The Television Academy has officially announced the nominations for the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, and Apple TV has secured its most dominant showing in company history. Pushing past its previous company record of 79 nods, Apple captured a staggering 87 television nominations (89 total including commercial categories), locking in its place as an elite creative powerhouse.
The historic haul firmly places Apple TV as the third most-nominated network/platform of the year, trailing only heavyweights HBO Max (122 nominations) and Netflix (111 nominations). Most impressively, Apple achieved this milestone by leading all major streamers in pure comedy and drama categories, anchored heavily by an incredibly strong freshman class of programming.
Freshmen Phenoms Set the Pace
While industry forecasters anticipated a strong showing for veteran series, it was Apple’s rookie lineup that stole the spotlight. The horror-comedy sensation Widow’s Bay led the pack for Apple with 19 nominations, second overall in the comedy field only to the final season of HBO Max’s Hacks. Fronted by Matthew Rhys, who secured an Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series nomination, the series also yielded stellar supporting nods for Stephen Root, Dale Dickey, and Kate O’Flynn.
Right behind it was Vince Gilligan’s sci-fi thriller Pluribus, which achieved a spectacular 18 nominations. Its lone lead cast member, Rhea Seehorn, is already being pegged by awards prognosticators as the absolute frontrunner for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
Apple TV Excels in Major Series Categories
Apple TV demonstrated unprecedented breadth, successfully landing multiple contenders in both the premier Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Comedy Series brackets:
Outstanding Comedy Series Contenders:
• Widow’s Bay (19 nominations)
• Shrinking (9 nominations — including a Lead Actor nod for Jason Segel and a Supporting Actor nod for Hollywood icon Harrison Ford)
• Margo’s Got Money Troubles (Featuring Lead Actress nominee Elle Fanning and Supporting Actress nominee Michelle Pfeiffer)
Outstanding Drama Series Contenders:
• Pluribus (18 nominations)
• Slow Horses (9 nominations — including Gary Oldman for Lead Actor and Jack Lowden for Supporting Actor)
• Your Friends & Neighbors
A New Era of Streaming Prominence
The absence of last year’s heavy-hitters like The Studio left a competitive vacuum that Apple filled masterfully. Veteran spy-caper Slow Horses continued its consistent prestige run, securing a well-deserved Outstanding Drama Series spot along with a Lead Actor nod for Gary Oldman. Meanwhile, newcomers like Margo’s Got Money Troubles made an immediate splash, proving that Apple’s talent-first pipeline is operating like a well-oiled machine.
With the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards broadcast set for Sunday, September 14 on NBC (hosted by Mariska Hargitay), Apple TV heads into the fall with maximum momentum, establishing that its combination of high-concept prestige dramas and accessible comedy hits is an unbeatable formula.
MacDailyNews Take: Congratulations to all of the casts and crews of the nominated Apple TV fare! Full list of nominees here.
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