Matthew Rhys, Jean Smart make Emmy Awards history; more theatre stars represented among 2026 winners

Multiple of this year's nominees and winners, announced at the September 14 ceremony, are cast members of recent, current, and upcoming NYC stage shows.

Summary

• This article highlights 2026 Emmy Award winners that have connections to Broadway
• Record-breaking acting winners Matthew Rhys and Jean Smart, plus winner Allison Janney, all have recent or upcoming stage credits

The 2026 Emmy Award winners were named on Monday night, September 14, with multiple Broadway and Off-Broadway alums among the victors. A handful are also slated to star in upcoming productions in the 2026-27 theatre season.

Two acting winners made Emmys history this year. Matthew Rhys became the first person to win two lead acting categories in the same night: Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (for Widow's Bay) and Lead Actor in a Limited Series (for The Beast in Me). He previously won Lead Actor in a Drama Series for The Americans in 2018, making him the first male performer to win all three lead categories.

In 2027, he will star as actor Richard Burton in the Off-Broadway play Playing Burton with Lincoln Center Theater.

The other history-making winner was Jean Smart, who won her fifth consecutive Emmy for Hacks. With eight Emmys total, she is now tied with Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus for the most Emmy wins for a single performer. Smart was most recently seen on Broadway in 2025's Call Me Izzy.

Additionally, Lead Actor in a Drama Series winner Allison Janney (The Diplomat) will return to Broadway starting September 29 in the play Other Desert Cities with Louis-Dreyfus, Ed Harris, Joe Keery, and Lily Rabe.

At the Creative Arts Emmys last week, multiple recent Broadway alums received awards, including Cult of Love's Shailene Woodley (for Paradise) and Oh, Mary!'s Betty Gilpin (for Widow's Bay).

The reality competition series The Traitors, which won all seven of its 2026 Emmy nominations, has gotten the theatrical treatment with the interactive The Traitors: Live Experience in London. A separate show, called The Traitors - Acts of Betrayal and hosted by Nick Mohammed, will also open in London in May 2027.

The 2026 Emmy Awards were hosted by Mariska Hargitay, who made her Broadway debut in Every Brilliant Thing this past summer and won two 2026 Creative Arts Emmys.

The full list of 2026 Emmy Award winners is available on the Television Academy website.

Photo credit: Jean Smart and Allison Janney. (Smart photo courtesy of Vivacity Media Group; Janney photo by Robert Ascroft)