‘Death by Lightning,’ ‘Big Mistakes,’ Rachel Sennott Lead 2026 Gotham Television Awards Nominations
The Gotham Film & Media Institute announced today the nominations in twelve competitive award categories for the 2026 Gotham Television Awards, recognizing a range of series and performances. Two Netflix shows, Big Mistakes and Death by Lightning, nabbed the most nominations for a single series with four apiece. The Gotham 2026 Television Awards Ceremony will be held live and in person at 7PM on Monday, June 1, 2026 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.
Big Mistakes earned nominations for Breakthrough Comedy Series, Lead Performance in a Comedy Series (for Dan Levy and Taylor Ortega) and Supporting Performance Performance in a Comedy Series for Laurie Metcalf. Death by Lightning, about the assassination of President James Garfield, earned nominations for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, two Lead Performance nods (for Matthew Macfadyen and Michael Shannon) one in Supporting for Nick Offerman.
I Love LA was more than half a dozen shows to earn three nominations while its creator, Rachel Sennott, earned three herself, more than any individual; two as a creator (on I Love LA and Big Mistakes) and one for her performance in I Love LA.
Beef, Pluribus, Alien: Earth, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and DTF St. Louis were among the triple-nominated shows while HBO and HBO Max led the way for networks with 23 nominations, followed closely by Netflix with 21. Of the 15 nominations in the narrative series categories, 13 come from just those two. Trailing far behind were Apple TV (6) and Peacock (4).
“With today’s nominations, our third annual Gotham Television Awards celebrates an incredible year of breakthrough comedies, dramas, and original films, as well as a newly expanded Limited or Anthology Series category recognizing where some of television’s boldest work is being made,” said Jeffrey Sharp, Executive Director of The Gotham. “As the first awards show of the new television season, we’re proud to bring together the industry’s most exciting voices, celebrate the year’s achievements, and deepen our commitment to supporting the creative community we represent here at The Gotham.”
The Breakthrough Comedy, Drama, and Nonfiction Series, and the Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, honor exceptionally realized fiction and nonfiction series that expand the boundaries of creativity in serialized content. Outstanding Performance awards honor lead and supporting performances in the Breakthrough Comedy, Drama, and Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series categories. Additionally, the Outstanding Original Film, Broadcast or Streaming award honors new feature films which originally aired or transmitted for the first time on television (network, basic cable, pay cable, pay television, pay-per-view, interactive cable, broadband) or digital distribution through an internet streaming platform. The Gothams also honor Outstanding Performances in an Original Film.
Nominees were selected by committees of film and television critics, journalists, festival programmers, and film curators. Separate juries of writers, directors, actors, producers, editors, and others directly involved in making television will determine the final Gotham Television Awards recipients.
At the 2025 Gotham Television Awards winners included Adolescence, The Studio, The Pitt, Social Studies, and Pee-wee as Himself. The 2025 ceremony also bestowed tributes on Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino, Hwang Dong-hyuk, Elisabeth Moss and the cast of The Handmaid’s Tale, Parker Posey, Brian Tyree Henry, Sheryl Lee Ralph, and David E. Kelley.
In addition, tributes will be given to The Duffer Brothers for Stranger Things as well as others that will be announced in the coming weeks. Here is the complete list of 2026 Gotham Television Award nominations.
