by FilmInk Staff
Apple’s Outstanding Comedy “Widow’s Bay” triumphs as the most decorated new comedy in Emmy history, and Apple TV leads as the most awarded network at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards
Apple TV sets record as home to the year’s most Emmy-winning series for the second consecutive year, and has its best-ever Emmy performance with 29 wins across celebrated series “Widow’s Bay,” “Pluribus,” “Slow Horses,” “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” “Palm Royale” and “Mr. Scorsese”
Less than seven years since its launch, Apple TV achieves most awarded status faster than any other streamer
Yesterday at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, Apple TV shatters records to become the most awarded network of the year, landing 29 wins overall, including Outstanding Comedy Series for “Widow’s Bay” as the breakout sensation sweeps all major categories with 14 wins in total and cements itself as the most Emmy-awarded new comedy series in history. Additionally, “Widow’s Bay” lands the most wins for a comedy series in a single season, as well as the most performance wins of any series in 2026.
In addition to Outstanding Comedy Series, “Widow’s Bay” scores with wins for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for Matthew Rhys, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Kate O’Flynn and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for Stephen Root, alongside Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for Katie Dippold and Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for Hiro Murai. Global phenomenon “Pluribus” lands Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Rhea Seehorn and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for Vince Gilligan, while acclaimed drama “Slow Horses” wins Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for Saul Metzstein.
With these wins, Apple TV reaches the status of the most Emmy-awarded network faster than any other streamer in just seven Emmy seasons, and stands as the home of the most Emmy Award-winning series for the second year in a row following last year’s win for Outstanding Comedy Series “The Studio.” Apple TV also makes history as the first and only streaming service to land back-to-back Outstanding Comedy Series awards, landing wins for four of the last six years with “Ted Lasso,” “The Studio” and “Widow’s Bay.”
Additionally, “Widow’s Bay” breaks records with the most Emmy wins for performances out of any other series this year, as director and executive producer Hiro Murai becomes the first Asian ever to win in the comedy directing category.
“Reaching milestones like these feels incredibly special for all of us at Apple, but what makes it especially meaningful is what it represents: the extraordinary storytellers we have the privilege of working alongside,” said Matt Cherniss, Apple TV’s head of programming. “There is nothing like the power of a great story to capture our imaginations, surprise us in unexpected ways, and remind us of what connects us. ‘Widow’s Bay,’ ‘Pluribus’ and ‘Slow Horses’ have done exactly that. Congratulations to all of the artists honoured and thank you to the Television Academy.”
Outstanding Comedy Series winner “Widow’s Bay” lands 14 wins, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for star and executive producer Matthew Rhys, alongside an Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series win for Kate O’Flynn and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for Stephen Root, as well as Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for Katie Dippold and Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for Hiro Murai. “Widow’s Bay” also leads with the most performer wins of any series this year. These wins are in addition to the previously announced honours for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for Betty Gilpin; Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Program (Half-Hour); Outstanding Casting for a Comedy; Outstanding Cinematography for a Series (Half-Hour); Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score); Outstanding Music Supervision; Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation; and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation.
Global hit “Pluribus” earns six wins including for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series for creator Vince Gilligan and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for star Rhea Seehorn. These are in addition to the previously announced wins for Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program (One Hour or More); Outstanding Picture Editing for a Drama; Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music; and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour). Acclaimed spy thriller “Slow Horses” lands one win for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for Saul Metzstein.
Apple’s acclaimed comedy “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” makes its Emmy debut with three previously announced wins, including Outstanding Contemporary Costumes for a Series, Outstanding Contemporary Hairstyling, and Outstanding Contemporary Makeup (Non-Prosthetic). Beloved comedy “Palm Royale” earns three Emmy Award wins, including Outstanding Choreography for Scripted Programming, Outstanding Period Costumes and Outstanding Period or Fantasy/Sci-Fi Makeup (Non-Prosthetic). Apple TV also scores two wins on the first night of the 78th Emmy Awards: Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series for “Mr. Scorsese,” and Outstanding Commercial for “I’m Not Remarkable.”
Earlier this year, Apple scored 89 Primetime Emmy Award nominations across 15 programs, leading as the network with the most nominations in the Outstanding Drama and Outstanding Comedy series categories, respectively, nabbing top program nominations for comedies “Widow’s Bay,” “Shrinking” and “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” alongside dramas “Pluribus,” “Slow Horses” and “Your Friends & Neighbours.” “Widow’s Bay” led as one of this year’s most-nominated programs with 19 nominations in total, and “Pluribus” landed 18 nominations following its global hit first season, as celebrated Apple Original “Shrinking” earned 10 nominations, “Slow Horses” was recognised with nine nominations, and “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” scored eight nominations in total. The record-breaking nominations followed Apple TV sweeping last year’s Emmy Awards with “The Studio” becoming the most winning new comedy in Emmy history and “Severance” leading as most winning drama.
Winners were announced last night by the Television Academy at the Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony on Monday, 14 September (PDT).
