In the Hacks v Widow’s Bay Emmys battle, it’s we – the audience – who are the real winners | Emmys 2026

There are three essential things to know about me: I love comedy, I love women and I love television. So as you can imagine, the centre of my world is women in TV comedies. Going into the 2026 Emmy awards, there was a big beautiful battle shaping up between two women-driven comedies: Hacks, a truly masterful hilarious show that just finished up with its fifth season, and Widow’s Bay, a truly original hilarious show that took us by storm with its first season. Conveniently for me, these were also my favourite two comedies of the year.

The two opening awards set the stage perfectly. Supporting actress in a comedy was a stacked category, won by Kate O’Flynn, and extremely deservedly, according to me. Patricia on Widow’s Bay was my favourite new character of the year. O’Flynn played her with incredible physicality, finely honed comedic skill, and a vulnerability that made me want to cry as often as I laughed.

The second award of the night, lead actress in a comedy, was equally important and equally correct. The brilliant Jean Smart of Hacks became the first woman to win the category for every season of a multi-season show. Her eighth acting Emmy, and Allison Janney’s eighth Emmy for The Diplomat, sees four women tie for the all-time record with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Cloris Leachman. Is this because these women are particularly outstanding (yes) or is it that meaty, recurring roles like this for women are kind of rare (also yes)?

Either way, it’s a huge and very deserved achievement. Smart’s portrayal of Deborah Vance is one of the great comedy performances. Deborah is complicated and powerful and selfish and occasionally monstrous but she is also vulnerable, lonely, ambitious and extremely funny. The character grew massively over the course of Hacks and Smart and the writers somehow made every version of her equally compelling.

If I could have chosen anything to award jointly, it would have been writing for a comedy series, which Katie Dippold took home for Widow’s Bay. But Hacks definitely deserved a nod here too. I love the writing on the all the seasons, and I love that it was created by brilliant women and one brilliant man who thinks of women as full humans – Lucia Aniello, Jen Statsky and Paul W Downs (the W stands for “women”). Hacks never faltered in its five seasons, staying so funny and so engaging, which is hard to do in comedy. It also made a star out of Meg Stalter (I already knew she was a star but it was good for everyone else to realise).

I’d never say Katie Dippold didn’t deserve the win. While it’s only had one season, Widow’s Bay’s totally unique comedic tone sets it apart. Katie Dippold (a woman) has a history of writing great comedy, from Parks and Recreation to the underrated 2013 film The Heat. With Widow’s Bay, she used all her chops to create her own world, with her own style of humour and spookiness, and she wrote great parts for older women too, like the brilliant Dale Dickey and K Callan. The script was hilarious, and so was every other aspect of the show – anyone who thinks it isn’t a comedy is straight up incorrect. But both series, as well as shows including the great Quinta Brunson’s Abbott Elementary, also nominated several times, are examples of what can happen when women are given the chance to helm comedy.

The real story of the day was how exciting it was to have these brilliant shows up against each other, all these talented people in the room together. I’m happy for the winners and sad for the losers – but the important fact is that we had a year of great television. After this Emmy season, what’s most exciting to me isn’t who took home a statue but what all of these creators will get to do next. Paul W Downs has spoken about moving on to do a limited series with a tonal shift, which is thrilling news. Widow’s Bay season two is going to start shooting in March, which is, I hate to repeat myself but I must – thrilling news.

Widow’s Bay may have taken the majority of the wins, including the knockout blow of best comedy, but fans of Hacks simply can’t be disappointed with how wonderfully that show played out. The Emmys are over, yes, but as fans of these shows, as supporters of these talented creatives who will go on to make more excellent television, we should remember that we, the audience, are the real winners.