The Television Critics Association has announced the winners of the 42nd Annual TCA Awards, honoring the standout programs, performers and television achievements from the 2025-2026 television season.
This year’s awards feature a diverse group of winners spanning scripted drama and comedy, reality television, documentaries, animation, children’s programming and international series.
At the top of the list is Heated Rivalry, which took home the prestigious Program of the Year award.
The Crave/HBO Max series, which follows two closeted professional hockey players as they navigate their careers, relationship and sexuality, received the TCA’s highest honor.
Meanwhile, Apple TV’s horror comedy Widow’s Bay led all individual programs with three wins, including Outstanding Achievement in Comedy, Outstanding New Program, and Individual Achievement in Comedy for Kate O’Flynn.
Heated Rivalry Takes Program of the Year
The TCA’s selection of Heated Rivalry for Program of the Year represents the organization’s top honor for the 2025-2026 television season.
The series’ win comes alongside a field that included several of the year’s most acclaimed programs.
TCA President Andy Dehnart praised the year’s television landscape, noting that the winning programs demonstrated the ability to tell compelling stories across vastly different genres and formats.
From supernatural horror and sports romance to dystopian science fiction and historical documentary filmmaking, the 2026 TCA Awards reflect the breadth of television being produced today.
Widow’s Bay Leads All Series With Three Awards
Widow’s Bay emerged as the night’s biggest series winner.
The Apple TV horror comedy earned:
- Outstanding Achievement in Comedy
- Outstanding New Program
- Individual Achievement in Comedy — Kate O’Flynn
O’Flynn was recognized for her performance as eccentric mayoral assistant Patricia Moyer, a character who quickly became a fan favorite.
The three victories establish Widow’s Bay as one of the most celebrated new series of the television season.
The Pitt Wins Drama for the Second Consecutive Year
HBO Max’s medical drama The Pitt continued its remarkable run by winning Outstanding Achievement in Drama for the second consecutive year.
The series once again earned recognition from TCA members for its dramatic storytelling and portrayal of the pressures facing medical professionals.
Apple TV’s Pluribus also scored an individual acting victory, with Rhea Seehorn winning Individual Achievement in Drama for her performance as Carol Sturka.
Stephen Colbert Receives Career Achievement Award
One of the evening’s most significant honors went to Stephen Colbert, who received the TCA’s Career Achievement Award.
The honor recognizes nearly four decades of work in comedy, television and film.
From The Daily Show and The Colbert Report to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Colbert has built a career around political satire, character-driven comedy and sharp cultural commentary.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert also won Outstanding Achievement in Variety, Talk or Sketch during its final season.
The TCA recognized Colbert’s ability to move seamlessly between sketch comedy, satire, interviews and scripted performances throughout his career.
In Living Color Receives TCA Heritage Award
The landmark sketch comedy series In Living Color was honored with the TCA’s 25th Heritage Award.
Created by Keenen Ivory Wayans, the FOX series originally aired from 1990 through 1994 and became one of the most influential sketch comedy programs of its era.
The predominantly Black cast included Keenen Ivory Wayans, Damon Wayans, Kim Wayans, Shawn Wayans and Dwayne Wayans, while the series also helped launch or elevate the careers of performers including Jamie Foxx, Jim Carrey, David Alan Grier, T’Keyah Crystal Keymáh and Tommy Davidson.
The show’s legendary Fly Girls dance troupe also featured future stars Jennifer Lopez and Carrie Ann Inaba, with choreography by Rosie Perez.
In Living Color also made television history by becoming the first entertainment program to be scheduled against the Super Bowl. FOX’s 1992 counterprogramming stunt attracted approximately 20 million viewers and helped establish a strategy that has become commonplace during the Big Game.
Netflix, PBS, Peacock and Disney+ Among Other Winners
Several other major programs took home TCA honors.
Ken Burns’ PBS documentary The American Revolution won Outstanding Achievement in News and Information, while Peacock’s The Traitors captured Outstanding Achievement in Reality for the third consecutive year.
Netflix’s Death by Lightning won Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries or Specials.
Disney+’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians received Outstanding Achievement in Family Programming, while Apple TV’s Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical won Outstanding Achievement in Children’s Programming.
The 2026 awards also introduced two new categories recognizing television’s increasingly global and animated landscape.
Netflix’s Long Story Short became the first recipient of the TCA’s Outstanding Achievement in Animation award.
Meanwhile, Squid Game made history by winning the inaugural Outstanding International Series award.
2026 TCA Awards Winners
Program of the Year: Heated Rivalry — Crave / HBO Max
Outstanding Achievement in Comedy: Widow’s Bay — Apple TV
Outstanding Achievement in Drama: The Pitt — HBO Max
Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries or Specials: Death by Lightning — Netflix
Outstanding New Program: Widow’s Bay — Apple TV
Individual Achievement in Drama: Rhea Seehorn, Pluribus — Apple TV
Individual Achievement in Comedy: Kate O’Flynn, Widow’s Bay — Apple TV
Outstanding Achievement in News and Information: The American Revolution — PBS
Outstanding Achievement in Variety, Talk or Sketch: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert — CBS
Outstanding Achievement in Reality: The Traitors — Peacock
Outstanding Achievement in Family Programming: Percy Jackson and the Olympians — Disney+
Outstanding Achievement in Children’s Programming: Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical — Apple TV
Outstanding Achievement in Animation: Long Story Short — Netflix
Outstanding International Series: Squid Game — Netflix
Career Achievement Award: Stephen Colbert
Heritage Award: In Living Color
A New Perspective for The Buzz
This year’s TCA Awards are particularly meaningful for The Buzz – BuzzWorthy Radio, as the publication is now a member of the Television Critics Association.
The TCA membership represents another step in The Buzz‘s continued expansion within the television and entertainment media landscape.
Since launching in 2007, The Buzz has evolved from its original focus on daytime television into broader coverage of primetime television, film, streaming, entertainment news, interviews and red carpet events.
TCA membership adds another important credential to that journey and provides an opportunity to participate alongside fellow television critics covering the industry’s most important programs, performers and trends.
For The Buzz, that makes this year’s TCA Awards more than simply another awards announcement — they mark the first TCA Awards season covered as a member of the organization.
Congratulations to all of the 2026 TCA Award winners!
