2026 Emmy Predictions: The TV Cave Picks the Winners in the Biggest Categories

The biggest night in television is almost here, which means it’s time to make some predictions.

The 78th Emmy Awards will hand out television’s biggest prizes on Monday, September 14, with plenty of competitive races across drama, comedy and limited series. The Pitt is looking for another big night, Hacks remains a major comedy contender, and shows including Pluribus, DTF St. Louis, The Comeback and Margo’s Got Money Troubles could shake things up.

Rather than attempt to predict every award handed out on Emmy night, The TV Cave is sticking with the categories most viewers will be watching: Outstanding Series and the lead and supporting acting races across drama, comedy and limited or anthology series.

Some of these feel like safe bets. Others could make us look very smart or very wrong by the end of the night.

Here are The TV Cave’s predictions for the 2026 Emmy Awards.

The TV Cave’s 2026 Emmy Predictions

We’re Betting on The Pitt — But Not a Sweep

The Pitt gets our vote for Outstanding Drama Series, and we’re expecting the show to have another strong night. Patrick Ball and Katherine LaNasa are also our choices in the supporting races, giving the medical drama three wins on our prediction board.

Where we’re breaking away from The Pitt is in the lead categories. Instead of Noah Wyle, we’re predicting Sterling K. Brown will take Lead Actor for Paradise. Brown has been an awards favorite for years, and his performance as Xavier Collins gives him another opportunity to remind Emmy voters why.

For Lead Actress, we’re going with Rhea Seehorn for Pluribus. Seehorn spent years delivering Emmy-worthy work without taking home the trophy for Better Call Saul, and Pluribus has given her another showcase. With Carrie Coon, Keri Russell and Zendaya among the competition, this is hardly an easy race, but we’re sticking with Seehorn.

Hacks Takes Comedy, But Lisa Kudrow Gets Her Moment

We’re predicting Hacks will take Outstanding Comedy Series, but we don’t expect it to dominate every comedy category.

One of our bigger swings comes in Lead Actor, where we’re choosing Matthew Rhys for Widow’s Bay. Rhys has long shown his ability to move between drama and comedy, and we’re betting Emmy voters respond to his latest performance.

Then there’s Lisa Kudrow. Jean Smart is always difficult to bet against, but we’re picking Kudrow for Lead Actress for her return as Valerie Cherish in The Comeback. Nearly two decades after the series first introduced Valerie, there would be something fitting about watching Kudrow finally take home an Emmy for the character.

In the supporting races, Colman Domingo gets our vote for The Four Seasons, while Michelle Pfeiffer is our choice for Margo’s Got Money Troubles.

DTF St. Louis Could Have a Very Big Night

If there’s one place where we’re putting a lot of our imaginary Emmy money, it’s DTF St. Louis. We’re predicting the series will win Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series while also taking both supporting acting categories with Jason Bateman and Linda Cardellini.

Bateman has been an Emmy favorite for years, while Cardellini has built a career out of performances that can shift between funny, heartbreaking and complicated without ever feeling forced. If Emmy voters are as high on DTF St. Louis as we think they might be, both could benefit. We’re going elsewhere in the lead categories, however. Charlie Hunnam is our prediction for Lead Actor for Monster: The Ed Gein Story, while Sally Field gets our vote for Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette.

Field is already a three-time Emmy winner, and betting against Sally Field when she has strong material has never seemed like particularly good business.

How Many Will We Get Right?

Fifteen predictions. Plenty of opportunities to brag and plenty of opportunities for this article to come back and haunt us.

Our biggest bets are on The Pitt, Hacks and DTF St. Louis, but some of the acting races are where we’re taking our biggest chances. Sterling K. Brown over Noah Wyle, Lisa Kudrow in a category with Jean Smart, and Matthew Rhys in Lead Actor could end up being some of the predictions that decide whether we look brilliant or completely missed the mark.

Either way, we’ll find out soon enough.

The 78th Emmy Awards air Monday, September 14 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on NBC and stream live and on demand on Peacock.