Is Emmy history about to repeat itself?
At the 2014 Emmys, Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey were both nominated in Best Drama Actor for their roles in the first season of True Detective. For several reasons — including potential vote-splitting, confusion over the show’s drama-vs.-limited-series classification, and the fact that it was the final season of Breaking Bad — they lost to Bryan Cranston.
Time for take two! Harrelson and McConaughey are once again co-stars in Apple TV‘s Brothers, in which they play fictionalized versions of themselves who discover they may share a blood bond. Awards pundits are already wondering whether the guys will compete against each other again — this time in Best Comedy Actor.
A caveat: middling reviews might affect the show’s awards chances. It has a 56% on Rotten Tomatoes and 52 rating on Metacritic, quite low for an Apple series.
Rebecca Nicholson (Financial Times) is confused as to whether Brothers is “a surreal comedy or a sentimental drama.” James Jackson (The Times) writes, “It’s patchy, but with a couple of escapades each episode, the series gathers a kind of easygoing momentum.” And Judy Berman (Time) calls it “disjointed but breezy,” adding, “it coasts on the chemistry between its leads.”
True Detective is frequently mentioned throughout the eight-episode comedy series, with Harrelson and McConaughey proudly being each other’s “lighthouses” due to the friendship they formed on that HBO cop show. Whether or not they are, in fact, half brothers — as an inebriated Ma Mac (Holland Taylor) hints in the pilot — well, you’ll just have to keep watching.
Let’s break down the instant Emmy predictions for Brothers, which streams every Wednesday on Apple TV until the Nov. 4 finale.
BEST COMEDY SERIES
Apple TV doesn’t just get nominated in this category, it sets records. This year, Widow’s Bay won 14 total Emmys, besting the streamer’s own record from the prior year for 13-time winner The Studio. They both won Best Comedy Series, as did Ted Lasso twice (2021 and ’22), and Apple also made it into that top category for Palm Royale (2024), Shrinking (2025 and ’26), and Margo’s Got Money Troubles (2026).
That’s a long way of saying not to count out Brothers for a series bid, despite its poor reviews. The pedigree of Harrelson and McConaughey (who also serve as executive producers), along with that of showrunner Lee Eisenberg (an eight-time Emmy nominee for shows like The Office, Jury Duty, and Lessons in Chemistry) should make Brothers a contender during the upcoming awards season and the 2027 Emmys.
BEST COMEDY ACTOR
Harrelson and McConaughey are big names who could generate significant buzz when voting begins — especially if they’re willing to play the campaign game. (For the record, neither joined the recent Brothers press junket, which was attended by Eisenberg and co-stars Taylor, Natalie Martinez, and Brittany Ishibashi).
TV Comedy Actor
1.
2.
Martin Short
Only Murders in the Building
3.
4.
5.
6.
Jeremy Allen White
The Bear
7.
Steve Martin
Only Murders in the Building
8.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Wonder Man
9.
Matthew McConaughey
Brothers
10.
Gold Derby’s Golden Globes predictions center is open now, and both lead actors place within the Top 10 for Best Comedy Actor. Notably, Brothers is the only brand-new show represented in the projected lineup, as the eight contenders above them were all eligible at the most recent Emmys; Matthew Rhys (Widow’s Bay) won that contest.
BEST COMEDY SUPPORTING
Voters could take notice of Taylor, Martinez, and Ishibashi, three actresses playing strong women who are actively promoting the show. Taylor sinks her teeth into Ma Mac, Matthew’s no-nonsense mother; Martinez takes on the role of Valentina, Matthew’s chic wife; and Ishibashi portrays Joy, Woody’s better half. Taylor has a leg up on the competition because of her storied Emmy history: she’s a nine-time nominee who previously won for The Practice (1999).
BEST COMEDY GUEST
Don’t be surprised if Brian Williams winds up with an Emmy nomination for playing himself in the penultimate episode of Brothers. The veteran newsman delivers a “very funny cameo,” says Your Entertainment Corner, while the Los Angeles Times calls out his “familiar meta thing.”
Actor-podcaster Dax Shepard also plays himself — and winds up complicating Woody and Matthew’s lives. But perhaps the most awards-friendly guest performance is from Jeff Kober as antagonist TJ Travis; the actor is on a role with a Primetime Emmy nomination for The Pitt and a Daytime Emmy bid for General Hospital.
BEST COMEDY WRITING/DIRECTING
Standout episodes from Season 1 include the premiere (“On the Road”), which sets up the unique story; the penultimate episode (“The Interview”), which elevates Matthew and Woody’s relationship; and the finale (“On the Road… Again”) which closes the current chapter while teasing a new one.
The premiere and finale were directed by Trent O’Donnell and written by Eisenberg; Erin O’Malley directed “The Interview,” which was written by Alex Cuthbertson and Matt Fusfeld. McConaughey, Harrelson, and original developer David West Read also receive “story by” credits on the pilot, making them eligible for writing Emmys.
CRAFT CATEGORIES
Brothers is filmed single-camera style, with cinematography a standout as it captures all that lovely Austin scenery. Apple shows typically dominate below-the-line, so also watch for Brothers to pop up in such craft categories as costumes, music, picture editing, sound editing, and sound mixing.
