“Death by Lightning” and “Big Mistakes” Lead the 2026 Gotham Television Awards Nominations
According to the Cinemadrame News Agency, in the latest round of announcements, series such as “Pluribus,” “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” “I Love You, Los Angeles,” “Beef,” “DTF. St. Louis,” and “Alien: Earth” also secured multiple nominations.
Continuing the television awards season, the Gotham Film and Media Institute announced on Tuesday afternoon the nominees for the 12th annual 2026 Gotham Television Awards across 12 competitive categories, featuring a wide range of series and acting performances.
Among this year’s nominees, two Netflix series drew the most attention: “Death by Lightning” and “Big Mistakes,” each leading with four nominations. They were followed by titles including “Pluribus,” “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” “I Love You, Los Angeles,” “Beef,” “DTF. St. Louis,” and “Alien: Earth,” each earning three nominations.
Jeffrey Sharp, Executive Director of the Gotham organization, said in an official statement: “With today’s nominations, the third annual Gotham Television Awards celebrates a remarkable year of comedy, drama, and innovative nonfiction work. With the expanded limited or anthology series category, we are especially highlighting the boldest creative achievements in today’s television landscape. As the first ceremony of the new television awards season, we are proud to bring together the industry’s leading voices, honor the year’s accomplishments, and reinforce our commitment to supporting the creative community.”
In its third year, the Gotham Television Awards focuses on three main categories—Breakthrough Comedy Series, Breakthrough Drama Series, and Nonfiction—while also recognizing Limited or Anthology Series for pushing the boundaries of serialized storytelling. Performance awards are also given to lead and supporting actors in these categories.
Additionally, the award for Best Original Television or Streaming Film is presented to projects that premiere on television or streaming platforms. Separate performance awards are also given for acting in original films.
Nominees are selected by committees composed of film and television critics, journalists, festival programmers, and curators. Final winners are then chosen by juries made up of writers, directors, actors, producers, and other industry professionals.
The 2026 Gotham Television Awards ceremony will be held in person on June 1, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. It was also previously announced that Ross and Matt Duffer, creators of the hit series “Stranger Things,” will receive a special tribute, with additional honors to be announced in the coming weeks.
Full list of nominees:
Breakthrough Comedy Series
“Big Mistakes”
Dan Levy, Rachel Sennott (creators); Ethan Frankel, Timothy Greenberg, Dean Holland, Dan Levy, AnnMarie McGinty, Rachel Sennott (executive producers) — Netflix
“The Chair Company”
Zach Kanin, Tim Robinson (creators); Andrew DeYoung, Zach Kanin, Adam McKay, Tim Robinson, Todd Schulman, Igor Srubshchik (executive producers) — HBO Max
“I Love You, Los Angeles”
Rachel Sennott (creator); Emma Barrie, Aida Rogers, Lorene Scafaria, Rachel Sennott, Max Silvestri (executive producers) — HBO Max
“Short Story Long”
Raphael Bob-Waksberg (creator); Raphael Bob-Waksberg, Noel Bright, Steven A. Cohen (executive producers) — Netflix
“Too Much”
Lena Dunham, Luis Felber (creators); Tim Bevan, Michael P. Cohen, Lena Dunham, Eric Fellner, Surian Fletcher-Jones, Bruce Eric Kaplan (executive producers) — Netflix
Breakthrough Drama Series
“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”
George R. R. Martin, Ira Parker (creators) — HBO Max
“Alien: Earth”
Noah Hawley (creator) — FX/Hulu
“D Section”
Scott Frank, Chandni Lakhani (creators) — Netflix
“Pluribus”
Vince Gilligan (creator) — Apple TV
“Task”
Brad Ingelsby (creator) — HBO Max
Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series
“Beef”
Lee Sung Jin (creator) — Netflix
“Death by Lightning”
Mick Makowsky is the creator of the series, with David Benioff, Bernadette Caulfield, Mick Makowsky, Matt Ross, and D. B. Weiss serving as executive producers. The series is a Netflix production.
“DTF St. Louis”
Created by Steven Conrad, the series features producers including Molly Allen, Jason Bateman, Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Michael Costigan, David Harbour, and others. The show airs on HBO Max.
“A Half of a Man”
Created by Richard Gadd, the series’ full list of executive producers has not yet been fully announced. The show is also produced by HBO Max.
“Lord of the Flies”
Jack Thorne created this adaptation, with producers including Jamie Campbell, Amanda Duthie, Nawal Faiadullah, Mark Munden, and others involved in production. The series is released by Netflix.
In the Breakthrough Nonfiction or Documentary Series category, the following titles are nominated:
“High Horse: Black Cowboys”
This documentary series features Kidin Uncle, Tom Casciato, Sasha Jenkins, Jordan Peele, and other producers, with Jason Perez directing. It is released by Peacock.
