“Heated Rivalry” tops Television Critics Awards nominations — and, yes, its leading men are going head to head

Key Points

• The 2026 Television Critics Association Awards nominations have been announced.

• Heated Rivalry leads the way with five nominations, along with Industry and Widow’s Bay.

• Winners will be announced later this summer.

Heated Rivalry is ineligible at the Emmys, but it’s heating up the Television Critics Association Awards. The hit hockey romance topped Friday’s 2026 TCA Awards nominations with five bids alongside Industry and Widow’s Bay.

All three are contending for Program of the Year against The Comeback, Hacks, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, reigning champ The Pitt, and Pluribus.

Heated Rivalry, which, as a Canadian production, is not eligible at the Emmys, is also nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Drama and Outstanding New Program, while its leading men, Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, will face off for the Individual Achievement in Drama prize.

Storrie and Williams are two of 10 nominees in the gender-neutral category — the largest it’s been — and are up against Industry stars Marisa Abela, Ken Leung, and Myha’la, The Pitt duo Noah Wyle (last year’s winner) and Katherine LaNasa, Sterling K. Brown (Paradise), David Harbour (DTF St. Louis), and Rhea Seehorn (Pluribus).

Industry is the fifth show to earn three Individual Achievement in Drama nominations in the same year after The Practice in 1999, The West Wing in 2000, Succession in 2023, and Severance last year. Like Heated Rivalry, the corporate drama is also nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Drama along with The Gilded Age, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Paradise, defending champ The Pitt, Pluribus, and Task.

Widow’s Bay, Apple TV’s spring breakout, is among the Outstanding New Program contenders. In Outstanding Achievement in Comedy, it will duke it out against Abbott Elementary, The Comeback, The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, Hacks, The Lowdown, Margo’s Got Money Troubles, and Shrinking.

The horror comedy has two spots in the Individual Achievement in Comedy lineup in Matthew Rhys and Kate O’Flynn. The other nominees are Hacks stars Jean Smart, a two-time winner, and Hannah Einbinder; Elle Fanning (Margo’s Got Money Troubles); Harrison Ford (Shrinking); Lisa Kudrow (The Comeback); and Tim Robinson (The Chair Company).

The Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries or Specials race features All Her Fault, The Beast in Me, Beef, Death by Lightning, DTF St. Louis, Half Man, Lord of the Flies, and Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette.

Two new categories were added this year: Outstanding Achievement in Animation and Outstanding Achievement in International Series.

Winners will be announced later this summer. The Pitt dominated last year’s awards, winning all four categories in which it was nominated.

See the full list of nominees below.

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Program of the Year

The Comeback
Hacks
Heated Rivalry
Industry
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
The Pitt
Pluribus
Shrinking
Widow’s Bay

Outstanding Achievement in Comedy

Abbott Elementary
The Comeback
The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins
Hacks
The Lowdown
Margo’s Got Money Troubles
Shrinking
Widow’s Bay

Outstanding Achievement in Drama

The Gilded Age
Heated Rivalry
Industry
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Paradise
The Pitt
Pluribus
Task

Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries or Specials

All Her Fault
The Beast in Me
Beef
Death by Lightning 
DTF St. Louis
Half Man
Lord of the Flies
Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette 

Outstanding New Program

Alien: Earth 
The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins
Heated Rivalry 
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms 
The Lowdown
Margo’s Got Money Troubles
Pluribus 
Widow’s Bay

Individual Achievement in Drama

Marisa Abela, Industry
Sterling K. Brown, Paradise
David Harbour, DTF St. Louis 
Katherine LaNasa, The Pitt 
Ken Leung, Industry 
Myha’la, Industry 
Rhea Seehorn, Pluribus
Connor Storrie, Heated Rivalry
Hudson Williams, Heated Rivalry
Noah Wyle, The Pitt

Individual Achievement in Comedy

Hannah Einbinder, Hacks 
Elle Fanning, Margo’s Got Money Troubles  
Harrison Ford, Shrinking
Lisa Kudrow, The Comeback
Kate O’Flynn, Widow’s Bay  
Matthew Rhys, Widow’s Bay 
Jean Smart, Hacks 
Tim Robinson, The Chair Company

Outstanding Achievement in News and Information

60 Minutes
The American Revolution
CBS This Morning
Disneyland Handcrafted 
Frontline
Have I Got News for You
Marty, Life Is Short
Mr. Scorsese

Outstanding Achievement in Variety, Talk or Sketch

The Daily Show 
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver 
Late Night With Seth Meyers
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
The Muppet Show: Sabrina Carpenter
Saturday Night Live

Outstanding Achievement in Reality

Couples Therapy
Finding Mr. Christmas
The Great British Baking Show
Love on the Spectrum
RuPaul’s Drag Race
Survivor
Top Chef
The Traitors

Outstanding Achievement in Family Programming

Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Animation
Electric Bloom
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Phineas and Ferb
Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85
Vampirina: Teenage Vampire
Wizards Beyond Waverly Place
WondLa

Outstanding Achievement in Children’s Programming

Carl the Collector
The First Snow of Fraggle Rock
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse+
Phoebe & Jay
Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical
Sofia the First: Royal Magic
Weather Hunters
The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball

Outstanding Achievement in Animation

Bob’s Burgers
Haunted Hotel
Invincible
King of the Hill
Long Story Short
The Simpsons
South Park
Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord
Women Wearing Shoulder Pads

Outstanding International Series

The Boyfriend 
Crime Scene Zero  
Drops of God
The House of the Spirits
Last Samurai Standing
Squid Game

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