AWARDS HQ Bonus Edition June 11, 2026: 555 program submissions across the 14 program categories this year, down 7.5% from 600 last year.
Plus IconMichael Schneider
Variety Editor at Large
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Variety via Getty Images 
Greetings from Variety Awards Headquarters! Today is June 11, 2026, which means nominations-round voting begins TODAY; it’s then 11 days until nominations-round voting ends on June 22 at 10 p.m.; and 27 days until Emmy nominations are announced on July 8. And looking far ahead, it’s 95 days until the 78th Emmy Awards on Sept. 14 on NBC.
It all comes down to this! You’ve seen the shows (hopefully!), you’ve been to the panels, you’ve read the stories and you’ve watched the videos. Now it’s time to start marking that ballot. Choose wisely!
Meanwhile, the hottest topic of the week (besides what sleeper contender might make its way in) is the fact that the TV Academy is splitting this year’s nomination announcement into two baskets — and it’s only recently that everyone realized how much that’s going to mess with tallies on July 8. As we wrote back in December, the TV Academy’s 2026 Emmy Awards Calendar includes a new tweak to how some category nominations will be announced. The bulk of nominations for the 78th Emmys will still be revealed on Wednesday, July 8. But there are approximately 13 artisans categories that rely on peer group screening panels — and in 2026, those nominations won’t be announced until the following week, on Wednesday, July 15. But what we didn’t really think about at the time was how that means shows and platforms won’t really have their final nomination tallies until July 15. And that has everyone figuring out right now how to present the semi-tally on July 8. We have 27 days to figure it out!
In the meantime, let’s get going! SHARE YOUR BURNING EMMY OR AWARDS QUESTIONS! Leave a message on the Emmy Emergency Hotline at 323-617-9110 or email [email protected] and we will answer your question on an upcoming episode of the Awards Circuit Podcast! Emmy Voting Begins With 555 Series Entering Program Categories, Down 7.5% From Last Year 
Clayton Davis does the math:
After weeks of For Your Consideration events and nonstop campaigning from studios, voting for the 2026 Primetime Emmy Awards nominations is officially underway — and the race for this year’s Primetime Emmys is running with a smaller pack.Television Academy members opened their nominating ballots to 555 program submissions across the 14 program categories this year, down from 600 last year — a decline of 45 titles, or about 7.5%.
Each member of the Television Academy — nearly 24,000 industry professionals divided among 31 peer groups, including directors, producers and artisans — votes within their professional field, but all eligible voters may cast ballots in the 14 top program races. That includes outstanding comedy, drama, limited or anthology series, television movie, variety series, variety special (live), variety special (pre-recorded), short form (comedy/drama/variety), short form (nonfiction/reality), hosted nonfiction series, structured reality, unstructured reality, reality competition and game show.
According to Academy rules, the number of nominees in each category is determined by the volume of submissions. However, the drama and comedy series categories are guaranteed to have eight nominees each, regardless of the total number of entries.
Most of this year’s total tally erosion traces to a single category. Submissions for variety special (pre-recorded) tumbled to 66 from 89, a 23-title plunge that accounts for roughly half the year’s overall drop. The drama race contracted the most among the scripted series categories, falling to 110 from 126. Comedy bucked the trend, ticking up to 71 from 69. The limited or anthology series field slipped to 31 from 33. There will be five nominees as a result.
The variety landscape was reshaped this year. The Academy folded the former talk and scripted variety races into a single category, outstanding variety series, which drew 18 submissions — essentially flat compared with the 19 the two categories combined drew a year ago. As a result, there will be five nominees in the category.
Live variety specials, by contrast, edged up to 28 from 26.
The short-form races were among the few clear growth stories. Short form comedy, drama or variety rose to 18 from 14.
Reality told a bit of a mixed story. Reality competition slipped to 45 from 50; unstructured reality rose to 38 from 36. Hosted nonfiction dipped to 23 from 26.
Meanwhile… From Ariana Grande to Connor Storrie: Which ‘SNL’ Hosts Were Submitted for Emmys and Who Was Snubbed? 
