Read this first
Nothing on this page is a nomination. The list below is the editorial board’s view of the contender pool — the work most likely to be considered by the jury when it convenes in October 2026. The official slate of five nominees per category will be announced November 2026 with full citations from the editorial jury. Until then, treat this as our reading list.
01Best Drama Series
The continuing-drama field. Hour-long form, season after season, the marquee category.
Severance
Apple TV+
Season 2; the most-discussed prestige drama on streaming.
Slow Horses
Apple TV+
Season 5; the British spy thriller has only sharpened.
Andor
Disney+
Season 2; the political-thriller closing argument.
The Last of Us
HBO
Season 2; arguably the most-discussed prestige property on the year’s ballot.
Shōgun
FX on Hulu
Season 2; the 2024 Emmy juggernaut returns.
02Best Comedy Series
Continuing comedy. Half-hour, hour-long, hybrid — the form has loosened; the standard hasn’t.
The Bear
FX on Hulu
Season 4; the Emmy-anointed prestige comedy.
Hacks
HBO Max
Season 4; Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, late-career and breakout in the same frame.
Only Murders in the Building
Hulu
Season 5; the workhorse of the cohort.
Abbott Elementary
ABC / Hulu
Network-original but streaming-watched; eligible under the platform-agnostic rule.
What We Do in the Shadows
FX on Hulu
Final season; the long-running mockumentary closing out.
03Best Limited or Anthology Series
Self-contained stories told across a single season or anthology arc.
Adolescence
Netflix
Four episodes, each filmed in a single take. Stephen Graham co-created. The early front-runner.
The White Lotus
HBO
Season 3 — Thailand. Anthology season qualifies under both Limited and Drama, jury chooses placement.
Black Mirror
Netflix
2026 episode block; the long-running anthology’s strongest year in some time.
Disclaimer
Apple TV+
Cuarón’s seven-episode prestige limited.
Say Nothing
FX on Hulu
Patrick Radden Keefe adaptation; widely admired.
04Best Documentary or Nonfiction Series
Documentary work conceived for episodic release.
100 Foot Wave
HBO
Season 3; the big-wave surfing documentary at the height of its craft.
Stax: Soulsville USA
Max
The Memphis soul-label history.
Beckham
Netflix
If it lands during the eligibility window; the sport-and-celebrity model others copy.
Welcome to Wrexham
FX on Hulu
Continuing documentary; arguably the year’s most consequential nonfiction series.
21Best International Series
Non-English-language work that broke out internationally.
Squid Game
Netflix
Season 3; the global phenomenon’s closing arc.
Lupin
Netflix
If a new season lands in the window.
My Brilliant Friend
HBO
Final season; the Ferrante adaptation closing.
Money Heist: Berlin
Netflix
Spinoff continuing.
Pachinko
Apple TV+
Season 2; multi-language epic.
23Streaming Platform of the Year
A Marquees-only category. The platform whose 2026 originals slate, as a whole, defined the year.
Apple TV+
Severance, Slow Horses, Pachinko, Disclaimer
A run of prestige originals with disproportionate cultural weight.
HBO & Max
The Pitt, Last of Us, White Lotus, Hacks
The traditional prestige stronghold, still delivering.
Netflix
Adolescence, Squid Game, Black Mirror
Volume plus the year’s most-watched limited series.
FX on Hulu
The Bear, Shōgun, What We Do in the Shadows, Welcome to Wrexham
Quietly a top-three slate every year.
Disney+
Andor
A single show carrying the slate — but what a show.
25Show of the Year
The top prize. Decided by combined jury and editorial vote across all categories. Same five make every short list of the year so far.
Severance
Apple TV+
Most-discussed; structurally daring; Emmy-anointed.
Adolescence
Netflix
Most-watched; technically audacious; cultural-conversation peak.
The Pitt
Max
Outstanding Drama Series at the 77th Emmys; redefines its genre.
Andor
Disney+
Best Star Wars production ever made; political drama in franchise drag.
The White Lotus
HBO
Mike White’s anthology, three seasons in, the streaming era’s most reliable comedy of class.