Apple TV achieves Emmy record: 87 nominations

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Apple TV has garnered a record 87 Emmy nominations this year – more than in any other year in the company's history. The record is led by two relatively new series, while last year's big winners weren't even eligible to compete.

The Television Academy has announced the nominations for the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards – and for Apple TV, it's its strongest showing since the service launched. With 87 nominations, the streaming service significantly surpasses its previous best of 79 from last year. This success follows a string of award wins that has been building for months: Apple TV already garnered six nominations at the Gotham Television Awards for Pluribus, Margo's Got Money Troubles, and the documentary series Mr. Scorsese. The Emmy nominations now mark the current high point of this run.

The context behind the record number

With 87 nominations, Apple TV lands in third place in the platform rankings – behind HBO Max (122) and Netflix (111). What makes this number even more impressive is that Apple led all streaming services in the pure comedy and drama categories, placing three series in each of these top categories. Competing for Best Drama Series are Pluribus, Slow Horses, and Your Friends & Neighbors, while Margo's Got Money Troubles, Shrinking, and Widow's Bay are in the running for Best Comedy Series.

Measured by audience share, this is a remarkable result. According to monthly Nielsen surveys, Apple TV has never even reached one percent of total US television viewing – yet it ranks ahead of networks and services with a significantly larger reach in the nominations.

Widow's Bay and Pluribus at the top

The summer hit Widow's Bay, a horror-comedy starring Matthew Rhys, garnered the most nominations with 19. Following closely behind with 18 nominations is the dystopian sci-fi drama Pluribus from Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, which earned Rhea Seehorn a nomination for Best Actress. Both series premiered in 2026 – thus dominating the majority of Apple's nominations.

Established titles are also represented: Slow Horses with Gary Oldman, the comedy hit Shrinking with Jason Segel and Harrison Ford, as well as The Morning Show and Your Friends & Neighbors with Jon Hamm. Further nominations in the technical categories for music, sound, and editing include titles such as Murderbot, Mr. Scorsese, and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.

A record without last year's winners

The number is particularly striking when considering who is missing this time around. The two major hit series that earned Apple TV a record 22 Emmys last year – Severance and The Studio – were ineligible this cycle because no new episodes aired during the nomination period. That Apple still surpasses the nomination record is almost entirely due to a strong lineup of new productions. The streaming service is therefore less dependent on individual flagship shows than previous years might have suggested.

These nominated series are airing in Germany

For German-speaking audiences, this record is more than just a US footnote: all six of the most nominated series are Apple Originals and therefore available in Germany as well. For €9.99 per month, you can watch all six directly in the Apple TV app and at tv.apple.com – in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland alike.

Two titles have different German titles: Slow Horses is released as "Slow Horses – Ein Fall für Jackson Lamb" (Slow Horses – A Case for Jackson Lamb), and the tragicomedy Margo's Got Money Troubles with Elle Fanning is released as "Only Margo". Pluribus, Widow's Bay, Shrinking, Your Friends & Neighbors, and The Morning Show retain their original English titles.

When the winners will be announced

The main ceremony of the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards will take place on Monday, September 14, 2026, and will be hosted by Mariska Hargitay. The Creative Arts Emmys, which cover the more technical categories, will be awarded on the evenings of September 5 and 6. For the first time this year, the Television Academy announced all nominations together, instead of announcing the main and Creative Arts categories separately, to allow studios to launch their advertising campaigns earlier.

Apple's prestige strategy is paying off

The record number of nominations confirms a course Apple TV has consistently pursued since its launch: high-quality original productions rather than quantity. The fact that the most recent cohort – led by Widow's Bay and Pluribus – surpassed the previous record shows that this strategy isn't dependent on just a few star hits. In competition with the far more widely viewed services HBO Max and Netflix, Apple remains a serious contender at the critical level – and enters the fall TV season with maximum momentum. (Image: Apple)