Clayton Davis adds:
With Emmy nominations voting officially underway, the Television Academy’s ballots are offering insight into which performances could break through when nominations are unveiled on July 8.
Of the 20 stars who hosted “Saturday Night Live” during its 51st season, NBC put only 11 forward for guest comedy acting consideration — a pointed pullback from a year ago, when all 20 of the Season 50 hosts landed on the ballot. Submitted for guest comedy actor are Bad Bunny, Ryan Gosling, Harry Styles, Jack Black, Colman Domingo, Will Ferrell and Connor Storie, while the guest comedy actress race features Amy Poehler, Olivia Rodrigo, Melissa McCarthy and Ariana Grande.
The nine hosts left off the ballot were more surprising. Among the season’s biggest gets who were not submitted include Matt Damon (a former nominee for hosting in 2019), Alexander Skarsgård (featuring Ashley Padilla’s viral “Trump Mom” sketch), Glen Powell, Josh O’Connor, Finn Wolfhard and Miles Teller; along with music popstar Sabrina Carpenter, famed comedian Nikki Glaser and recent Oscar nominee Teyana Taylor (“One Battle After Another”).
And then there is the entire ballot for performers, which boasts one of the largest peer groups of the TV Academy.
Across the 17 performer categories, 1,573 submissions are in contention this year, down from 1,706 in 2025 — a decline of nearly 8%. Across the 17 acting races, Prime Video’s “The Boys” and “Saturday Night Live” each drew 28 performer submissions, the most of any series. HBO Max’s “The Pitt” follows at 24, followed by its network counterpart “Euphoria” at 23, the now cancelled “The Copenhagen Test” from Peacock at 21 and the final season of “Hacks” with 20. Other series featuring bulky performer submissions include “Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat” (19), “Only Murders in the Building” and “Tulsa King” (18) and “Fallout” (17).
According to Academy rules, the number of nominees in each category is determined by the volume of submissions, with the field expanding to a sixth lead or supporting nominee only once entries cross the 80-submission threshold. This year, all six lead acting races will produce just five nominees.
Lead drama actor holds essentially steady at 78, nearly matching last year’s 77, when 134 names crowded the ballot. Lead drama actress slipped to 63 from 75, continuing a long decline from 109 in 2023 and 114 in 2022. Lead comedy actor fell to 43, the smallest field in the category across the past five years and a steep retreat from 51 last year and the 84 logged in 2022. Lead comedy actress held nearly even at 46, down a single name from 47.
The combined limited series and movie lead races are also seeing a downward trend. Lead actor (limited) ticked up to 52 from 48 but remains well off the 97 of 2023. Lead actress dropped to 41 from 53, a far cry from the 96 in 2023.
The supporting drama categories remain the most crowded acting races, but still shows the long-term decline, which is staggering. Supporting drama actor stands at 228, roughly level with last year’s 233 yet down from a record 436 in 2022 — meaning, a loss of more than 200 submissions in four years. Supporting drama actress sits at 222, against 227 last year and 385 in 2022. The supporting comedy races are the one places of the acting ballots, where the numbers are up, despite the overall series decline.
Supporting comedy actor jumped to 185 from 163 last year and 147 in 2024, the biggest year-over-year gain anywhere on the ballot. Supporting comedy actress also rose, to 149 from 141.With a loss of 40 submissions, supporting actor in a limited series or movie tumbled to 84 from 124, the largest decline of any acting race. At the same time, supporting actress (limited) fell to 66 from 105, a 39-person plummet. They both had record highs with their 2023 totals of 209 and 177.
The guest races stay crowded and self-submission-friendly. Guest comedy actor dipped to 88 from 97, while guest comedy actress rose to 82 from 74. On the drama side of guest actor, the category was nearly steady at 84, down three from 87, while guest drama actress saw the cycle’s sharpest guest decline, falling to 51 from 77. VARIETY COVER: David Harbour Is Ready to Talk About His Mental Health, Lily Allen’s ‘West End Girl’ and the End of ‘Stranger Things’ 
Dan D’Addario writes:
Preparing to play a suburban schlub in HBO’s “DTF St. Louis,” David Harbour decided he needed to transform — slightly. “I guess it’s just part of my process,” he recalls, “because when I looked at it, it wasn’t that much bigger than myself.”
