Top 10 Emmy Wins of All Time and One Controversial Loss Explained
Top 10 Emmy Wins of All Time and One Controversial Loss Explained
Kaiya ShunyataMon, September 14, 2026 at 6:46 PM UTC
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The 2026 Emmys are finally here. After a long awards season, and an even longer gap between Emmy seasons, the ceremony will air tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. With genre shows like A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and Pluribus vying for recognition, and strong new seasons of The Pitt and Slow Horses on the minds of voters, it’s bound to be a jam-packed night. Hopefully, it’s also one full of milestones and surprises, which always makes awards season more enjoyable.
With the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards sure to shake things up, here are 10 of the best Emmy wins of all time, and one that still doesn’t make any sense.
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Mariska Hargitay: Law & Order: SVU Season 7 (2006)
Mariska Hargitay.Getty Images
While Law & Order: Special Victims Unit may not seem like a major Emmy contender in a world now dominated by prestige television, the series has always been a hit with audiences. Anchored by a career-defining performance from Mariska Hargitay, the show took itself to new heights during its seventh season. In the episode “911,” a call comes in from a little girl named Maria (Jeanine Monterroza), as Hargitay’s Olivia Benson is about to leave work. Though her colleagues see it as a ruse, Olivia dedicates her night to Maria, whom she will stop at nothing to save. With this performance, the actress won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, and became the first regular cast member to win an Emmy for any Law & Order series.Related: Who Will Win at the 2026 Emmys? Our Final Predictions for Every Major Category
Tramell Tillman: Severance Season 2 (2025)
Tramell Tillman in ‘Severance’Apple TV+
Chock-full of fantastic performances, Severance is undeniably one of the best shows of the decade. But in an expansive cast, there is one that stands out, despite it coming from a supporting performer. As Seth Milchick, Tramell Tillman is sly, witty, and at times, downright terrifying. He imbues each scene he’s in with an uneasiness that permeates throughout the entire show, often flipping it on its head and turning this sci-fi into a full-on horror. For the show’s second season, Tillman defied the odds and won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama, beating out Walton Goggins for The White Lotus and his own co-star John Turturro. With this win, Tilman became the first Black actor to ever hoist the award, a long overdue achievement.
Anna Sawai: Shogun Season 1 (2024)
Anna Sawai as Mariko in ‘Shōgun’Courtesy of FX
In a series where male characters were largely the focus, Anna Sawai’s Toda Mariko is the Shogun character that resonated with audiences the most. A Catholic convert who serves as a translator between John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) and Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), Mariko wields her knowledge like a sword, using it to keep herself safe and prop herself up as higher in society. While she starred in Apple TV’s Pachinko and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Shogun is where the actress truly broke through, as proved later by her historic Emmy night. With her Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series win, Sawai became the first Japanese actress to win any Primetime Emmy award.Related: How Anna Sawai Is Reframing Yoko Ono in the Upcoming Beatles Biopics
Viola Davis: How to Get Away With Murder Season 1 (2015)
Viola Davis as Professor Annalise Keating in ‘How to Get Away with Murder’ABC/Craig Sjodin
Shonda Rhimes has given audiences many memorable characters over the years, but there’s no one as iconic as Annalise Keating (Viola Davis) from How to Get Away with Murder. The series follows the law professor as she leads a group of students into a web of crime through teachings on a series of murder cases that blur the lines between right and wrong. In the show, Davis commands the screen whenever she’s on it, almost dwarfing her castmates with her prowess and strength. With her win for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for the show’s first season in 2015, the actress became the first Black woman to win the prestigious award.
Jeff Hiller: Somebody Somewhere Season 3 (2025)
Jeff Hiller, Lu Zhou at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards Governors Ball on September 14, 2025 in Los Angeles, CaliforniaMichael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images
HBO’s underappreciated comedy Somebody Somewhere was never expected to take home any awards for its final season, even though it was respected amongst critics and industry voters. The same was said for Jeff Hiller, who perfectly balanced humor and emotional depth in his role as Joel, protagonist Sam Miller’s (Bridget Everett) best friend. While his performance was celebrated by comedy lovers over the course of the show’s three seasons, there were always bigger series’ like The Bear that Somebody Somewhere had to battle for notoriety with. Yet Hiller defied the odds in the show’s final season, where he won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, beating out industry veterans like Colman Domingo and Harrison Ford.
