is a joyfully spirited mockumentary saturated with respect for faculty and students alike. It ekes out hope for Black people operating in a hopeless system.
Most likely that no Black family could get away with this: “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” (8 nominations)
“Margo’s Got Money Troubles” is a soul-warming portrait of a family of adults with huge hearts, but consistently questionable judgment. “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” softens the sharp, social pariah edges of drug abuse, child endangerment, assault, sex work, the gig economy, and poor white trash and somehow produces an effectively wholesome comedic romp. It’s a reminder of what fellow members of the human race can look like when viewed with true empathy.
Highest jump of the shark: “Paradise” (11 nominations)
Compared to the most enthralling post-apocalyptic productions of the last decade — namely “The Walking Dead,” “The Leftovers,” “Station Eleven,” “The Last of Us,” “Silo,” “Pluribus” — “Paradise” is a pretender to the throne. What left the gate as a questionable premise — thousands of survivors of a nuclear holocaust are living comfortably in a city-sized underground bunker that perfectly simulates the bright outdoors — has settled into a confused, wandering mess now venturing into time travel. Part of the collateral damage is Sterling K. Brown, one of the most powerful talents in the game, who is reduced to being a one-note, stone-faced crusader. Thank goodness for Season Two’s Shailene Woodley, a diamond in a mine filled with fool’s gold.
Most overhyped: “The Pitt” (25 nominations)
Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch is one of the most complex characters you will find on television, and Noah Wyle’s performance as Robby is one for the ages. But as I wrote last year, “along with cop shows, hospital dramas are one of the most abused formulas in television. No matter what urban center they’re set in, we are sure to find talented and morally high-grounded doctors, corporate suits demanding profits, and lots of people looking mighty fine in their scrubs. It’s not that I feel ‘The Pitt’ is not good, I just had a hard time finding high doses of originality, especially having watched a decent share of network hospital and ER television shows in my lifetime.”
Least buzzy: “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” (9 nominations)
It’s little wonder that you don’t hear many people talking about “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.” Any series that is a derivative of “Game of Thrones” will have a hard time living up to the standards of what I believe remains among the top three television series ever made (even when discounting for the final season). By focusing primarily on Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire, Egg, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” is much smaller, and less ambitious than GoT and there are no dragons to be found. But I suggest that you don’t sleep on this adaptation of a George R.R. Martin novella. What it loses in scale it begins to make up for in rich characters and a plot that moves like a slow-moving medieval feast on wheels. And the battle scene in the final episode is as visceral and realistic as any hand-to-hand combat scene you’re likely to find anywhere.
Biggest mixed bag: “DTF St. Louis” (13 nominations)
Although paced and structured as a murder mystery, “DTF St. Louis” is really a study in masculinity and the elasticity of conventional heterosexual love, friendship, and intimacy. Both David Harbour and Jason Bateman give tender, appropriately disorienting performances. Unfortunately, the whole is not always equal to the sum of its parts. While “DTF St. Louis” tries to explore original and complex television territory, it often feels muddled and pretentious.
Emmy category most bereft of quality: outstanding movie
To be fair, as someone who grew up during a time of linear network-only television, calling something a “made for TV movie” has always been somewhat of a slur. Still, now that the lines between big screen releases and streaming have blurred over the years, you would think that the same ecosystem that produced, say, “The Last of Us” and “Severance” in the last couple of years could muster up a decent feature-length movie.
Wrong.
A quick walk down this year’s supposedly best-of-TV-movie lane is strewn with content that ranges from mediocre to straight-up embarrassing.
“Remarkably Bright Creatures” is an unfortunate marriage of “My Octopus Teacher” and a “let’s stumble upon family secrets” afterschool special; “Heads of State,” starring Idris Elba and John Cena, is an action buddy flick barely dressed up as a behind-enemy-lines political comedy-thriller; the stars of “People We Meet on Vacation” are charming and good looking, but they can’t save this anemic romcom that expects us to believe that two people can be so utterly clueless about their mutual attraction; “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War” manages to take one of the smarter spycraft franchises, which includes “The Hunt for Red October” and “Patriot Games,” and turns it into a rote, nonsensical slog; “Miss You, Love You” at least has greater emotional ambitions than the rest of the entries, but ultimately it is a second-rate drama better suited for the stage.
The best of the best: “Pluribus”
“Pluribus” is the breakout series star of the season. As I wrote last week, “the most compelling feature of ‘Pluribus’ is the conceit at the heart of its plot: An extraterrestrial virus infects almost every human on the planet, transforming each person from an unique-minded individual to an extension of a hive mind … However, the most satisfying triumph of ‘Pluribus’ is what writer/creator Vince Gilligan does once he has gifted us this storyline. Instead of jump-scares from the ‘Living Dead’ playbook, we get a darkly funny meditation on the mechanics of being a social animal and what makes us specifically human.”