He’s referring to the prosthetic belly the production designed so that Harbour, as ASL interpreter Floyd Smernitch, could believably be Midwestern-dad pudgy. Harbour is hardly willowy — on “Stranger Things,” where he played heroic small-town police chief Jim Hopper for five seasons, his weight fluctuated, and sitting before me, he cuts an imposing figure. But Floyd carries himself with a certain dejection, and the belly helped.“It’s a little bit about the landscape of America,” Harbour says. He has just seen the new revival of “Death of a Salesman,” and recalls that Lee J. Cobb, who originated the role of Willy Loman in 1949, helped to shape the role around his large frame — his Willy complained that he was an unsuccessful salesman because of his weight.
“I’m always thinking of the archetype of the American man and the American dream.”Perhaps the point was allowing Harbour, now 51, to feel different from himself. “I don’t know that it was extremely necessary, but it helped me put on a bit of a mask. I think the facial hair does too — it allows me to liberate the true soul beneath,” Harbour says. (As we sit on the patio of an East Village coffee shop near Harbour’s Manhattan home, the actor is affably scruffy in sweatpants and beat-up sneakers.) “I don’t think I could have danced as fun and as free as I did without that belly.”
Read more here. AWARDS CIRCUIT PODCAST: ‘The Paper’ Star Domhnall Gleeson on Becoming a Folk Hero for Journalists — and the ‘Sad Aspect to It’ 
“The Paper” star Domhnall Gleeson hears a lot from journalists these days — and the frequent refrain from reporters is that they appreciate being seen as their profession struggles to maintain its foothold.
“It’s been a common theme that people who have seen the show and are involved in journalism seem to like it and seem to recognize that we care about it,” Gleeson tells Variety‘s Awards Circuit Podcast, “and that’s been a lovely kind of aspect to the whole thing.”
But sometimes it’s also a bit melancholy. Most reporters he runs into are big fans of the Peacock series — it’s just that, well, “they’re like, it’s also a sad aspect to it. You are watching the reality of it is the buildings, the various newspapers that I visited over the doing the prep, they were all now in smaller spaces than they had been. And in our show, it’s sort of exemplified with the fact that they share half of their floor with a toilet paper company.”
Gleeson spoke with the Awards Circuit Podcast about what to expect in Season 2 of “The Paper,” which just wrapped shooting, including the relationship between his character, Ned, and Chelsea Frei’s Mare. He also talks about his first time in Variety (and his early career), and takes the 10 Questions quiz.
Listen below! CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO DOMHNALL GLEESON ON THE AWARDS CIRCUIT PODCAST 10 QUESTIONS WITH DOMHNALL GLEESON:
1. Childhood nickname: “My mom called me ‘Dodo,’ but no one else. I’ve got this strange name, spelled D-O-M-H-N-A-L-L, it’s an ‘M’ but it’s not pronounced, it’s an unusual-looking name. ‘Donal Oge’ when I was in primary school, which means ‘Young Domhnall,’ since there was an older Domhnall. There’s only a couple of people in my life who have called me ‘Dodo,’ and it’s always made me feel special.”
2. Something you loved as a kid but can’t believe you were into it now: Maybe my love of Enid Blyton books. I probably loved them a bit too long.
3. Go-to Karaoke or sing-in-the-shower song: “There’s a song called “Hoarseness Is the Whatness’ by Fontaines D.C. and that was my shower song for a good long while.”
4. Give me an alternate title for your show: “‘Ned Sampson Investigates.’ No, no, ‘The Paper’ is good.”
5. What’s your secret talent?: “I can put my foot behind my head.”
6. Favorite ice cream flavor: Really good vanilla with espresso on it — an affogato.
7. The one item you couldn’t live without: “My dad gave me my grandfather’s watch on my wedding day. And I wear it, which means that there is a possibility that I will lose it at a certain point, but I would rather wear it and remember him than put it in a drawer and forget him.”
8. What TV show in all of history do you wish you were a cast member of?: “’I’m Alan Partridge.’ It’s the perfect comedy.”