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Toni Collette: United States of Tara Season 1 (2009)
Toni Collette as Tara in ‘United States of Tara’Courtesy of Showtime
While horror fans everywhere were clamoring for Toni Collette to get an Oscar nomination for the film Hereditary in 2018, longtime fans of the actress will remember when she was given her flowers earlier in her career at the Emmys. United States of Tara followed the titular character, a suburban mother trying to cope with dissociative identity disorder. The actress masterfully played various roles as Tara’s extremely different alters, from the beer-drinking Vietnam vet Buck, to Chicken, a representation of Tara when she was five years old. Although the show was prematurely canceled after its third season, Collette took home the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for its first season, beating out Tina Fey for 30 Rock and Mary Louise Parker for Weeds.Related: The 2026 Emmys Could Break More Than 25 Records — Here Are the Biggest Ones to Watch
Jeremy Strong: Succession Season 2 (2020)
Jeremy Strong as Kendall Roy in ‘Succession’Courtesy of HBO
Undeniably one of HBO’s best shows, Succession followed the Roy family as they were thrown into turmoil when the family patriarch’s health began to wane. At the center of the series is Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong), the family’s drug-addicted second son whose silver spoon has led him to believe that his destiny is to take over his father’s billion-dollar media conglomerate. The second season saw Strong leaning into a tragic arc as Kendall’s life begins to spiral out of control under the thumb of his father, before exploding into a series-shaping and career-defining season finale, where he proved he was one of the best actors of his generation. By winning Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series in 2020, Strong proved the series was one of the most memorable of the decade.
Tatiana Maslany: Orphan Black Season 4 (2016)
Tatiana Maslany (R) and Jordan Gavaris (L) as Felix in ‘Orphan Black’BBC America/Steve Wilkie
Orphan Black was a small yet popular Canadian television series that followed Tatiana Maslany’s Sarah Manning, who falls down a dangerous rabbit hole when she discovers that she and a woman she was attempting to steal the identity of are genetically identical clones. Over the course of the series, the actress played more than 10 different characters, putting herself in a league of her own as an actress. Up against stiff competition from the likes of Claire Danes and Robin Wright, Maslany’s win for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series made her the first Canadian to win an Emmy in a major dramatic category for acting in a Canadian series. Related: How to Watch the 2026 Emmys Without Cable—Everything You About TV’s Biggest Night
Phoebe Waller-Bridge: Fleabag Season 2 (2019)
Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Fleabag in ‘Fleabag’Courtesy of Amazon
It’s not often that someone wins an Emmy for both writing and acting, but that’s just what Phoebe Waller-Bridge did in 2019. With season two of her series Fleabag, Waller-Bridge played a woman navigating a messy love life while simultaneously grieving her deceased best friend, all while breaking the fourth wall to engage directly with the audience. Waller-Bridge took home the awards for both Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. Her Outstanding Actress win was particularly significant, as she beat out Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who was nominated for the final season of Veep, a role for which the actress won the award 6 years in a row.
James Gandolfini: The Sopranos Season 2 (2000)
James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano in ‘The Sopranos’Photo by Anthony Neste/Getty Images
There is perhaps no show as infamous as HBO’s crime drama The Sopranos. Following New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) as he struggles to balance his criminal empire with his suburban family life, the series was a look at the American dream and masculinity at the turn of the century. Gandolfini was integral to the show’s success, often disappearing into the role as he showcased Tony’s brutality as well as his crumbling psyche. Although HBO ventured into original programming in 1982, these shows didn’t have much luck at the Emmys for a few years. With his win for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for the second season of the series, Gandolfini became the first actor to win the award for an HBO show.
The One That Doesn’t Make Sense — Michelle Williams: Fosse/Verdon (2019)
Michelle Williams as Gwen Verdon in ‘Fosse/Verdon’Courtesy FX
There is no doubt that Michelle Williams is one of the most gifted actresses working today. In any other year, her win for playing American actress and dancer Gwen Verdon would be celebrated, but this year she was up against one of television’s most layered performances ever: Amy Adams in Sharp Objects. Adams completely disappeared into the role of Camille Preaker, a traumatized journalist who returns to her Missouri hometown to investigate the murders of two young girls. Throughout the limited series, Adams harnessed a vulnerability unlike anything she had done before and showcased the messy and volatile reality of what can happen when we never truly heal from our traumas. The fact that she didn’t win the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie is still a hard pill to swallow over half a decade later.
Related: ‘The Pitt’ Leads 2026 Emmy Nominations—See the Complete List of Nominees
This story was originally published by Parade on Sep 14, 2026, where it first appeared in the TV section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
