'Widow's Bay,' Sally Field and Variety Series

Key Points:

• Apple TV's Widow’s Bay dominated the comedy categories at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, winning 14 awards including best comedy series and key acting and directing honors, despite debuting late in the eligibility period and initially flying under the radar.
• The comedy surge of Widow’s Bay is attributed to its fresh comedy/horror hybrid style aligning with current horror popularity, while longtime favorite Hacks was perceived as stale; Jean Smart of Hacks won best comedy actress, becoming the first to win an acting Emmy for every season of her show.
• HBO Max’s The Pitt led drama nominations with 25 but lost several major acting awards to shows with fewer nominees, such as HBO’s Task and Netflix’s The Diplomat, with the latter’s Allison Janney tying for the most acting Emmys in history with her eighth win.
• In limited or anthology series, HBO’s DTF St. Louis won best series and multiple supporting acting and creative awards, while Netflix’s Remarkably Bright Creatures earned best movie and a surprise best actress win for Sally Field, marking the first movie-based performance win in 14 years.
• CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was the sole winner in the best variety series category, the only one to meet the 90 percent voter approval threshold under a new "area award" system, surprising observers who expected multiple winners among strong contenders like HBO’s Last Week Tonight and NBC’s Saturday Night Live.