9. Fictional character you most admire: “Weirdly, when I played a serial killer in ‘The Patient’ with Steve Carell, my wife says it’s was the most like the most happy I was in my work, and weirdly I feel like I identify with him a lot.”
10. Your favorite hot take: “One is that the sport snooker should be much bigger in America than it is. And also, I think people should have a party piece. It can be a song that you know from beginning to end and can sing, or a poem. So if you’re in a group and it’s late and everybody’s having a lovely time, you can go around and people will do their party piece.
”Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, produced by Michael Schneider, is your one-stop listen for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each week “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives; discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines; and much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts. New episodes post weekly. AWARDS CIRCUIT COLUMN: Can ‘Skyscraper Live’ Bring Some Variety to the Emmy Variety Categories? 
You can’t help smiling — with a slightly arched brow — at the streamers’ recent obsession with live events. Television started out as a live medium, after all — virtually all programs were live in the early, golden age of the small screen before the use of film, and then videotape, allowed for more flexibility.
Live never went away, of course, as major sports events and awards shows remained some of the most watched telecasts on broadcast TV — even now. Streaming, on the other hand, was created specifically with an on-demand mindset: Watch what you want, when you want; no time slot necessary. And yet, there’s something about viewing a spectacle at the same time as millions of others — and eventually even the streamers caught on to the concept.
And I don’t begrudge them that. Actually, it’s one of the things I’m happy to see return to the zeitgeist. As we move away from a monoculture, it’s exciting when we all still gather to watch something thrilling at the same time. For example, Netflix’s “Skyscraper Live,” featuring free solo climber Alex Honnold scaling the 1,667-foot Taipei 101 (the 11th tallest building in the world) in just an hour and 35 minutes was riveting to watch (well, when I wasn’t looking away in sheer anxiety) while joining the discourse on social media.
Producers Plimsoll Prods. and EP James Smith did a tremendous job capturing the awe-inspiring feat. In speaking to Honnold later, I got the sense that it was a piece of cake for him — this is what he does for a living, after all. But for those of us following along at home, the terror and curiosity of what might happen made for gripping TV. (Even if, honestly, things got really quiet at times as Honnold made a very clinical surge to the top.)
Read more here. AWARDS CIRCUIT PODCAST: Marc Maron on the Last-Minute Joke That Elevated His Latest HBO Special, Why He Doesn’t Miss His Podcast and How His Cats Are Doing 
Marc Maron wrapped his “WTF” podcast in October after 16 years — and so far, he says, he doesn’t really miss it.
“I don’t find myself freaking out as much,” he tells Variety‘s Awards Circuit Podcast. “I mean, it was a big haul. We did a lot of episodes. We did two new episodes a week. I was banking interviews. It was all consuming, and anytime you stop something that’s all consuming, any kind of relationship after 16 years, there’s a freedom there. I thought there would be more of a panic or more of a feeling of sadness, but that didn’t really happen.”
And although he’s shown up as a guest a few times since then on other podcasts — like this one! — Maron says he’s resisted pitches to get back behind the mic. “There were people that wanted to set me up somewhere or do a deal with the old catalog and do new stuff,” he says. “I don’t know, I don’t see that there’s anything really special about the format anymore. And I don’t see that there’s any reason to compete in the format anymore. We did a thing and the more you keep doing it when it just becomes a job, it just kind of fades away. You’d rather not be the guy that people are going, ‘Oh, is he still doing that?’”
Maron stopped by the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast to talk about his most recent HBO special, “Marc Maron: Panicked,” including how his famed cats are doing. He also reminisced about his first time in Variety — specifically, the 1995 Comedy Central talk show pilot that earned his first mention in our pages. And he took the 10 Questions survey.
Listen below! CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO MARC MARON ON THE AWARDS CIRCUIT PODCAST 10 QUESTIONS WITH MARC MARON:
1. Childhood nickname: “During PE in fifth grade at stick ball, my coach used to call me ‘Hank Maron,’ which was pretty good, because I hit a couple homers. I wouldn’t say I was doing it all the time, but I don’t remember too many nicknames, other than just my last name.”
