‘Heated Rivalry,’ ‘Industry,’ ‘Widow’s Bay’ Lead 2026 Television Critics Association (TCA) Nominations
The Television Critics Association (TCA) announced today the nominees for the organization’s 42nd Annual TCA Awards, honoring standout series and stars from the 2025-2026 television season.
While the TCA Awards in recent years have seen one program clearly rise above the pack to lead in nominations, 2026 has three series firmly placed at the top with five nominations each to their credit. These include Crave/HBO Max’s ice hockey romance Heated Rivalry, HBO Max’s corporate drama Industry, and Apple TV’s genre-bending Widow’s Bay, which will face off against each other in the coveted Program of the Year category.
They all go up against HBO Max’s The Pitt, as well as best the farewell runs of CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, HBO Max’s Hacks and The Comeback as well as Apple TV’s Shrinking and Pluribus.
Heated Rivalry and Industry lock horns in other categories, most notably Outstanding Achievement in Drama—which also includes 2025 winner The Pitt, HBO Max’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (based on a George R. R. Martin fantasy novella), Pluribus, and Hulu’s sci-fi thriller Paradise, among others—and Individual Achievement in Drama, where Industry stars Marisa Abela, Myha’la, and Ken Leung will face off against Heated Rivalry leads Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams to potentially de-throne 2025 winner Noah Wyle in a category that also includes Sterling K. Brown, Rhea Seehorn, David Harbour, and Katherine LaNasa.
Widow’s Bay will challenge Heated Rivalry for Outstanding New Program, a category that also includes, among others, FX’s ambitious Alien: Earth, NBC’s sports mockumentary The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, and Apple TV’s timely dramedy Margo’s Got Money Troubles.
Other highlights include a showdown between late-night titans John Oliver, Jimmy Kimmel, and Seth Meyers in Outstanding Achievement in Variety, Talk, or Sketch; an Outstanding Achievement in News and Information race featuring mainstays 60 Minutes and Frontline, as well as Mr. Scorsese, Marty, Life Is Short, and Have I Got News For You; and an eclectic Outstanding Achievement in Reality roster that sees romance and competition collide, as back-to-back champ The Traitors goes for the three-peat against Love on the Spectrum, Survivor, Couples Therapy, and Top Chef, among others.
TCA also announced that it is expanding its categories to 14 with the additions of Outstanding Achievement in Animation—recognizing the best in new or returning animated series—and Outstanding Achievement in International Series, recognizing the best overall series produced by a country outside the United States where the predominant language spoken on screen is not English.
“These new categories celebrate the ways TV continues to evolve,” TCA Board director Liz Shannon Miller, Senior Entertainment Editor at Consequence, said, “especially as standout new series emerge from outside the mainstream.”
The Simpsons, South Park, and Invincible are among the nominees for TCA’s inaugural Outstanding Achievement in Animation award, while the first contenders for Outstanding International Series include Squid Game, The Boyfriend, and The House of the Spirits.
“My fellow TCA members’ nominations illustrate a wide range of excellent television and the artists who create it. Even in this period of contraction, there’s so much outstanding art being created and delivered to our homes, and we’re thrilled to celebrate it,” said TCA President Andy Dehnart, creator of reality blurred and host of the podcast Made from Humans: How Reality Becomes TV. “The selections you see here are the result of a year of members watching, reporting, and reviewing, in addition to weeks of spirited conversation in our community, both virtually and in-person at the ATX TV Festival. We’re thrilled to celebrate these artists and their outstanding art with the TCA Awards.”
TCA is a non-profit organization of more than 220 professional television journalists from across the United States and Canada. Nominations were determined solely by a vote of members, selected from shows distributed on major broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms from June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026.
Winners will be announced later this summer across TCA’s social media.
Below is the list of 2026 Television Critics Association nominees.
