There is no major Emmy category more up in the air than the 2026 Limited or Anthology Series race. So much so that when the Emmy nominations are announced on July 8, “upsets” could abound. One show that is very likely to make the cut is the second season of Netflix’s “Beef.” The acclaimed anthology series should earn a ton of Emmy nominations, but unlike previous Netflix champs “Baby Reindeer” and “Adolescence,” its hold on the trophy is tenuous. The Lee Sung Jin drama earned rave reviews, but even Netflix’s own metrics have it with significantly fewer views than you’d expect. Can that change in the weeks ahead? Can word of mouth take hold? We’ll see.
Two other Netflix contenders are in the mix, “The Beast in Me,” which was a streaming viewership smash, and “Death by Lightning,” which earned several year-end guild honors and led all Gotham Television Awards-nominated programs with four noms. Netflix could also make the field with the prestige adaptation of “Lord of the Flies,” as well as “Black Rabbit,” “Monster: The Ed Gein Story,” and “His and Hers.” You would assume the latter three are long shots, but they were also big hits for the streamer, and the Television Academy, like SAG, continues to demonstrate it watches and rewards a lot of Netflix content you might not expect.
Also looking to crack the five-nominee field is Prime Video’s “Bait” (one of the most well-reviewed programs across the board this calendar year) and Richard Gadd’s “Reindeer” follow-up, “Half Man.” Two other streaming hits, Peacock’s “All Her Fault” and FX’s “Love Story,” are hoping to make waves as well. Could HBO’s “DTF St. Louis” and Hulu’s “Murdaugh: Death in the Family” surprise? I mean, sure? This category may be more about name recognition than anything else this time around.
April 30, 2026
Locks
“Beef”
“The Beast in Me”
Almost There
“Death by Lightning”
“Half Man”
“All Her Fault”
“Love Story”
“Bait”
“Lord of the Flies”
Longshots
“DTF St. Louis”
“Black Rabbit”
“Monster: The Ed Gein Story”
“His and Hers”
“Murdaugh: Death in the Family”
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