"But at first blush, the 2026 nominations seem... fine. Only a handful of nominees stand out as peculiar. (Aimee Lou Wood over Carrie Coon? OK! Kristen Wiig over Kristen Bell? Good!) If anything, so many familiar names and show titles make this year's batch of acting honorees seem a little too predictable."
"Therein lies the rub. Typically, the Actors Awards, nee SAG Awards, can be counted on to elevate a new crop of Emmy contenders. New shows released in the winter and fall need an end-of-year boost to remain top of mind for voters in the months ahead, and the Actors Awards are perfectly timed (and legitimate enough) to do exactly that. Last January's nominations helped freshmen series like "Nobody Wants This," "Matlock," and "The Penguin" start building the necessary momentum to compete again in July."
The Actors Awards (formerly the SAG Awards) limit TV nominations to five slots per category and offer no Best Ensemble for limited series. The 2026 nominations skew toward familiar names and returning shows, with "The Studio" leading all series nominations and "The White Lotus" and "Adolescence" topping drama and limited-series tallies. The awards historically boost new winter and fall series' Emmy prospects, as prior nominations helped freshmen titles build momentum. This year produced some beneficiaries, including "The Beast in Me" and Sarah Snook in "All Her Fault," but numerous newcomers were overlooked, most notably "Death by Lightning."
Read at IndieWire
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