By Lynn Venhaus
Will it be “The Pitt” or “Pluribus”? “DTF St. Louis” or “Beef”? “Hacks or Widow’s Bay”? The 78^th Annual Emmy Awards are on Monday on NBC starting at 7 p.m.

Mariska Hargitay will be the host. Expert a tribute to Dolly Parton. Nineteen awards will be presented. The night could have surprises, so it’s never easy to predict.

Among the records that could be broken, Jean Smart (“Hacks”) or Alison Janney (“The Diplomat”) could tie the all-time record for the most Emmys won by a performer (8 wins), which is jointly held by Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Smart could also set a record by winning the Lead Actress In A Comedy Series for every season of her show – first perfect 5-for-5 ever.

Zendaya (“Euphoria”) could set a record as the youngest actress, and the first Black actress, to win three Emmys in the Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series category.

“The Pitt” has 25 nominations, and has already won 4 – including Ernest Harden Jr., who was wonderful as frequent patient Louie Cloverfield, as Guest Actor in a Drama.

“Paradise” star Shailene Woodley won for guest actress in a drama series. Her storyline was terrific. “Paradise” is up for 7, including St. Louis’ own Sterling K. Brown.

In the previous Emmy ceremonies last weekend, previously known as the Creative Awards Emmys, “Widow’s Bay,” Apple TV’s freshman show, won 8 – including Betty Gilpin in the origin story as Guest Actress in a Comedy. The show also picked up casting for a comedy series, music supervision, cinematography for a series (half hour), sound mixing for a comedy or drama series (half hour) and animation, sound editing for a comedy or drama series (half hour) and animation, music composition for a series (original dramatic score) and production design for a narrative program (half hour). Whew!

What about Kate O’Flynn supporting actress?
What a great cast. If Stephen Root wins – or his competition Harrison Ford for “Shrinking” – they will break Henry Winkler’s record for oldest winner in supporting actor in comedy – Ford is 84 and Root is 74, and Winkler was 72 in 2018 (for his wonderful portrayal of the acting teacher on “Barry.”)

“Widow’s Bay” could break the record for the most wins by a comedy series in a single year at the Emmys as well as the record for the most wins by a comedy series for its first season — the current record is held by “The Studio” (with 13 wins in 2025).

Hiro Murai (“Widow’s Bay”) could become the first Asian director to win in the Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series category.

Other big hauls for Apple included “Pluribus” with four wins.

In the limited series category, “DTF St. Louis” has won six already – for directing, writing and supporting performances by David Harbour and Linda Cardellini as the Smerniches.

Wonder if they will mention the most emotional moment of the evening last week when the late Rob Reiner won the comedy guest actor Emmy, posthumously, for his role on “The Bear”?

“The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny” won 7, including a win for the singer, outstanding choreography for variety or reality programming, outstanding production design for a variety special Bruce Rodgers), outstanding music direction and outstanding variety special (live).

It may be a big night for Stephen Colbert. His “Late Show” has already won 5 – for writing and for the finale.

As expected, “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” for hair, makeup and costumes. Will Michelle Pfeiffer win as Elle Fanning’s mom? She was not nominated for “The Madison” (I thought she would.)

Host Hargitay’s moving documentary about her mother, actress Jayne Mansfield, “My Mom Jayne,” won two – for outstanding documentary and direction.

Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel won Best Game Show Host for , who won for “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”). “

Sabrina Carpenter is now halfway to EGOT winning an Emmy in the outstanding variety special (pre-recorded) for “The Muppet Show.” Carpenter is created as an executive producer and performer for the series. Seth Rogen also took home his fifth Emmy award for his work as an executive producer.

Again, “The Traitors” dominated in the reality category. Alan Cumming won his fifth Emmy for outstanding host for a reality or reality competition program. Oscar winner Octavia Spencer won for outstanding narration for the docuseries “Lost Women of Alaska” (HBO Max). And Netflix’s “Love on a Spectrum” took home three Emmys.

Julie Andrews won her fourth Emmy, landing the award in the character voice-over performance category. This was her second win in the category. The first time around, Andrews made history as the oldest woman ever to win at age 89, and now she’s 90.

