Emmys 2026 Poll: Who Should Win For Lead Actor In A Comedy Series?

With less than half of last year's nominees returning this year, the Emmy race for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series is officially wide open. Only two of the five leading men nominated in this category are holdovers from the 2025 crop, and last year's winner — Seth Rogen from Apple TV's "The Studio" — is ineligible this time around since that series hasn't returned for Season 2 yet.

Who's the favorite, then? Your guess is as good as ours, but let's start with the two veterans in the field: Jason Segel, who notched his third nomination for playing therapist Jimmy on Apple TV's "Shrinking," but has yet to grasp Emmy gold; and Martin Short, who's back for the fifth straight year as the delightfully grandiose Oliver Putnam on Hulu's "Only Murders in the Building," but has also failed to score a win in this category. (We should note that Jeremy Allen White, who's won two Emmys in this category for his work on "The Bear," was surprisingly left off the list of nominees this year.)

Matthew Rhys earned his first-ever nomination in this category for playing Mayor Tom Loftis on the Apple TV frightfest "Widow's Bay," but he is a former Emmy winner, taking home the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama in 2018 for FX's "The Americans." (If he wins in this category, he'd be the first actor since Carroll O'Connor in 1989 to win lead acting Emmys for both comedy and drama series.)

Steve Carell is back in the mix this year, as well, for playing novelist Greg Russo in HBO's college comedy "Rooster" after six previous nods for his work as Michael Scott on "The Office" (which, criminally, led to zero wins). Rounding out the category is Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, nominated for his starring role as the titular superhero in Disney+'s now-canceled "Wonder Man" after earning a win for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series in 2020 for "Watchmen."

So who would you choose to bestow Emmy gold upon in this wide-open field? Vote for your favorite in the poll below, then hit the comments to defend your pick.