The announcement of nominations for the 2026 Awards on Wednesday revealed a stark change in diversity from last year's crop.
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Emmys Diversity Plummets Amid Controversial Nominations
The announcement of nominations for the 2026 Emmy Awards on Wednesday revealed a stark change in diversity from last year's crop.According to Variety, the numbe...
According to Variety, the number of nominated actors of color dropped a staggering 39 percent this year, with 17 actors of color nominated versus 28 in 2025.
The Wrap also noted that there appeared to be a paucity of openly queer nominees in the acting categories.
The three lead actor categories were all free of openly queer stars, as was the supporting actress in a drama category.
The Daily Mail has reached out for comment to representatives of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which puts on the Emmys, but has not yet received a response.
On social media, fans reacted to the news along ideological lines, but from those angered by the decrease in diversity at the Emmys, with fans venting about the show's alleged failure to secure more nominations for its actors of color.
The announcement of nominations for the 2026 Emmy Awards on Wednesday revealed a stark change in diversity from last year's crop. According to Variety, the number of nominated actors of color dropped 39 percent this year, with 17 actors of color nominated versus 28 in 2025; Sepideh Moafi pictured on The Pitt
The Pitt was a particular target of criticism from those angered by the decrease in diversity at the Emmys, with fans venting about the show's alleged failure to secure more nominations for its actors of color; Noah Wyle is pictured on the series
The reversal in diversity at the Emmy Awards
The change in the makeup of this year's nominees was particularly stark when compared to 2024, when 30 actors of color were nominated.
This year technically offered even more chances for a diverse crop of nominees, as a new category had been added, which brought the total number of male and female lead, supporting and guest actor nominations up to 95.
However, several commenters objected to the entire framing of the issue and disagreed that there should be any concern over a drop in the diversity of the Emmy nominees
He had previously earned the same award at last year's ceremony for season 1 of the drama.
The Best Supporting Actress in a Drama category features four stars from The Pitt, including last year's winner Katherine LaNasa. Sepideh Moafi, Fiona Dourif, and Taylor Dearden also earned nods.
The Best Supporting Actress in a Drama category features four stars from The Pitt including last year's winner Katherine LaNasa (pictured)
Shawn Hatosy (left) received a nomination in the Best Supporting actor in a Drama category after changing categories as he earned Best Guest Actor in a Drama for season 1 last year
Though The Pitt is a critically-acclaimed series, there were several X (formerly Twitter) users who were unhappy at the sheer volume of nods that it earned
Supriya Ganesh, who has portrayed senior resident Dr. Samira Mohan since the beginning of the series, was not nominated and exited the series at the conclusion of season 2
Hacks earned the second most nominations with a whopping 24 including a Best Actress in a Comedy nod for Jean Smart who has earned seven Primetime Emmys including four for the HBO comedy series
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star and Emmy winner Mariska Hargitay will host television's biggest night on September 14 at 8pm EST/ 5pm PST
Wyle's protagonist character is Dr. Michael 'Robby' Robinavitch who is a senior physician who is still reeling from his traumatic experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He previously starred on the aforementioned iconic medical drama ER over 254 episodes from 1994 to 2009.
Each episodeat the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center.
The show takes place in Pittsburgh, with the title nodding to both the location and a nickname for the hospital's emergency department.
Hacks earned the second most nominations with a whopping 24, .
Past Emmy winners Liza Colon-Zayas and Jeff Hiller revealed the nominations from the TV Academy's Saban Media Center.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star and Emmy Award winner will host television's biggest night.
The 2026 Emmy Awards will
The Creative Arts Emmys, which is a ceremony where most of the Emmy trophies will be presented, are
