The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards aired Monday, September 14, on NBC and Peacock, capping a long awards stretch that began with the Creative Arts ceremonies on September 5 and 6. Here is the full rundown of the 2026 Emmys Black winners, from a 73 year old first time winner to the Lagos artist who designed Wakandan warriors, plus where to stream every winning show.

Let’s be clear about the big picture first. Apple TV’s Widow’s Bay and HBO Max’s The Pitt dominated the night, and Matthew Rhys made history by winning two lead actor trophies, per CBS News. As Black America Web noted, 17 performers of color were nominated in the lead and supporting races, and Quinta Brunson, Ayo Edebiri, Janelle James, Tyler James Williams and Sterling K. Brown all went home without a trophy. That makes the wins below worth celebrating even louder.

The 2026 Emmys Black Winners in Acting and Narration

Ernest Harden Jr., Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series

Harden won for playing Louie Cloverfield, the ER “frequent flyer” on The Pitt. At 73, it is his first Emmy after more than 50 years in the business, a career that includes appearances on Good Times and The Jeffersons, according to Urban Hollywood 411. He almost passed on the part. He told The Jennifer Hudson Show that his first reaction to the role was “Alcoholic? Nah, another drunk Black man,” before he committed to playing Louie with full humanity instead of as comic relief.

Octavia Spencer, Outstanding Narrator

The Oscar winner earned her first Emmy for narrating Investigation Discovery’s Lost Women of Alaska, a three part series about missing and murdered Indigenous women. She beat Jodie Foster, Werner Herzog and David Attenborough, theGrio reports. Spencer has said her interest in true crime goes back to childhood: “I read a horrible story, a true-crime story, when I was 11 and I think it made an indelible mark on me.”

The Black Creatives Behind the Biggest Wins

Charm La’Donna, Outstanding Choreography for Variety or Reality Programming

The Compton native shared the award with Karina Ortiz for the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show starring Bad Bunny, according to the Television Academy. It comes a year after she was nominated for choreographing Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show.

Jay-Z and Jesse Collins, Outstanding Variety Special (Live)

Shawn Carter and Jesse Collins are credited executive producers on the same halftime show, which won seven Emmys, making it “the most-awarded Super Bowl halftime show ever recognized by the Television Academy,” theGrio reports.

Uzoma Dunkwu, Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation

The Lagos based artist won a juried Emmy for character design on Marvel’s Eyes of Wakanda episode “Into the Lion’s Den,” including early designs for the Dora Milaje. He studied engineering before teaching himself animation. “This win is for the rising talents from Nigeria and the global south. We can compete on the world stage!” he said, via Channels Television.

Damian Marcano and Cynthia Adarkwa, Outstanding Drama Series

When The Pitt won the night’s top drama prize on September 14, two Black producers were on the credit list: co-executive producer Damian Marcano and supervising producer Cynthia Adarkwa. Marcano, a filmmaker from Morvant, Trinidad and Tobago, who moved to the U.S. at 12, dedicated the win back home: “These Emmy Awards belong to Morvant, to Port-of-Spain, to every young dreamer from Laventille to Point Fortin,” he said, via CNC3. Adarkwa, a Ghanaian American writer from Montgomery County, Maryland, also mentors new screenwriters through Black Boy Writes Media, per The MoCo Show. Both were part of the show’s drama series win in 2025, too.

Adrien Beard, Outstanding Animated Program

Beard is a credited producer on South Park, which won for the episode “Sermon on the ‘Mount,” according to the Television Academy.

Where to Stream the Winning Shows

• The Pitt: HBO Max. Watch Harden’s Louie episodes and the drama that won 11 Emmys this year.
• Lost Women of Alaska: All three episodes are on HBO Max.
• Eyes of Wakanda: All four episodes of the animated anthology, developed through Ryan Coogler’s Proximity Media, are on Disney+.
• South Park: Season 29 premiered September 15 on Comedy Central, with next day streaming on Paramount+, per South Park Studios.
• The Super Bowl LX Halftime Show: Look for the official performance video on the NFL’s channels.

How the 2026 Emmys Compare

If you followed our coverage all season, you saw some of this coming. Our 2026 Emmy nominations breakdown tracked where Black led shows landed, and our early winners roundup previewed the telecast. The pattern this year was clear: Black artists won big in craft, producing and specialty categories, while the major acting races on the main broadcast went elsewhere. Abbott Elementary, which starts its sixth season October 7 on ABC, remains the show to watch for next year’s comedy races.

The best way to celebrate these winners is to watch their work. Queue up Louie’s episodes of The Pitt, spend an evening with Lost Women of Alaska, and share this list with the friend who only watched the telecast and thinks nobody Black won.