Continuing to prove that the Television Academy’s eligibility rules are outdated, the Crave Original and HBO Max pickup “Heated Rivalry” won the coveted Program of the Year honor from the 2026 Television Critics Association Awards. A nice recogonition no doubt, as the Jacob Tierney series begins production on season two this week. Arguaby the bigger TCA Awards winner was Apple TV standout “Widow’s Bay” which took three honors including Outstanding Achievement in Comedy, Outstanding New Program and Individual Achievement in Comedy for Kate O’Flynn.
READ MORE: “Widow’s Bay” Review: Just Enough Intrigue To Keep Special Apple TV Island Mystery Series Starring Matthew Rhys And Stephen Root Afloat
HBO Max’s “The Pitt” took Outstanding Achievement in Drama for the second straight year while “The Traitors” won Outstanding Achievement in Reality for the third. Netflix’s “Death by Lightning,” which was snubbed in the Limited or Anthology Series by Emmy voters, took the Outstanding Movies, Miniseries or Specials category. “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” won Outstanding Variety, Talk or Sketch after CBS pulled the plug on the long-running talk show in May.
Rhea Seehorn won Individual Achievement in Drama for “Pluribus” and “Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical” took Outstanding Achievement in Children’s Programming giving Apple TV a network leading five wins overall. Disney+’s “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” won Outstanding Achievement in Familly Programming and Netflix’s “Long Story Short” took the inugural Outstanding Achievement in Animation category. “Squid Game” won Outstanding International Series giving Netflix two wins overall.
Last but not least, Outstanding Achievement in News and Information went to PBS’ “The American Revolution.”
The over 220 TCA members also honored Stephen Colbert with the Career Achievement Award and seminal sketch show “In Living Color” with the Heritage Award.
The TCA Awards have not had an in-person ceremony since 2024. It’s unclear if that will return anytime soon.
This year’s nominees and winners are as follows:
Program of the Year
“The Comeback” — HBO Max
“Hacks” — HBO Max
“Heated Rivalry” — Crave/HBO Max – ***WINNER***
“Industry” — HBO Max
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” — CBS
“The Pitt” — HBO Max (2025 Winner)
“Pluribus” — Apple TV
“Shrinking” — Apple TV
“Widow’s Bay” — Apple TV
Outstanding Achievement in Comedy
“Abbott Elementary” — ABC (2022 Winner)
“The Comeback” — HBO Max
“The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins” — NBC
“Hacks” — HBO Max (2024 Winner)
“The Comeback” — HBO Max
“Hacks” — HBO Max
“The Lowdown” — FX
“Margo’s Got Money Troubles” — Apple TV
“Shrinking” — Apple TV
“Widow’s Bay” — Apple TV – ***WINNER***
Outstanding Achievement in Drama
“The Gilded Age” — HBO Max
“Heated Rivalry” — Crave/HBO Max
“Industry” — HBO Max
“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” — HBO Max
“Paradise” — Hulu
“The Pitt” — HBO Max (2025 Winner) – ***WINNER***
“Pluribus” — Apple TV
“Task” — HBO Max
Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries or Specials
“All Her Fault” — Peacock
“The Beast in Me” — Netflix
“Beef” — Netflix (2023 Winner)
“Death by Lightning”— Netflix – ***WINNER***
“DTF St. Louis” — HBO Max
“Half Man” — HBO Max
“Lord of the Flies”— Netflix
“Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette” — FX
Outstanding New Program
“Alien: Earth” — FX
“The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins” — NBC
“Heated Rivalry” — Crave/HBO Max
“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” — HBO Max
“The Lowdown” — FX
“Margo’s Got Money Troubles” — Apple TV
“Pluribus” — Apple TV
“Widow’s Bay” — Apple TV – ***WINNER***
Individual Achievement in Drama
Marisa Abela, “Industry” — HBO Max
Sterling K. Brown, “Paradise” — Hulu
David Harbour, “DTF St. Louis” — HBO Max
