No one can stop “The Pitt.” It’s over. It’s fini. It will win the Drama Series Emmys category for the second straight year. The bigger question is which series will fill the other seven slots. Especially with four of last year’s nominees, “Andor,” “The Last of Us,” “Severance,” and “The White Lotus” ineligible for 2026.
The easiest picks are critics’ new favorite, Apple TV’s “Pluribus,” and Netflix’s “The Diplomat,” which cracked the field in 2025 for its second season. In theory, Hulu’s hit thriller “Paradise” should also make the cut. And, assuming Television Academy members haven’t gotten tired of it, Apple TV’s “Slow Horses” is in the mix. At that point, are HBO shows battling it out for the remaining three slots?
“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” earned huge ratings and a passionate fanbase for a different perspective of George R.R. Martin’s Westeros. “Task” was another big HBO Max hit this fall, but it didn’t crack any of the three major guild honors. “The Gilded Age” earned a nomination in 2024 for its second season, but will the summer series get lost this time around? And what about Prime Video’s “Fallout,” a streaming monster that was also recognized in 2024?
Then there’s the wildcard of all wildcards, “Euphoria.” The Sam Levinson melodrama earned a nomination for its second season in 2022. In the four years since, the melodrama has had a ton of bad press, and Levinson spearheaded one of HBO’s biggest ratings disappointments in years, 2023’s “The Idol.”
Other shows hoping to crack the expected eight-nominee field are “The Handmaid’s Tale” spin-off “The Testaments” (better reviews and viewership than many expected), HBO’s “Industry” (continues to percolate), FX’s spectacular “Alien: Earth” (also snubbed by all three major guilds), Apple TV’s “The Morning Show” (nominated in 2023), and Paramount+’s “Landman” (a surprise SAG Actor Awards ensemble player), and breakout hit, “The Madison.”
April 30, 2026
Locks
“The Pitt”
“Pluribus”
“The Diplomat”
Almost There
“Paradise”
“Task”
“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”
“Slow Horses”
“The Gilded Age”
“Fallout”
Who Knows
“Euphoria”
Longshots
“The Testaments”
“Alien: Earth”
“The Morning Show”
“Landman”
“Stranger Things”
“The Madison”
“Industry”
“It: Welcome to Derry”
Follow Gregory Ellwood on Bluesky
Follow Gregory Ellwood on Threads
Follow Gregory Ellwood on Instagram
Follow Gregory Ellwood on TikTok
Sign Up For The Breakdown Newsletter
