13 Emmy-nominated series to watch before FOMO kicks in

2026 Emmy nominations: 24
 

Hacks follows the iconic Vegas comic Deborah Vance and young woke comedy writer Ava as a pairing that, over the series, goes from unlikely to beloved as the two co-author career second-acts. If you haven’t tuned in or caught up, let this year’s nominations be your sign to take the plunge. The five seasons-strong show has broken the record for most nominations for a comedy series in a single year, and Jean Smart has been nominated for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series every single season. This final season mines the ideas of legacy and the power of comedy and does some fantastic, very lesbian fan service. It is the kind of that will make you laugh and make you cry. It is riddled with one-liners that will get stuck in your head like a song and make you wish that the series had never ended. So, if you haven’t yet begun, head straight to JioHotstar. 

2026 Emmy nominations: 19

Cosy meets creepy in Widow’s Bay, an off-the-grid New England town with a chequered past. The town is being rushed through a tourism-friendly rebrand as “the next Martha’s Vineyard” by its fumbling mayor Tom Loftis, who is ignoring warnings that the place is due its next round of supernatural horrors owing to a centuries-old curse. Widow’s Bay feels fresh and authentically fun precisely because it’s not encumbered by thinly veiled commentary on a hot social issue or belaboured exposition because they don’t want to lose us to the Reels. Read our thoughts on the show here.

2026 Emmy nominations: 18
 

In Pluribus, showrunner Vince Gilligan trades drug empires for alien viruses and the apocalypse for absurdity. The show follows Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn), a cranky bestselling author of cheesy romance novels, who suddenly becomes one of only a handful people around the world who are immune to a mysterious hive-mind infection sweeping the planet. The rest of humanity turns creepily cheerful after exposure, forming a global collective that’s all smiles and zero free will. Between mourning her girlfriend, dodging psychic chain reactions that can kill millions, and plotting to save the world, Carol might be the grumpiest last hope humanity has left.

2026 Emmy nominations: 25
 

Missing ER? This is your modern hospital binge fix. The Pitt is centred on the trials and tribulations of American healthcare workers, and every episode takes place over one hour of the hospital staff’s shift. Led by ER alum Noah Wyle, the show dives deep into the chaos of a city hospital where medical emergencies, burnout, and bureaucracy collide. It’s Grey’s Anatomy intensity meets The Wire realism. Fair warning, though: this is an intense binge session. If your idea of a long weekend is soft blankets and low-stakes drama, this one’s not for you.

2026 Emmy nominations: 1
 

This one’s an elite comfort watch: a low-stakes funny plot about a pulp-fiction author taking up an academic position at a New England college to stay close to his daughter. Rooster’s got a cosy uni setting with fall energy and Steve Carell playing an emotionally awkward dad in a way only Steve Carell can. 

2026 Emmy nominations: 9

The world of espionage gets delightfully messy in Slow Horses, where MI5’s least impressive agents are led by Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman), a brilliant but foul-mouthed boss. Based on author Mick Herron’s Slough House novels, the latest season follows this ragtag group as they bumble along, uncover conspiracies, and somehow keep England safe. Think spycraft without the glamour: just nicotine, insults, and unlikely victories. A masterclass in making failure look heroic.

2026 Emmy nominations: 16
 

This comedy anthology series taught us that you can have immaculate taste and still be a truly awful, petty human being. True to its name, Beef features a feud each season. While the first one is centred around a road rage incident, season two has a fresh cast that includes Carey Mulligan and Oscar Isaac, who play Lindsay and Josh, an unhappily married couple who manage an exclusive California country club. The pair are being blackmailed by their Gen Z employees Ashley (Cailee Spaeny) and Austin (Charles Melton), who witness—and also record on their phone—a raging fight between the older couple, footage they then use to get Ashley a full-time job at the club.

2026 Emmy nominations: 8

Jeremy Allen White headlines this series about an award-winning chef who returns to his hometown of Chicago to manage his dead brother’s beef sando shop. Its final season just released and it’s a top-notch one with atmospheric photography, tense pacing, and lived-in performances. You see the kitchen tempest reflected in an actual, city-stopping storm outside. You see circling character arcs land. You see loose ends tied up. You see resolution where there once was repression. You see how “doing what you were born to do” is sometimes a dangerous cliché worth discarding. You see how a sinking restaurant can stay afloat with duct tape, a franchise model, and family. Read our thoughts here.

2026 Emmy nominations: 8

Based on Rufi Thorpe’s novel of the same name, the show follows aspiring writer Margo Millet (Elle Fanning), a college dropout and new single mom, who turns to OnlyFans to support her child. Margo creates an alien alter ego online called Hungry Ghost, who has green skin, wears Barbarella-inspired silver bodysuits and, if you pay her $20, might even show you her boobs. Throw in the mix an ex-professional wrestler father (Nick Offerman) with an opioid addiction, a judgy mother (Michelle Pfeiffer) looking for marital bliss, and a feckless English professor who impregnates the titular Margo and then turns out to have a wife and kids, and you have a show fit for bingeing.

Shrinking stars Jason Segel and Harrison Ford and follows Jimmy Laird (Segel), a therapist trying to rebuild his life after the sudden death of his wife. Grief loosens his professional boundaries; his life is chaotic and occasionally reckless. Each of the three seasons of the show has a theme—season one was ‘grief’, two was ‘forgiveness’, and the most recent on is about ‘moving on’, and boy does this show take you through all the stages. Equal parts sad and funny, Shrinking is a cry-laugh watch if there ever was one. Read our thoughts here.

2026 Emmy nominations: 1

The Four Seasons is the perfect palate cleanser if all the marital chaos has you craving something breezier. This comedy follows three married couples who reunite every quarter for a group vacation, only to realise that sun, scenery, and shared itineraries cannot stop real life from intruding. As careers shift, resentments bubble, and relationships quietly evolve, their annual tradition becomes a mirror for everything they are trying to avoid at home. With a charming ensemble cast that includes Steve Carell and Tina Fey and plenty of warm humour, the show offers an easy, uplifting look at long-term love in all its awkward glory.

2026 Emmy nominations: 1

Created by and starring Academy Award winner Riz Ahmed, Bait is a genre-bending series following Shah Latif, an out-of-work British-Pakistani actor whose life spirals when he lands the final audition to become the next James Bond. As you’ll learn through some fast-paced scenes and delightful guest appearances, witty banter, and a lot of cussing, the show is, at its heart, about identity and the price of assimilation (as much of Ahmed’s work is). So is the music. The soundtrack is a deliberate cartography of what British south Asian music actually sounds like in 2026 and is a highlight of the series. For more on the show, read our full story here.

2026 Emmy nominations: 1

A surprise debutante nominee at the Emmys this year is Kareem Rahma’s beloved series, which returns the charming, unpredictable setting of the NYC subway (or at times the London tube) to its intended form—a vehicle for argument. From actors to comedians to niche-online-micro-celebrities, no one is above sitting on the subway and confessing their takes and hearing “100% disagree”. The first nomination of its kind, we’re curious as to what this will spell for the future of TV. With shorter clips you’ve no doubt seen on Reels, TikTok and Shorts, the series also produces full episodes, called Subway Takes Uncut. Episodes feature Hasan Minhaj, Cate Blanchett, Ethan Hawke, and many more.