Katherine LaNasa, “The Pitt” — HBO Max
Ken Leung, “Industry” — HBO Max
Myha’la, “Industry” — HBO Max
Rhea Seehorn, “Pluribus” — Apple TV – ***WINNER***
Connor Storrie, “Heated Rivalry” — Crave/HBO Max
Hudson Williams, “Heated Rivalry” — Crave/HBO Max
Noah Wyle, “The Pitt” — HBO Max (2025 Winner)
Individual Achievement in Comedy
Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks” — HBO Max
Elle Fanning, “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” — Apple TV
Harrison Ford, “Shrinking” — Apple TV
Lisa Kudrow, “The Comeback” — HBO Max
Kate O’Flynn, “Widow’s Bay” — Apple TV – ***WINNER***
Matthew Rhys, “Widow’s Bay” — Apple TV
Jean Smart, “Hacks” — HBO Max (2021, 2024 Winner)
Tim Robinson, “The Chair Company” — HBO Max
Outstanding Achievement in News and Information
“60 Minutes” — CBS (2012 Winner)
“The American Revolution” — PBS – ***WINNER***
“CBS This Morning” — CBS
“Disneyland Handcrafted” — Disney+
“Frontline” — PBS (Eight-time Winner in Category)
“Have I Got News For You” — CNN
“Marty, Life Is Short” — Netflix
“Mr. Scorsese” — Apple TV
Outstanding Achievement in Variety, Talk or Sketch
“The Daily Show” — Comedy Central
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” — ABC
“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” — HBO Max (2018, 2019, 2021 Winner)
“Late Night with Seth Meyers” — NBC
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” — CBS – ***WINNER***
“The Muppet Show: Sabrina Carpenter” — Disney+
“Saturday Night Live” — NBC
Outstanding Achievement in Reality
“Couples Therapy” — Showtime/Paramount+ (2021 Winner)
“Finding Mr. Christmas” — Hallmark
“The Great British Baking Show” — Netflix
“Love on the Spectrum” — Netflix
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” — MTV (2014 Winner)
“Survivor” — CBS
“Top Chef” — Bravo
“The Traitors” — Peacock (2024, 2025 Winner) – ***WINNER***
Outstanding Achievement in Family Programming
“Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Animation” — Disney+
“Electric Bloom” — Disney+/Disney Channel
“Percy Jackson and the Olympians” — Disney+/Hulu – ***WINNER***
“Phineas and Ferb” — Disney+/Disney Channel
“Stranger Things: Tales from ‘85” — Netflix
“Vampirina: Teenage Vampire” — Disney+/Disney Channel
“Wizards Beyond Waverly Place” — Disney+/Disney Channel
“WondLa” — Apple TV
Outstanding Achievement in Children’s Programming
“Carl the Collector” — PBS KIDS
“The First Snow of Fraggle Rock” — Apple TV
“Mickey Mouse Clubhouse+” — Disney+/Disney Jr.
“Phoebe & Jay” — PBS KIDS
“Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical” — Apple TV – ***WINNER***
“Sofia the First: Royal Magic” — Disney+/Disney Jr.
“Weather Hunters” — PBS KIDS
“The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball” — Hulu
Outstanding Achievement in Animation – New Category
“Bob’s Burgers” — Fox
“Haunted Hotel” — Netflix
“Invincible” — Prime Video
“King of the Hill” — Hulu
“Long Story Short” — Netflix – ***WINNER***
“The Simpsons” — Fox
“South Park” — Comedy Central
“Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord” — Disney+
“Women Wearing Shoulder Pads” — Adult Swim
Outstanding International Series – New Category
“The Boyfriend” — Netflix
“Crime Scene Zero” — Netflix
“Drops of God” — Apple TV
“The House of the Spirits” — Prime Video
“Last Samurai Standing” — Netflix
“Squid Game” — Netflix – ***WINNER***
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Editor-at-Large Gregory Ellwood is one of the entertainment industry's most respected journalists and critics. Based in Los Angeles, he's the only current awards expert who previously worked on Oscar campaigns at a major movie studio. Over the years, he has written for the LA Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Vox, among others. He also co-founded the entertainment news site HitFix, which spawned a legion of influential Emmy and WGA Award-winning alumni.