Breakthrough Comedy Series
Big Mistakes
Dan Levy, Rachel Sennott, creators; Etan Frankel, Timothy Greenberg, Dean Holland, Dan Levy, Anne-Marie McGintee, Rachel Sennott, executive producers (Netflix)
The Chair Company
Zach Kanin, Tim Robinson, creators; Andrew DeYoung, Zach Kanin, Adam McKay, Tim Robinson, Todd Schulman, Igor Srubshchik, executive producers (HBO Max)
I Love LA
Rachel Sennott, creator; Emma Barrie, Aida Rodgers, Lorene Scafaria, Rachel Sennott, Max Silvestri, executive producers (HBO Max)
Long Story Short
Raphael Bob-Waksberg, creator; Raphael Bob-Waksberg, Noel Bright, Steven A. Cohen, executive producers (Netflix)
Too Much
Lena Dunham, Luis Felber, creators; Tim Bevan, Michael P. Cohen, Lena Dunham, Eric Fellner, Surian Fletcher-Jones, Bruce Eric Kaplan, executive producers (Netflix)
Breakthrough Drama Series
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
George R.R. Martin, Ira Parker, creators; Sarah Bradshaw, Ryan Condal, Vince Gerardis, Owen Harris, George R.R. Martin, Ira Parker, executive producers (HBO Max)
Alien: Earth
Noah Hawley, creator; Dana Gonzales, Noah Hawley, Joseph E. Iberti, Clayton Krueger, Ridley Scott, David W. Zucker, executive producers (FX/Hulu)
Dept. Q
Scott Frank, Chandni Lakhani, creators; Rob Bullock, Scott Frank, Andy Harries, Charlotte Moore, executive producers (Netflix)
Pluribus
Vince Gilligan, creator; Jeff Frost, Vince Gilligan, Diane Mercer, Allyce Ozarski, Gordon Smith, Alison Tatlock, executive producers (Apple TV)
Task
Brad Ingelsby, creator; David Crockett, Brad Ingelsby, Paul Lee, Mark Roybal, Mark Ruffalo, Ron Schmidt, Salli Richardson Whitfield, Jeremiah Zagar, executive producers (HBO Max)
Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series
Beef
Lee Sung Jin, creator; Sam French, Oscar Isaac, Lee Sung Jin, Ethan Kuperberg, Charles Melton, Anna Ouyang Moench, Carey Mulligan, Ravi Nandan, Alli Reich, Kitao Sakurai, Jake Schreier, Cailee Spaeny, Ali Wong, Steven Yeun, executive producers (Netflix)
Death by Lightning
Mike Makowsky, creator; David Benioff, Bernadette Caulfield, Mike Makowsky, Matt Ross, D.B. Weiss, executive producers (Netflix)
DTF St. Louis
Steven Conrad, creator; Molly Allen, Jason Bateman, Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steven Conrad, Michael Costigan, David Harbour, James Lasdun, Michael Nelson, Jennifer Scher, Bruce Terris, Steve Tisch, K.C. Wenson, executive producers (HBO Max)
Half Man
Richard Gadd, creator; executive producers to be determined (HBO Max)
Lord of the Flies
Jack Thorne, creator; Jamie Campbell, Amanda Duthie, Nawfal Faizullah, Marc Munden, Cailah Scobie, Jack Thorne, Joel Wilson, executive producers (Netflix)
Breakthrough Nonfiction Series
High Horse: The Black Cowboy
Kadine Anckle, Tom Casciato, Mari Keiko Gonzalez, Sacha Jenkins, Liz Yale Marsh, Keith McQuirter, Jordan Peele, Win Rosenfeld, Keisha Senter, Jamal M. Watson, executive producers, Jason Perez, director (Peacock)
Katrina: Come Hell and High Water
Geeta Gandbhir, Spike Lee, Sam Pollard, executive producers (Netflix)
Mr. Scorsese
Damon Cardasis, Chris Donnelly, Rebecca Miller, Cindy Tolan, Julie Yorn, Rick Yorn, executive producers (Apple TV)
Sean Combs: The Reckoning
Brad Bernstein, Ariel Brozell, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, David Karabinas, Stacy Scripter, Alexandria Stapleton, executive producers (Netflix)
The Yogurt Shop Murders
Nancy Abraham, Avi Belkin, Margaret Brown, Beth Garrabrant, Lisa Heller, Ali Herting, Dave McCary, Emily Osborne, Sara Rodriguez, Limor Gott Ronen, Mickey Stanley, Emma Stone, Nicole Stott, executive producers (HBO Max)
Outstanding Lead Performance in a Comedy Series
Elle Fanning, Margo’s Got Money Troubles (Apple TV)
Dan Levy, Big Mistakes (Netflix)
Taylor Ortega, Big Mistakes (Netflix)
Tim Robinson, The Chair Company (HBO Max)
Rachel Sennott, I Love LA (HBO Max)
Outstanding Lead Performance in a Drama Series
Malin Åkerman, The Hunting Wives (Netflix)
Sydney Chandler, Alien: Earth (FX/Hulu)
Peter Claffey, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (HBO Max)
