Widow’s Bay won Outstanding Comedy Series at the 78th Emmy Awards and set a new record for the most Emmys won by a comedy in a single season. The Apple TV horror-comedy finished its first awards run with 14 wins from 19 nominations.

The series victory was the record-breaking 14th award. It moved Widow’s Bay past The Studio, which established the previous comedy-season high with 13 Emmys in 2025, and completed a night that recognized the show across acting, writing, directing and production crafts.

Widow’s Bay won six awards during the main ceremony

The top program award followed five other televised wins. Matthew Rhys won lead actor for playing Mayor Tom Loftis, Stephen Root won supporting actor as Wyck, and Kate O’Flynn won supporting actress as Patricia. Katie Dippold won comedy writing, while Hiro Murai won comedy directing.

Those results did not amount to a clean sweep of every comedy category. Jean Smart won lead actress for Hacks, and performers from other shows took categories in which Widow’s Bay was nominated. The record comes from 14 wins across the full season’s 19 nominations, not from winning every race.

The series award also gives Rhys a fourth career Emmy because the Academy credits him as an executive producer of Widow’s Bay. His other three are the two lead-actor awards he won earlier in the night and his 2018 drama win for The Americans.

Eight early wins put the record within reach

Widow’s Bay entered the main ceremony with eight Emmys from the earlier presentation. Betty Gilpin won guest actress in a comedy series, and the show also prevailed for casting, production design, sound editing, sound mixing, cinematography, music supervision and music composition.

The six main-ceremony awards brought the total to 14. Because those wins covered performers, the creator, the director, the producing team and seven separate crafts, the record reflects recognition across the whole production rather than one dominant department.

The Studio’s 13-Emmy record lasted one year

The Television Academy called 13 wins a new comedy-series record when The Studio reached that mark in 2025. Its total combined nine Creative Arts Emmys with four awards at the main ceremony, including Outstanding Comedy Series.

Widow’s Bay followed a similar path one year later. It began Monday with eight wins, reached 13 after its first five main-ceremony victories and moved ahead only when Outstanding Comedy Series was announced. The final category therefore changed the result from a tie into a new record.

The comedy-series win came from an eight-show field

The Academy selected Widow’s Bay over Abbott Elementary, The Bear, Hacks, Margo’s Got Money Troubles, Nobody Wants This, Only Murders in the Building and Shrinking. Hacks led all comedies in nominations with 24, but nomination volume and the final series result were separate measures.

Widow’s Bay converted 14 of its 19 nominations into awards. The official record belongs to the show’s debut season, making the result both a first-year series victory and the new single-season high for a comedy.

Widow’s Bay Season 2 is already confirmed

Apple renewed Widow’s Bay for a second season on June 11, before the ten-episode first season finished its weekly run. Dippold remains creator and showrunner, with Rhys, Murai and the producing team continuing as executive producers.

Apple has not announced a Season 2 premiere date or episode count. The Emmy record confirms the first season’s awards performance; it does not provide a release schedule for the next chapter.

More from the 2026 Emmys

Read how Matthew Rhys made history with two lead-actor wins.

Kate O’Flynn also won the first Emmy of her career for Widow’s Bay.

In drama, The Pitt repeated and finished 2026 with six Emmys.

Track the ceremony and major races in our complete 2026 Emmys guide.

Continue with Pixel Twelve’s latest TV coverage.