“Katrina: Come Hell and High Water”
Produced by Geeta Gandbhir, Spike Lee, and Sam Pollard, among others. The documentary is released by Netflix.
“Mr. Scorsese”
This series is produced by Damon Cardasis, Rebecca Miller, and Rick Yorn, and airs on Apple TV.
“Sean Combs: Exposure”
Producers include Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and Alexandria Stapleton. The project is released by Netflix.
“The Yogurt Shop Murders”
Produced by a team including Emma Stone, the documentary is released on HBO Max.
Best Lead Performance in a Comedy Series nominees include:
Elle Fanning in “The Marjo Financial Problems”
Dan Levy in “Big Mistakes”
Taylor Ortega in “Big Mistakes”
Tim Robinson in “The Chair Company”
Rachel Sennott in “I Love You, Los Angeles”
Best Lead Performance in a Drama Series:
Malin Åkerman in “The Hunter Wives”
Sydney Chandler in “Alien: Earth”
Peter Claffey in “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”
Chase Infinity in “The Wills”
Rhea Seehorn in “Pluribus”
Best Lead Performance in a Limited or Anthology Series:
Riz Ahmed in “Prey”
Jamie Bell in “A Half of a Man”
Matthew Macfadyen in “Death by Lightning”
Carey Mulligan in “Beef”
Sarah Pidgeon in “Love Story: JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette”
Lili Reinhart in “Hal and Harper”
Michael Shannon in “Death by Lightning”
Best Supporting Performance in a Comedy Series:
Odessa A’zion in “I Love You, Los Angeles”
Erika Alexander in “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins”
Laurie Metcalf in “Big Mistakes”
Michelle Pfeiffer in “The Marjo Financial Problems”
Daniel Radcliffe in “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins”
Haley Lu Richardson in “Ponies”
Best Supporting Performance in a Drama Series:
Dexter Sol Ansell in “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”
Babo Ceesay in “Alien: Earth”
Zach Galifianakis in “Courage”
Tom Pelphrey in “Task”
Karolina Wydra in “Pluribus”
Nominees for Best Supporting Performance in a Limited or Anthology Series
Linda Cardellini in “DTF St. Louis” (HBO Max)
David Harbour in “DTF St. Louis” (HBO Max)
David McKenna in “Lord of the Flies” (Netflix)
Nick Offerman in “Death by Lightning” (Netflix)
Cailee Spaeny in “Beef” (Netflix)
Nominees for Best Original Television Film, Broadcast, or Streaming
“Color Theory” directed by Julio Torres
Julio Torres (director); Matthew Vaughn (producer) — HBO Max
“The People We See on Vacation”
Brett Haley (director); Martha Bowen, Vic Godfrey, Isaac Klausner (producers) — Netflix
“Reflections in a Dead Diamond”
Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani (directors); Pierre Foulon (producer) — Shudder
“Fantastic Bright Creatures”
Olivia Newman (director); Peter Craig, David Levine, Brian Ankless (producers) — Netflix
“#SkyKing”
Patricia A. Gillespie (director); Christopher J. Cowan, Patricia A. Gillespie, David Sloan, Claire Weinraub (producers) — Hulu
Nominees for Best Performance in an Original Film
Sally Field in “Fantastic Bright Creatures” (Netflix)
Allison Janney in “I Miss You, Love You” (HBO Max)
Cassandra Naud in “Influencers” (Shudder)
Yannick Renier in “Reflections in a Dead Diamond” (Shudder)
Corey Michael Smith in “Mountainhead” (HBO Max)
2026 Gotham Television Awards Nomination Committees
Breakthrough Comedy Series & Best Comedy Performance Committee:
May Aboulbakr, independent critic
Randy Jones, journalist (“Randy Reviews”)
Inkoo Kang, TV critic (The New Yorker)
Randy Kleiner, CEO & co-founder of SeriesFest
Francis Roman, SXSW programming director
Breakthrough Drama Series & Best Drama Performance Committee:
Angie Han (The Hollywood Reporter)
Melanie McFarland (Salon)
Kaia Shunyata (independent critic)
Ben Travers (IndieWire)
Catherine VanArendonck (Vogue, New York Magazine)
Limited/Anthology Series & Performance Committee:
Daniel Fienberg (The Hollywood Reporter)
Liz Shannon Miller (Consequence)
Jennifer Morgan (ATX TV)
Aramide Tinubu (Variety)
Chris Vognar (Boston Globe)
Breakthrough Documentary Series Committee:
Opal H. Bennett (POV / POV Shorts)
Kendra Hodgson (Women Make Movies)
Eric Deggans (NPR / University of Washington and Lee)
Claire Taylor-Smith (SeriesFest)
Original Film & Performance Committee:
Kate Erbland (IndieWire)
Robert Daniels (RogerEbert.com)
Tomris Laffly (film critic)
Jourdain Searles (Hollywood Reporter, Film Stage)
Brian Tallerico (RogerEbert.com)