Chase Infiniti, The Testaments (Hulu)
Rhea Seehorn, Pluribus (Apple TV)
Outstanding Lead Performance in a Limited or Anthology Series
Riz Ahmed, Bait (Amazon Prime Video)
Jamie Bell, Half Man (HBO Max)
Matthew Macfadyen, Death by Lightning (Netflix)
Carey Mulligan, Beef (Netflix)
Sarah Pidgeon, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette (FX/Hulu)
Lili Reinhart, Hal & Harper (MUBI)
Michael Shannon, Death by Lightning (Netflix)
Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Comedy Series
Odessa A’zion, I Love LA (HBO Max)
Erika Alexander, The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins (Peacock)
Laurie Metcalf, Big Mistakes (Netflix)
Michelle Pfeiffer, Margo’s Got Money Troubles (Apple TV)
Daniel Radcliffe, The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins (Peacock)
Haley Lu Richardson, Ponies (Peacock)
Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Drama Series
Dexter Sol Ansell, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (HBO Max)
Babou Ceesay, Alien: Earth (FX/Hulu)
Zach Galifianakis, The Audacity (AMC)
Tom Pelphrey, Task (HBO Max)
Karolina Wydra, Pluribus (Apple TV)
Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Limited or Anthology Series
Linda Cardellini, DTF St. Louis (HBO Max)
David Harbour, DTF St. Louis (HBO Max)
David McKenna, Lord of the Flies (Netflix)
Nick Offerman, Death by Lightning (Netflix)
Cailee Spaeny, Beef (Netflix)
Outstanding Original Film, Broadcast or Streaming
Color Theories by Julio Torres
Julio Torres, director; Matthew Vaughan, producer (HBO Max)
People We Meet on Vacation
Brett Haley, director; Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, Isaac Klausner, producers (Netflix)
Reflection in a Dead Diamond
Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani, directors; Pierre Foulon, producer (Shudder)
Remarkably Bright Creatures
Olivia Newman, director; Peter Craig, David Levine, Bryan Unkeless, producers (Netflix)
#Skyking
Patricia E. Gillespie, director; Christopher G. Cowan, Patricia E. Gillespie, David Sloan, Claire Weinraub, producers (Hulu)
Nominating Committees for the 2026 Gotham Television Awards were:
Nominating Committee for Breakthrough Comedy Series and Outstanding Performance in a Comedy Series
Mae Abdulbaki, Freelance Movie and TV Critic
Rendy Jones, Freelance Film/TV Journalist, Rendy Reviews
Inkoo Kang, TV Critic, The New Yorker
Randi Kleiner, Co-Founder and CEO, SeriesFest
Francis Román, Senior Film & TV Festival Programming Manager, SXSW
Nominating Committee for Breakthrough Drama Series and Outstanding Performance in a Drama Series:
Angie Han, Television Critic, The Hollywood Reporter
Melanie McFarland, Senior Critic, Salon.com
Kaiya Shunyata, TV Critic, Freelance
Ben Travers, Head TV Critic, IndieWire
Kathryn VanArendonk, Critic at Vulture and New York Magazine
Nominating Committee for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series and Outstanding Performance in Limited Series:
Daniel Fienberg, Chief TV Critic, The Hollywood Reporter
Liz Shannon Miller, Senior Entertainment Editor, Consequence
Jennifer Morgan, Head of Programming, ATX TV
Aramide Tinubu, TV Critic, Variety
Chris Vognar, TV/Pop Culture Critic, The Boston Globe
Nominating Committee for Breakthrough Nonfiction Series
Opal H. Bennett, Senior Producer, POV | Executive Producer, POV Shorts
Kendra Hodgson, Managing Director, Women Make Movies
Eric Deggans, Critic at Large, NPR; Knight Chair of Journalism and Media Ethics at Washington and Lee University
Claire Taylor-Smith, Chief Programming Officer, SeriesFest
Nominating Committee for Outstanding Original Films, Broadcast, or Streaming and Outstanding Performance in an Original Film
Kate Erbland, Editorial Director, IndieWire
Robert Daniels, Associate Editor, RogerEbert.com
Tomris Laffly, Film Journalist and Film Critic
Jourdain Searles, Freelance Film Critic for The Hollywood Reporter and The Film Stage
Brian Tallerico, Managing Editor, RogerEbert.com
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.
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