Philly nominees went home empty handed at the 2026 Emmys barring a lone ‘Task’ win

Philadelphia talent was on full display at the 2026 Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Monday night, but few of the nominated actors, crew members, or shows took home trophies.

The big, surprise exception was Tom Pelphrey, a Rutgers University alum from Howell Township, N.J., who won the award for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series for his performance as Robbie Prendergrast on season one of the Delco-set HBO crime thriller Task.

“I thank God for my life and my sobriety. I thank my family and my friends for all your love and support all these years, from Emmys to you know black box theaters and everything in between,” said Pelphrey in his acceptance speech before thanking Task creators including directors Jeremiah Zagar (son of South Philly mosaicist Isaiah Zagar) and Salli Richardson-Whitfield, and fellow cast members Mark Ruffalo, Emiilia Jones, and Raúl Castillo.

Ruffalo was nominated for outstanding lead actor in a drama for his role as Tom Brandis but lost to Noah Wyle of The Pitt. The Pittsburgh-set emergency room drama received a whopping 25 nominations and took home seven Emmys, including outstanding drama series; Pelphrey beat out three supporting actor nominees from The Pitt for his win.

“Thank you to Brad Inglesby for this incredible role and this opportunity and your friendship. You are an amazing human being. I’m so proud to be your friend,” Pelphrey continued onstage as the camera showed the Berwyn-based showrunner Ingelsby beaming. Ingelsby is the writer/executive producer behind Task, which is currently shooting its second season in the Philadelphia area, and the Emmy-winning Mare of Easttown.

In Task, Pelphrey played a heartfelt but troubled trash collector who begins stealing from drug houses in Philadelphia’s collar counties run by a local motorcycle gang that killed his brother. Starring alongside two-time Emmy winner Ruffalo, Pelphrey was a complicated foil to Ruffalo’s priest-turned-FBI agent who hunted him down. The recognition marks Pelphrey’s first Emmy win after he was previously nominated for outstanding guest actor in a drama in 2022 for his role in Ozark.

“Brad is desperately insistent upon each individual’s humanity, so every character he writes is justified, in some sense, with a reason why they’re doing everything that they do — and that’s incredible, because usually that stuff gets sacrificed for plot,” Pelphrey told The Inquirer in a 2025 interview.

Task received six Emmy nods, including outstanding writing for a drama (recognizing Ingelsby’s heart-wrenching finale), directing, picture editing, and cinematography. The dystopian Apple TV+ show Pluribus won for outstanding writing and picture editing while the directing trophy went to the British spy show Slow Horses and cinematography went to Spider-Noir.

Philly’s much-adored Abbott Elementary went into the evening with seven nominations for its fifth season, including West Philly comedian Quinta Brunson’s nod for outstanding lead actress in a comedy and outstanding writing for a comedy and director Randall Einhorn’s nod for his episode shot during a live Phillies game last year (featuring guest star Kyle Schwarber on the historic night when he hit four homers).

However the horror-tinged newcomer Widow’s Bay swept nearly all the comedy categories, dominating the stage with a record-breaking 14 wins. Abbott Elementary actors Tyler James Williams and Janelle James were up for outstanding supporting acting in their respective categories but both lost to Widow’s Bay.

In the acting category, Brunson lost to Jean Smart as the Hacks star made history by becoming the first woman to win lead acting Emmy Awards for every season of a series. Smart’s costar Hannah Einbinder — an avid Eagles fan — was nominated for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy, which she won last year, but lost this time to Kate O’Flynn for Widow’s Bay.

Previous two-time Emmy-winner Brunson was briefly in the spotlight when Emmys host and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star Mariska Hargitay asked celebrity attendees about their first jobs.

“Oh, I was a student dance schoolteacher,” Brunson answered. Fellow West Philly-raised star Colman Domingo, who was nominated for outstanding guest actor in a drama for Euphoria and outstanding supporting actor in a comedy for Tina Fey’s The Four Seasons, also joined in. His first job, he said, was working the fries station at McDonald’s. (Domingo lost the former category to The Pitt and the latter to Widow’s Bay.)

To celebrate the 30-year anniversary of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Villanova-raised actor and Malvern Prep alum David Boreanaz joined star Sarah Michelle Gellar for a reunion moment onstage. The son of famous 6abc weatherman Dave Roberts, Boreanaz played the vampire with a soul Angel, who later received his own spinoff show. (He’s also a diehard Philly sports fan.)

“You know, Sarah, I always thought that Buffy and Angel would end up together,” Boreanaz said as the pair reflected on the groundbreaking show. “Well, I guess we won’t find out,” Gellar replied in a pointed critique of the recent cancellation of the Buffy reboot that had been in the works.

Ahead of the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony on Sept. 14, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences hosted the Creative Arts Emmys in two events honoring artists behind the scenes in technical categories. Winners from those ceremonies included South Philly comedian Rob Mac — the showrunner behind It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia formerly called McElhenney — whose FX show Welcome to Wrexham won for outstanding sound mixing for a reality program. (It was also nominated for outstanding picture editing and outstanding unstructured reality program.)

Bucks County pop star Sabrina Carpenter also won during the Creative Arts Emmys earlier this month for performing in and executive producing the 50th anniversary special of The Muppet Show, which earned a gold statue for outstanding variety special (pre-recorded) — putting her halfway to an EGOT status.

Another Philadelphia-connected nominee was Tires, the Shane Gillis-led Netflix comedy recognized for outstanding sound mixing for a half-hour comedy or drama; the trophy went to Widow’s Bay.

At Monday night’s ceremony, one more Pennsylvania celebrity made a cameo: Superstar singer Taylor Swift, who grew up in Reading, Pa., was not in attendance, but appeared in a prerecorded skit with Hargitay spoofing Law & Order along with her cat, named for Hargitay’s character, Olivia Benson.