Apple TV Hits the Ground Running in 2026

We’re only in the first week of 2026, and Apple TV is already off to an auspicious start, having just scored seven wins at the 31st annual Critics Choice Awards that were held this past weekend.

The list includes Apple’s summer blockbuster, F1, which won awards for Best Editing and Best Sound, followed by The Studio for Best Comedy Series, Best Actor in a Comedy Series, and Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Pluribus and Severance then rounded out the list for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor, respectively.

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• F1: Best Editing — Stephen Mirrione / Best Sound — Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo, Juan Peralta, Gareth John
• The Studio: Best Comedy Series, Best Actor in a Comedy Series — Seth Rogen (Matt Remick) / Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series — Ike Barinholtz (Sal Saperstein)
• Pluribus: Best Actress in a Drama Series — Rhea Seehorn (Carol)
• Severance: Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series — Tramell Tillman (Seth Milchick)
  

Breaking Records and Box Office Barriers

While F1 has propelled Apple’s film ambitions to new heights, taking in more at the box office last summer than all of its previous film projects combined, it’s The Studio that’s become Apple’s next big hit series, beating out the Emmy record set by Ted Lasso in 2021 and setting a few new ones last fall when it received 23 Emmy award nominations and 13 wins.

In 2021, Ted Lasso became the most-nominated freshman comedy series in Emmy history when it received 20 nominations, beating out the 2010 record set by Glee when it received 19. With only seven wins, the Apple TV series didn’t quite edge out The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which had won 8 Emmys in 2018, but it did receive the award for Outstanding Comedy Series — a very rare feat for a freshman show.

However, The Studio proved that lightning can indeed strike twice for Apple. Where Ted Lasso failed to pass the mark for the most wins by a freshman comedy series, The Studio left that record in the dust when it took away 13 wins, beating out the 10 Emmys The Bear had won for its first season in 2023.

This gave The Studio the most nominations and the most wins for a freshman comedy series, but it also set another new bar, since one of those 13 awards was also for Outstanding Comedy Series. Apple didn’t just hit the ground running with The Studio; it sprinted past records held by industry titans. It’s the only streaming service to win this for two freshman comedies, tying it with traditional broadcast network NBC, which received the best comedy Emmys for the first seasons of The Golden Girls in 1986 and 30 Rock in 2007.

So, it’s not exactly a big surprise that The Studio has also been similarly recognized by the Critics Choice Awards. Two of the three awards, Best Comedy Series and Best Actor in a Comedy Series mirror two of the 13 Emmys, while Ike Barinholtz’s nod for Best Supporting Actor is a nice change of pace.

The Drama Slate’s Continued Dominance

Severance has pulled off a similar two-step, as Tramell Tillman also received a 2025 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series last fall, with Britt Lower also coming away from the Emmys with Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and Merritt Wever (Gretchen George) for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. Adam Scott was nominated for best lead actor, but lost out to Noah Wyle of The Pitt.

Pluribus is the new kid on the block, as it debuted after the Emmy Awards season had ended, but as the most-watched TV show in Apple’s history, it surprised nobody when Rhea Seehorn won for Best Actress in a Drama Series. The first season of what Apple describes as a “genre-bending original” came to an end on Christmas Eve with a nuclear cliffhanger, leaving us all on the edge of our seats for season 2.

While it’s far from the first time Apple Originals have received Critics Choice awards, this has been a banner year, with seven wins across four different productions. The last similarly big year as 2022, when Ted Lasso swept the top comedy categories for the second year in a row, echoing its historic performance at the Emmys the preceding fall. That same year the Critics Choice Awards also honored CODA, the Apple Original Film that would make history a few weeks later by not only becoming the first streaming service film to win for Best Picture, but also making Troy Kotsur the first Deaf male actor ever to receive an Oscar, joining his co-star Marlee Matlin, who first made history for a female Deaf lead by winning Best Actress for her role in Children of a Lesser God in 1986.

Apple also won Critics Choice awards on a smaller scale in 2025 for Mr. Scorsese for Best Limited Documentary Series and Best Biographical Documentary and Michael Urie won for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for Shrinking. In 2023, Best Foreign Language Series went to Pachinko and Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series went to Paul Walter Hauser for Black Bird.