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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Entertainment
Rebecca Shaw

In the Hacks v Widow’s Bay Emmys battle, it’s we – the audience – who are the real winners

Jean Smart accepts the Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series for Hacks
Jean Smart accepts the Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series for Hacks at the Television Academy’s 78th Emmy awards on Monday. Photograph: Danny Moloshok/AP

There are three essential things to know about me: I love comedy, I love women and I love television. So as you can imagine, the centre of my world is women in TV comedies. Going into the 2026 Emmy awards, there was a big beautiful battle shaping up between two women-driven comedies: Hacks, a truly masterful hilarious show that just finished up with its fifth season, and Widow’s Bay, a truly original hilarious show that took us by storm with its first season. Conveniently for me, these were also my favourite two comedies of the year.

The two opening awards set the stage perfectly. Supporting actress in a comedy was a stacked category, won by Kate O’Flynn, and extremely deservedly, according to me. Patricia on Widow’s Bay was my favourite new character of the year. O’Flynn played her with incredible physicality, finely honed comedic skill, and a vulnerability that made me want to cry as often as I laughed.

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