Comedy Central’s “South Park” won the animated program Emmy for the first time since 2013, thanks to its episode “Sermon On The ‘Mount.”

Prime Video’s “Spider-Noir” took home five Emmys just days after learning that the show had been canceled and wouldn’t return for a second season. Despite that unfortunate news, the series won for stunt performance, sound editing for a comedy or drama series (one hour), title design, special visual effects in a single episode and cinematography for a series (one hour).

More possible records:
Julianne Nicholson (“Paradise”) could become only the third actress to ever win acting Emmys in drama, comedy & limited series/TV movie categories, joining Merrit Wever and Cloris Leachman.

RuPaul could extend his record as the Black artist with the most Emmys won — he has won 14 Emmys and he is nominated for one more award in 2026 as a producer of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” in the Outstanding Reality Competition Program category.

Sally Field (“Remarkably Bright Creatures”) could become the oldest winner in the Outstanding Lead Actress In A Limited Series Or Anthology Series Or TV Movie category. The record is currently held by Jessica Tandy, who was 79 years, 2 months old when she won in 1988 for “Foxfire”; Field will be 79 years, 10 months old at the time of the 2026 Emmys ceremony.

Here are the categories tonight:
1. Outstanding Comedy Series
2. Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series
3. Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series
4. Outstanding Drama Series
5. Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series
6. Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series
7. Outstanding Lead Actor In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie
8. Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series
9. Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series
10. Outstanding Lead Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie
11. Outstanding Limited Or Anthology Series
12. Outstanding Reality Competition Program
13. Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series
14. Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series
15. Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series
16. Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series
17. Outstanding Variety Series
18. Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series
19. Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series

And if you ponder to the Emmys drive audiences for viewership of nominated shows? Yes, yes, it does.

According to a Roku study, after last year’s Emmys, search for the 2025 winners in comedy, drama and limited series bumped up 330% in the week after the ceremony.

“The way people discover television has changed dramatically, but award recognition continues to have a meaningful influence on what viewers seek out,” said Roku head of analytics and insights Jon Merkin, who shares his results in a blog post out today. “That impact extends far beyond the ceremony itself. A nomination or win – dubbed the ‘Emmy Effect’ – can give a show an entirely new moment, helping viewers discover great television they may have otherwise missed when it premiered.”

This year, the 2026 Emmy noms triggered a 56% increase in search volume for limited/anthology titles (naturally, the biggest increase since those are all new programs), a 23% search bump for drama nominees and 19% jump for comedies.

Among specific titles, Netflix’s “The Beast In Me” and Peacock’s “All Her Fault” saw search increase by 76%. That was followed by HBO Max’s “Hacks” (up 65%), Netflix’s “Beef” (up 54%) and Netflix’s “The Diplomat” (up 53%).

Wins can help even more: Roku reports that after their 2025 wins, Netflix’s “Adolescence” saw searches increase 14x, while Apple TV’s “The Studio” grew 5.7x and HBO Max’s “The Pitt” increased 2.8x. Roku looked especially at how “The Studio” received what it essentially deems a “second premiere event” after the win, as search for the show in the week after its win was 81% higher than what it was the week of its original premiere.

Also, Roku notes that search changed by region after the Emmy success of a show like “Adolescence,” which saw search grow in Midwestern and Southeastern states after it won limited/anthology series last year.

As for this year’s nominated series, for a full year’s Roku search volume between September 2025 and August 2026, ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” led in comedy, followed by Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” and FX’s “The Bear.”

In drama, HBO Max’s “The Pitt” led in searches, followed by Hulu’s “Paradise” and Apple TV’s “Pluribus.” And in limited/anthology, Peacock’s “All Her Fault” led, followed by FX’s “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette” and then HBO Max’s “DTF St. Louis.”

“Awards season remains an important discovery moment because it gives viewers a decisive signal of quality as they navigate an enormous amount of great television,” Merkin said. “The ceremony may be one night, but its influence plays out in proactive discovery long after the awards are handed out.”