EMMY SHOCKER: “THE PITT” FIGHTS WITHIN THEMSELVES, THREE STARS CLASH IN THE SAME CATEGORY! No one expected the 2026 Emmy race to turn into an “internal conflict” within The Pitt himself. Shawn Hatosy—who won the Guest Actor award last year—unexpectedly moved up to the Supporting Actor category, putting him in direct competition with his co-stars Patrick Ball and Gerran Howell. Three characters, one series… and only a few nominations for the most fiercely contested category of the year. Even more shocking? All three are among the strongest contenders, with Patrick Ball almost leading the race and Howell close behind—making The Pitt a strong contender for the record of “sweeping all the nominations.” Meanwhile, Hatosy has just left the “Guest Road” to step straight into the bigger arena… where there’s no room for any advantage from the past. One series. Three teammates. And an Emmy race that could split The Pitts’ ranks right on the Hollywood stage.

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‘The Pitt’ shocker: Shawn Hatosy jumps from guest to supporting at 2026 Emmys, will compete against Patrick Ball, Gerran Howell

He won the guest category last year for playing Dr. Jack Abbott.
Shawn Hatosy, Gerran Howell, Patrick Ball: 'The Pitt' Season 2
Shawn Hatosy, Gerran Howell, Patrick Ball in Season 2 of The Pitt
Warrick Page/HBO Max

It’s time to update your 2026 Emmys predictions — stat!

Gold Derby has confirmed that The Pitt scene-stealer Shawn Hatosy is jumping from Best Drama Guest Actor to Best Drama Supporting Actor for Season 2. The Emmy move is a surprise considering Hatosy won the guest category last year for playing Dr. Jack Abbott on the inaugural season of HBO Max’s medical series.

Hatosy was eligible to compete as a guest star once again, since he only showed up in six of the 15 episodes for Season 2. Per Emmy rules, guest stars must appear in fewer than 50% of the eligible episodes; his final total was 40%.

With Hatosy submitted as a supporting actor, he’s now going head-to-head-to-head with co-stars Patrick Ball (Dr. Frank Langdon) and Gerran Howell (Dr. Dennis Whitaker). While those two weren’t among The Pitt‘s 13 nominations for Season 1, they are both major contenders this year as the drama is expected to dominate the Emmys.

The Pitt Emmy Shake-Up: Shawn Hatosy To Compete As Supporting Actor - AOL

Ball currently owns the No. 1 position for Best Drama Supporting Actor with a 95% chance of receiving his first career nomination. Howell is in sixth place at 69%. In between them are two-time champ Billy Crudup (The Morning Show) at 93%, Tom Pelphrey (Task) at 91%, Jack Lowden (Slow Horses) at 87%, and Carlos-Manuel Vesga (Pluribus) at 76%. Hatosy will undoubtedly rise in the Emmy odds when more experts, editors, and users update their predictions. The number of nominees varies based on the number of submissions, but Gold Derby expects a final field of seven.

A single show nabbing three slots in the Best Drama Supporting Actor race is quite commonplace at the Emmy Awards. It happened twice last year for Severance (winner Tramell Tillman, Zach Cherry, and John Turturro) and The White Lotus (Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, and Sam Rockwell). The year before, The Morning Show nabbed a trio of bids (winner Crudup, Mark Duplass, and Jon Hamm). It’s quite possible that Hatosy, Ball, and Howell could all find themselves recognized for The Pitt.

The Pitt' Actor Shawn Hatosy Could Make Guest-Actor Emmy History

Hatosy held the top spot for Best Drama Guest Actor since Gold Derby began tracking the prediction data. Now that he’s vacating the race, the new odds leader is Jonathan Pryce (Slow Horses) at 89%. The other projected guest-star nominees are the late Eric Dane (Euphoria) at 80%, Jeff Kober (The Pitt) at 79%, Jeff Hiller (Pluribus) at 79%, and Giancarlo Esposito (The Boys) at 50%.

“In the words of my 7-year-old, holy s–t,” Hatosy said last year after prevailing at the Creative Arts Emmys. He claimed victory in Best Drama Guest Actor over fellow nominees Esposito, Jeffrey Wright (The Last of Us), Scott Glenn (The White Lotus), Joe Pantoliano (The Last of Us), and Forest Whitaker (Andor).

The Pitt also won Emmys last year for Best Drama Series, Best Drama Actor (Noah Wyle), Best Drama Supporting Actress (Katherine LaNasa), and Best Drama Casting. The 2026 nominations will be announced July 8.