To date, Apple Original films, documentaries, and series have been honoured with 917 wins and 3,827 award nominations and counting, including multi-Emmy Award-winning and history-making comedies “The Studio” and “Ted Lasso”; global cultural phenomenon “Severance”; Apple’s most-viewed drama, “Pluribus”; Academy Award Best Picture winner “CODA”; and Academy Award winner “F1”, the highest-grossing sports feature of all time.
In total, Apple earned 29 wins for the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, including:
“Widow’s Bay” (14)
• Outstanding Comedy Series
• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series: Matthew Rhys
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Kate O’Flynn
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Stephen Root
• Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series: Katie Dippold
• Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series: Hiro Murai
• Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series: Betty Gilpin
• Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Program (Half-Hour)
• Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series
• Outstanding Cinematography for a Series (Half-Hour)
• Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score)
• Outstanding Music Supervision
• Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation
• Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation
“Pluribus” (6)
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series: Rhea Seehorn
• Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series: Vince Gilligan
• Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program (One Hour or More)
• Outstanding Picture Editing for a Drama Series
• Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music
• Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour)
“Margo’s Got Money Troubles” (3)
• Outstanding Contemporary Costumes for a Series
• Outstanding Contemporary Hairstyling
• Outstanding Contemporary Makeup (Non-Prosthetic)
“Slow Horses” (1)
• Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series: Saul Metzstein
“Palm Royale” (3)
• Outstanding Choreography for Scripted Programming
• Outstanding Period Costumes
• Outstanding Period or Fantasy/Sci-Fi Makeup (Non-Prosthetic)
“Mr. Scorsese” (1)
• Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series
Outstanding Commercial (1)
• “I’m Not Remarkable”: Apple
“Widow’s Bay”
Widow’s Bay is a quaint island town 40 miles off the coast of New England. But something lurks beneath the surface. Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) is desperate to revive his struggling community. There’s no Wi-Fi, spotty cellular reception, and he must contend with superstitious locals who believe their island is cursed. He wants these people to respect him. They don’t. They think he is soft and cowardly. And he is. But Loftis is determined to build a better future for his teenage son and turn the island into a tourist destination. Miraculously, he succeeds: Tourists are finally coming. Unfortunately, the locals were right. After decades of calm, the old stories that seemed too ludicrous to be true, start happening again. “Widow’s Bay” blends genuine horror with character-driven comedy.
“Pluribus”
Hailing from creator Vince Gilligan, “Pluribus” is a genre-bending original in which the most miserable person on Earth must save the world from happiness.
“Slow Horses”
This darkly funny espionage drama follows a team of British intelligence agents who serve in a dumping ground department of MI5 due to their career-ending mistakes. Led by their brilliant but irascible leader, the notorious Jackson Lamb (Academy Award winner Sir Gary Oldman), they navigate the espionage world’s smoke and mirrors to defend England from sinister forces.
“Margo’s Got Money Troubles”
“Margo’s Got Money Troubles” is a bold, heartwarming, and comedic family drama following recent college dropout and aspiring writer Margo (Elle Fanning), the daughter of an ex-Hooters waitress (Michelle Pfeiffer) and ex-pro wrestler (Nick Offerman), as she’s forced to make her way with a new baby, a mounting pile of bills, and a dwindling amount of ways to pay them.
“Palm Royale”
“Palm Royale” is a true underdog story that follows Maxine Simmons (Kristen Wiig) as she endeavours to break into Palm Beach high society. As Maxine attempts to cross that impermeable line between the haves and the have-nots, “Palm Royale” asks the same question that still baffles us today: “How much of yourself are you willing to sacrifice to get what someone else has?” Set during the powder keg year of 1969, “Palm Royale” is a testament to every outsider fighting for their chance to truly belong.
“Mr. Scorsese”
“Mr. Scorsese” is a film portrait of a man through the lens of his work, exploring the many facets of a visionary who redefined filmmaking, including his extraordinary career and unique personal history. With exclusive, unrestricted access to Martin Scorsese’s private archives, the documentary series is anchored by extensive conversations with the filmmaker himself and never-before-seen interviews with friends, family, and creative collaborators, including Robert De Niro, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mick Jagger, Robbie Robertson, Thelma Schoonmaker, Steven Spielberg, Sharon Stone, Jodie Foster, Paul Schrader, Margot Robbie, Cate Blanchett, Jay Cocks, and Rodrigo Prieto, along with his children, wife Helen Morris, and close childhood friends. From acclaimed director Rebecca Miller, “Mr. Scorsese” examines how his own colourful life experiences informed his artistic vision as each film he made stunned the world with originality. Starting with his New York University student films and continuing to the present day, this documentary explores the themes that have fascinated Scorsese and informed his work, including the place of good and evil in the fundamental nature of humankind.
All titles are currently streaming on Apple TV.
Apple TV offers premium, compelling drama and comedy series, feature films, groundbreaking documentaries, and kids and family entertainment, and is available to watch across all of a user’s favourite screens. After its launch on 1 November, 2019, Apple TV became the first all-original streaming service to launch around the world, and has premiered more original hits and received more award recognitions faster than any other streaming service in its debut.
