Before Emmy Night’s Biggest Prizes, ‘The Pitt,’ ‘Hacks’ and ‘Pluribus’ Face a Deeper Test
By Ayesha Butt — The Changer
LOS ANGELES: Television’s biggest Emmy winners will not be determined solely by the stars walking onto the main stage on September 14. More than a week earlier, the industry’s less glamorous categories are providing another measure of which shows have developed the deepest creative strength — rewarding the casting, editing, sound, makeup, production design and other crafts that construct television’s most celebrated programmes.
The second night of the early Emmy ceremonies takes place Sunday at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, with The Pitt, Hacks and Pluribus among shows positioned to collect multiple trophies. The Television Academy is staging the 78th Emmy Awards across September 5, 6 and 14, with the first two nights covering many artistic and technical categories before the major televised ceremony. The September 5 and 6 ceremonies will later be combined for a September 12 broadcast on FXX.
For The Pitt, the weekend represents an unusually broad test of whether its success has become institutional rather than merely popular. The HBO Max medical drama leads the 2026 drama field with 25 nominations, including recognition spanning acting, writing, directing, casting, editing, sound, makeup and production design. Noah Wyle alone received nominations for acting, directing and producing.
That breadth matters because The Pitt is no longer arriving as an untested newcomer. Television Academy records show it won Outstanding Drama Series in 2025, alongside wins for Wyle, Katherine LaNasa, Shawn Hatosy and its casting team. Its 2026 nominations therefore amount to a test of whether the show’s first awards breakthrough can develop into sustained Emmy dominance rather than a one-season surge.
Hacks enters from a different position: longevity has not reduced its awards momentum. The Television Academy says its 24 nominations this year establish a new record for the most nominations received by a comedy in a single year, surpassing the previous mark of 23 shared by The Studio and The Bear. Its nominations range from major acting and writing categories to cinematography, editing, production design, costumes, casting and original music.
That makes the early ceremonies especially revealing. A show can dominate public discussion through performances or writing, but repeated nominations across technical departments demonstrate something different: depth across the production itself. A large early haul can therefore establish momentum before Outstanding Drama, Comedy and the major acting trophies are awarded on the final night.
Pluribus, meanwhile, provides the newer challenger in that equation. Its presence among Sunday’s prominent contenders illustrates how quickly a newer series can enter television’s awards establishment when recognition extends beyond headline performances into the crafts behind the programme. Sunday’s ceremony includes acting and production categories capable of giving it significant recognition before the main broadcast.
There is also a structural change hidden inside this year’s presentation. What audiences traditionally knew as the Creative Arts Emmys are being presented as the first two nights of the 78th Emmy Awards, followed by the September 14 ceremony. The Academy’s schedule effectively places technical and artistic achievement inside the same three-night Emmy framework rather than treating those awards merely as an appendix to television’s star-driven night.
That is why Sunday’s results will matter beyond the raw trophy count. The Pitt is trying to demonstrate that its initial breakthrough has become durable; Hacks has already established a comedy nomination record; and newer contenders such as Pluribus are trying to convert creative acclaim into institutional recognition.
The first real verdict on television’s 2026 hierarchy may therefore arrive before the biggest Emmy categories are opened. The early awards measure something the main ceremony can obscure: not simply which series has the biggest star or best headline performance, but which has built the deepest creative operation behind the screen.