Crave/HBO Max’s “Heated Rivalry,” HBO’s “Industry” and Apple TV’s “Widow’s Bay” led the nominations for the Television Critics Association‘s 42nd Annual TCA Awards, announced Friday. As part of the reveal, the TCA Awards also expanded to 14 categories — adding outstanding achievement in animation and outstanding achievement in international series to the mix.
The animation category recognizes “the best in new or returning animated series” and the international series categories focuses on “the best overall series produced by a country outside the United States where the predominant language spoken on screen is not English.”
This year’s TCA Awards focuses on the 2025-2026 television season; the eligibility period is June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026. Winners will be announced across TCA’s social media later this summer.
Among their noms, ‘Heated Rivalry,’ ‘Industry’ and ‘Widow’s Bay,’ compete in the Program of the Year field; also in the category are last year’s winner, HBO Max’s ‘The Pitt,’ as well as the final yearsruns of CBS’ ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,’ and HBO Max’s ‘Hacks” and “The Comeback.” Also nominated are Apple TV’s ‘Shrinking’ and ‘Pluribus.’
“My fellow TCA members’ nominations illustrate a wide range of excellent television and the artists who create it. Even in this period of contraction, there’s so much outstanding art being created and delivered to our homes, and we’re thrilled to celebrate it,” said TCA president Andy Dehnart, who’s behind the Reality Blurred website and host of the podcast “Made from Humans: How Reality Becomes TV.” “The selections you see here are the result of a year of members watching, reporting, and reviewing, in addition to weeks of spirited conversation in our community, both virtually and in-person at the ATX TV Festival. We’re thrilled to celebrate these artists and their outstanding art with the TCA Awards.”
Here are 2026 Television Critics Association nominees.
“Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette” — FX
Connor Storrie, “Heated Rivalry” — Crave/HBO Max
Hudson Williams, “Heated Rivalry” — Crave/HBO Max
Noah Wyle, “The Pitt” — HBO Max (2025 Winner)
Elle Fanning, “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” — Apple TV
Jean Smart, “Hacks” — HBO Max (2021, 2024 Winner)
“Frontline” — PBS (Eight-time Winner in Category)
“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” — HBO Max (2018, 2019, 2021 Winner)
“The Muppet Show: Sabrina Carpenter” — Disney+
“Couples Therapy” — Showtime/Paramount+ (2021 Winner)
“Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Animation” — Disney+
“Percy Jackson and the Olympians” — Disney+/Hulu
“Stranger Things: Tales from ‘85” — Netflix
“Vampirina: Teenage Vampire” — Disney+/Disney Channel
“Wizards Beyond Waverly Place” — Disney+/Disney Channel
“Mickey Mouse Clubhouse+” — Disney+/Disney Jr.
“Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical” — Apple TV
“Sofia the First: Royal Magic” — Disney+/Disney Jr.
“The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball” — Hulu
“Margo’s Got Money Troubles” — Apple TV — 3
“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” — HBO Max — 2
“The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins” — NBC — 2
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” — CBS — 2