The readers and staff of The Contending have spoken! HBO Max’s The Pitt and Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette lead all categories with six nominations each. Love Story‘s nominations come on the strength of its performance in the Actress in a Supporting Role in a Limited Series category where Grace Gummer, Naomi Watts, and Emmy nominee Constance Zimmer all received mentions. Of The Pitt‘s large ensemble, Emmy nominees Noah Wyle, Sepideh Moafi, Katherine LaNasa, Patrick Ball, and Gerran Howell all received nominations.
Coming in with five nominations each, AppleTV’s Widow’s Bay and HBO Max’s Hacks lead in the comedy races. HBO’s limited series DTF St. Louis received four nominations.
The Cooler Awards enters its 11th year. Final round voting begins today here. Voting closes on August 31 at 8pm PT / 11pm ET.
The complete list of 2026 Cooler Award nominations follows below.
COMEDY SERIES
Abbott Elementary
The Comeback
Hacks
The Lowdown
Shrinking
Widow’s Bay
LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary
Elle Fanning, Margot’s Got Money Troubles
Lisa Kudrow, The Comeback
Rachel Sennott, I Love L.A.
Jean Smart, Hacks
LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Ethan Hawke, The Lowdown
Dan Levy, Big Mistakes
Steve Martin, Only Murders in the Building
Matthew Rhys, Widow’s Bay
Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Dale Dickey, Widow’s Bay
Hannah Einbinder, Hacks
Kate O’Flynn, Widow’s Bay
Michelle Pfeiffer, Margot’s Got Money Troubles
Megan Stalter, Hacks
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Paul W. Downs, Hacks
Harrison Ford, Shrinking
Nick Offerman, Margot’s Got Money Troubles
Stephen Root, Widow’s Bay
Tyler James Williams, Abbott Elementary
DRAMA SERIES
The Gilded Age
Industry
The Pitt
Pluribus
Task
LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Carrie Coon, The Gilded Age
Chase Infiniti, The Testaments
Keri Russell, The Diplomat
Rhea Seehorn, Pluribus
Zendaya, Euphoria
LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Peter Claffey, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Walton Goggins, Fallout
Gary Oldman, Slow Horses
Mark Ruffalo, Task
Noah Wyle, The Pitt
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Marissa Abela, Industry
Emilia Jones, Task
Katherine LaNasa, The Pitt
Sepideh Moafi, The Pitt
Karolina Wydra, Pluribus
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Patrick Ball, The Pitt
Gerran Howell, The Pitt
Jack Lowden, Slow Horses
Tom Pelphrey, Task
Carlos-Manuel Vesga, Pluribus
TELEVISION MOVIE
Mike and Nick and Nick and Alice
Miss You, Love You
People We Meet On Vacation
Remarkably Bright Creatures
Swiped
LIMITED SERIES
All Her Fault
The Beast In Me
DTF St. Louis
Half Man
Love Story
LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES
Claire Danes, The Beast In Me
Sally Field, Remarkably Bright Creatures
Carey Mulligan, Beef
Sarah Pidgeon, Love Story
Sarah Snook, All Her Fault
LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES
Riz Ahmed, Bait
Jamie Bell, Half Man
Michael Chernus, Devil In Disguise
Charlie Hunnam, Monster: The Ed Gein Story
Matthew Rhys, The Beast In Me
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES
Linda Cardellini, DTF St. Louis
Grace Gummer, Love Story
Lesley Manville, Monster: The Ed Gein Story
Naomi Watts, Love Story
Constance Zimmer, Love Story
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES
Jason Bateman, DTF St. Louis
Richard Gadd, Half Man
David Harbor, DTF St. Louis
Charles Melton, Beef
Nick Offerman, Death By Lightning
Alessandro Nivola, Love Story