Program of the Year
The Comeback, HBO Max
Hacks, HBO Max
Heated Rivalry, Crave/HBO Max
Industry, HBO Max
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, CBS
The Pitt, HBO Max (2025 Winner)
Pluribus, Apple TV
Shrinking, Apple TV
Widow’s Bay, Apple TV
Outstanding Achievement in Comedy
Abbott Elementary, ABC (2022 Winner)
The Comeback, HBO Max
The Fall And Rise Of Reggie Dinkins, NBC
Hacks, HBO Max (2024 Winner)
The Lowdown, FX
Margo’s Got Money Troubles, Apple TV
Shrinking, Apple TV
Widow’s Bay, Apple TV
Outstanding Achievement in Drama
The Gilded Age, HBO Max
Heated Rivalry, Crave/HBO Max
Industry, HBO Max
A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms, HBO Max
Paradise, Hulu
The Pitt, HBO Max (2025 Winner)
Pluribus, Apple TV
Task, HBO Max
Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries or Specials
All Her Fault, Peacock
The Beast In Me, Netflix
Beef, Netflix (2023 Winner)
Death By Lightning, Netflix
DTF St. Louis, HBO Max
Half Man, HBO Max
Lord Of The Flies, Netflix
Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, FX
Outstanding New Program
Alien: Earth, FX
The Fall And Rise Of Reggie Dinkins, NBC
Heated Rivalry, Crave/HBO Max
A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms, HBO Max
The Lowdown, FX
Margo’s Got Money Troubles, Apple TV
Pluribus, Apple TV
Widow’s Bay, Apple TV
Individual Achievement in Drama
Marisa Abela, Industry
Sterling K. Brown, Paradise
David Harbour, DTF St. Louis
Katherine LaNasa, The Pitt
Ken Leung, Industry
Myha’la, Industry
Rhea Seehorn, Pluribus
Connor Storrie, Heated Rivalry
Hudson Williams, Heated Rivalry
Noah Wyle, The Pitt (2025 Winner)
Individual Achievement in Comedy
Hannah Einbinder, Hacks
Elle Fanning, Margo’s Got Money Troubles
Harrison Ford, Shrinking
Lisa Kudrow, The Comeback
Kate O’Flynn, Widow’s Bay
Matthew Rhys, Widow’s Bay
Jean Smart, Hacks (2021, 2024 Winner)
Tim Robinson, The Chair Company
Outstanding Achievement in News and Information
60 Minutes, CBS (2012 Winner)
The American Revolution, PBS
CBS This Morning, CBS
Disneyland Handcrafted, Disney+
Frontline, PBS (Eight-time Winner in Category)
Have I Got News For You, CNN
Marty, Life Is Short, Netflix
Mr. Scorsese, Apple TV
Outstanding Achievement in Variety, Talk or Sketch
The Daily Show, Comedy Central
Jimmy Kimmel Live!, ABC
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, HBO Max (2018, 2019, 2021 Winner)
Late Night Wth Seth Meyers, NBC
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, CBS
The Muppet Show: Sabrina Carpenter, Disney+
Saturday Night Live, NBC
Outstanding Achievement in Reality
Couples Therapy, Showtime/Paramount+ (2021 Winner)
Finding Mr. Christmas, Hallmark
The Great British Baking Show, Netflix
Love On The Spectrum, Netflix
RuPaul’s Drag Race, MTV (2014 Winner)
Survivor, CBS
Top Chef, Bravo
The Traitors, Peacock (2024, 2025 Winner)
Outstanding Achievement in Family Programming
Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Animation, Disney+
Electric Bloom, Disney+/Disney Channel
Percy Jackson And The Olympians, Disney+/Hulu
Phineas and Ferb, Disney+/Disney Channel
Stranger Things: Tales from ‘85, Netflix
Vampirina: Teenage Vampire, Disney+/Disney Channel
Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, Disney+/Disney Channel
WondLa, Apple TV
Outstanding Achievement in Children’s Programming
Carl the Collector, PBS KIDS
The First Snow Of Fraggle Rock, Apple TV
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse+, Disney+/Disney Jr.
Phoebe & Jay, PBS KIDS
Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical, Apple TV
Sofia The First: Royal Magic, Disney+/Disney Jr.
Weather Hunters, PBS KIDS
The Wonderfully Weird World Of Gumball, Hulu
Outstanding Achievement in Animation – New Category
Bob’s Burgers, Fox
Haunted Hotel, Netflix
Invincible, Prime Video
King of the Hill, Hulu
Long Story Short, Netflix
The Simpsons, Fox
South Park, Comedy Central
Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord, Disney+
Women Wearing Shoulder Pads, Adult Swim
Outstanding International Series – New Category
The Boyfriend, Netflix
Crime Scene Zero, Netflix
Drops Of God, Apple TV
The House Of The Spirits, Prime Video
Last Samurai Standing, Netflix
Squid Game, Netflix
PROGRAMS WITH MULTIPLE NOMINATIONS
Heated Rivalry — Crave/HBO Max — 5
Industry — HBO Max — 5
Widow’s Bay — Apple TV — 5
Hacks — HBO Max — 4
The Pitt — HBO Max — 4
Pluribus — Apple TV — 4
The Comeback — HBO Max — 3
Margo’s Got Money Troubles — Apple TV — 3
Shrinking — Apple TV — 3
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms — HBO Max — 2
DTF St. Louis — HBO Max — 2
The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins — NBC — 2
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert — CBS — 2
The Lowdown — FX — 2
Paradise — Hulu — 2
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
- ‘Heated Rivalry,’ ‘Industry,’ ‘Widow’s Bay’ Lead 2026 Television Critics Association (TCA) Nominations - June 12, 2026
- 2027 Oscar Predictions: SUPPORTING ACTRESS (June) - June 12, 2026
- Walt Disney and Pixar Release Teaser Trailer for 2027’s ‘Gatto’ Starring Mark Ruffalo and Laurence Fishburne - June 11, 2026
‘Heated Rivalry,’ ‘Industry,’ ‘Widow’s Bay’ Lead 2026 Television Critics Association (TCA) Nominations 
2027 Oscar Predictions: SUPPORTING ACTRESS (June) 
‘you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love’ Album Review: Olivia Rodrigo Makes the Poison Sound Like the Cure [A-] 
‘The Death of Robin Hood’ Review: Gritty Take on the Folk Legend Takes Rich Text and Makes it Poor [C-]