HBO created modern-day prestige TV. Landmark shows like The Sopranos, The Wire, Six Feet Under, Rome, Deadwoodand Game of Thrones created an expectation around the HBO name. Viewers did not need to know much about a new HBO series to believe that it deserved their attention. Today, Apple TV, which launched as Apple TV in November 2019, has joined HBO as a prestige brand less than seven years after its debut.

The 2026 Emmy Awards showed just how far Apple has come. Apple TV led all streaming platforms with 28 wins. Widow’s Bay won 14 Emmys, the most ever for a comedy series in a single year (the previous record was set by Apple TV’s The Studio in 2025).

Pluribus star Rhea Seehorn won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Other Apple programs collected awards across comedy, drama and nonfiction. The wins followed Apple TV’s best-ever showing in Emmy nominations: 89 across 15 programs, including 19 for Widow’s Bay and 18 for Pluribus.

Apple Beat Netflix With Fewer Shows That Get More Recognition

To understand what Apple TV has achieved, let’s compare its Emmy successes against Netflix, which changed the entire streaming model in 2013 by creating original content instead of hosting someone else’s.

Netflix wins lots of awards, too. During the 2024 and 2025 Emmy cycles, Netflix received 227 nominations and won 54 awards. Apple received 153 nominations and won 32 awards. But Apple did this with far less programming.

According to Luminate, Netflix released 274 U.S.-produced streaming series across 2024 and 2025, compared with 74 for Apple TV. Relative to the number of series released, Apple generated about 2.5........

© Forbes