2. Something you loved as a kid but can’t believe you were into it now: “I was pretty involved with Cocoa Pebbles. I don’t feel ashamed about it, but I tried to eat them recently. It’s not the same.”
3. Go-to Karaoke or sing-in-the-shower song: “I really like playing that Dylan song I played the other night. ‘Going, Going, Gone’ on [his album] ‘Planet Waves.’ I do do Taylor Swift’s ‘Bigger Than the Whole Sky.’ I will sing it, and I will play it. We had to pay for it, for the last special. She could have said no, and she didn’t.
4. Give me an alternate title for your show: “I feel like we did, but ‘Panicked,’ once toy decide one, all the others kind of fade.”
5. What’s your secret talent?: “I can cook, and I can play harmonica.”
6. Favorite ice cream flavor: “Ben and Jerry’s still makes pretty good vegan ice cream. That chocolate fudge brownies good. The vegan Jerry Cherry Garcia is good, vegan Phish Food is good. I like things with caramel in them too.”
7. The one item you couldn’t live without: Glasses.
8. What TV show in all of history do you wish you were a cast member of?: “It would have been fun to be on the ‘Mary Tyler Moore Show.’ What a cast, man. So funny. To work with Ed Asner, at that point, how funny would that have been? That whole crew, oh my god, so funny.”
9. Fictional character you most admire: “I watch ‘Michael Clayton’ a lot. That’s a good character.”
10. Your favorite piece of advice: “I remember one time where I was talking to a literary editor about a book, and I was kind of panicking. So I go, ‘but it’s gonna be okay, right?’ And he said, ‘yeah… or not!’ I think that’s as honest as you can be.”
”Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, produced by Michael Schneider, is your one-stop listen for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each week “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives; discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines; and much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts. New episodes post weekly. Watch My Show: ‘Widow’s Bay,’ ‘Spider-Noir,’ ‘PONIES’ Producers Tackle Our Showrunner Survey 
We’ve asked showrunners on first-year (or one-time-only) programs to fill out our irreverent ‘Watch My Show’ survey and its seven questions. Here’s this week’s batch.
Katie Dippold, “Widow’s Bay” (Apple TV)
1. Sum up your show’s pitch in one sentence.
The mayor of a New England island town trying to boost tourism must contend with the fact that it’s cursed.
2. What’s an alternate title for your show?
“Character Actor Island”
3. What do we need to know before tuning in?
Nothing. It’s a gentle, small town comedy.
4. Give us an equation for your show.
(“Newhart” — Bob Newhart) x (“Jaws” — shark) x [(John Carpenter + H.P. Lovecraft)/”Parks and Recreation”] x 10(y) (where y = Stephen King).
5. What’s the best thing someone said about your show?
An internet comment that said “i fucking love ‘Widow’s Bay’ thank you babadook lady”
6. If you could work on any other series in TV, what would it be?
If time travel is allowed, then “Cheers.”
7. Finish this sentence: “If you like _______, you’ll love our show.”
If you like going to the boardwalk on a summer night, laughing with friends, convincing them to go into that one haunted house that should absolutely be illegal, then running out screaming but secretly wanting to go again you’ll love our show. 
Oren Uziel, “Spider-Noir” (Prime Video)
1. Sum up your show’s pitch in one sentence.
What if you made a Humphrey Bogart movie where Bogart just happened to be Spider-Man.
2. What’s an alternate title for your show?
“Bugs Bogart”
3. What do we need to know before tuning in?
If you love superheroes, this is the noir for you. If you love noir, this is the superhero show for you.
4. Give us an equation for your show.
Film Noir + Spider-Man X Nick Cage = “Spider-Noir”
5. What’s the best thing someone said about your show?
“I can’t believe you convinced them to let you make that.”
6. If you could work on any other series in TV, what would it be?
I’d be a PA on “The White Lotus” so I could be on location.
7. Finish this sentence: “If you like _______, you’ll love our show.”
hot dogs and rhubarb pie 
David Iserson, “PONIES” (Peacock)
1. Sum up your show’s pitch in one sentence.
In 1977, two women living in the United States Embassy in Moscow become unlikely spies.
2. What’s an alternate title for your show?
“Russian Dolls”
3. What do we need to know before tuning in?
At least 4 years of graduate-level conversational Russian. Or how to turn the subtitles on.
4. Give us an equation for your show.
“Three Days of the Condor” ÷ “Thelma & Louise” + “Rocky IV” x Etsy search: “Vintage 1970s single stitch distressed raglan graphic tee sz small”
5. What’s the best thing someone said about your show?
My friend’s twelve-year-old said, “You are not allowed to end a season like that.”
6. If you could work on any other series in TV, what would it be?
“Top Chef”
7. Finish this sentence: “If you like _______, you’ll love our show.”
Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” ‘The Boys’ Glory Hall Pop-Up Attracts Fans and Voters for a Five-Season Retrospective of the Prime Video Fan Favorite 
As Prime Video says farewell to “The Boys” after five seasons, it did so in epic fashion at “The Boys: Glory Hall” (aka the Hollywood Legion Post 43). On June 6 and June 7, the space was turned into an immersive museum for the series — featuring four exhibition wings.
Among the highlights: The Great Wal featured Easter eggs and items from all five seasons; and the Story Gallery traced key milestones and character arcs; the Democratic Church of America featured set pieces and the original Supes costumes; souvenirs could be found at the Grift Shop; and a secret door inside the Grift Shop led to The Boys Hideout.
Among those stopping by was showrunner/EP Eric Kripke.
See some pics below (Todd Williamson/January Images) : 
ON THE CIRCUIT: ‘The Daily Show,’ ‘Hot Ones,’ ‘Paradise,’ ‘Wonder Man,’ The Muppets and More! 
“The Daily Show” stars Desi Lydic, Michael Kosta, Josh Johnson, Jon Stewart, Ronny Chieng and Jordan Klepper at Comedy Central’s FYC event for the show at Metrograph in New York on June 9 (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Paramount+)Some other events on the circuit: 
Sean Evans at YouTube’s FYC event for “Hot Ones” at Avalon Hollywood on June 9. (Photo by David Jon/Getty Images for YouTube) 
Prime Video threw a “Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat” experience on June 5 at Westfield Fashion Square in Los Angeles. The activation included a themed food truck, a “PJ’s Snack Attack” station, card games, captain’s hats, chili necklaces and Rockin’ Grandma’s Hot Sauce. Attendees included hero/non-actor Anthony Norman, executive producer Nicholas Hatton, executive producer, writer and actor Chris Kula and actors Alex Bonifer, Emily Pendergast, Jerry Hauck, Jim A. Woods, LaNisa Renee Frederick, Marc-Sully Saint-Fleur, Stephanie Hodge and Wendy Braun. (Photo courtesy of Prime Video) 
“Widow’s Bay” EP/director Hiro Murai, star/EP Matthew Rhys and creator/showrunner Katie Dippold at an guild screening event for the hit Apple TV series at the DGA Theatwe on June 5. (Photo courtesy Collider) 
“Paradise” creator Dan Fogelman and star/EP Sterling K. Brown at an Emmy FYC screening for the show’s second season at the TV Academy’s Saban Media Center on June 6. (Photos courtesy of Hulu) 
Seth Rogen and Kermit the Frog at Disney+’s “The Muppets” FYC event on June 7. (Photo courtesy Disney) 
Andrew Guest, Sir Ben Kingsley, Destin Daniel Cretton, X Mayo, Byron Bowers and Carmen Cuba at the “Wonder Man” FYC Screening at the Television Academy on June 7. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney) 
Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys were among the cast and crew celebrating Netflix’s “The Beast in Me” an an official ATAS event on June 6 at the Netflix Tudum theater. (Credit: Todd Williamson for Netflix) 
I’ll tell you whut, this “King of the Hill” starter kit via its (fitting!) collab with WD-40 is kinda cool. I’m already fixing things around the house thanks to Hank Hill. You can enter to win your own, with white t-shirt, collectable can, handy can + holster and more, here. Jump to Comments JavaScript is required to load the comments. Loading comments... 
