Matthew Rhys’s history-making win is now built on a foundation of deceit.
 

SEPTEMBER 25, 2026

 

STOLEN VALOR

Does the Sanctity of a Limited Series Emmy Mean Nothing? For too long, we’ve watched and done nothing as a small group of TV shows have committed unrepentant category fraud. Enough.

By Kathryn VanArendonk

“You want me to do what with my Emmy?” — Matthew Rhys, probably. Photo: Netflix

On September 14, Matthew Rhys made Emmys history twice, becoming the first person to win two awards for leading roles during the same ceremony and the first performer to win in all three leading categories. Building on his 2018 win for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for The Americans, this year Rhys won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as a deluded mayor in the Apple TV series Widow’s Bay and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for his role as suspected wife killer Nile Jarvis in Netflix’s The Beast in Me. But a mere ten days later, on September 24, Netflix announced The Beast in Me would return for a surprise second season with Rhys’s co-star, Claire Danes, reprising her role as traumatized journalist Aggie Wiggs. Unfortunately, this announcement means The Beast in Me, much like the characters in The Beast in Me, carries a dark guilt at its core. Its Emmy success, and Rhys’s record-setting win along with it, is built on a foundation of deceit.

READ MORE
 

Subscribe now to get unlimited access to everything New York, including subscriber-only newsletters, exclusive perks, the New York app, and more.

Subscribe Now
 

News Feed

Celebrity gossip, industry updates, and beyond.

➼ A Gilded Age Christmas Album?! 

➼ SNL picks up two new writers for season 52. 

➼ Avengers: Endgame now has more Robert Downey Jr.

 
Vulture Movies Fantasy League

One Week Left to Draft!

Do you want to win great prizes by predicting the biggest movies of 2026?

PLAY FOR FREE
 

ADVERTISER CONTENT

 
Learn more about OpenWeb
 

The Critics, In Short

Alison Willmore on Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!

Babel’s Rinko Kikuchi plays a middle-age Japanese widow who’s having trouble letting go of the memory of her husband, Luis (Alejandro Edda), in this quirky dramedy from Josef Kubota Wladyka. Set in the world of amateur ballroom dance, the movie weaves in surreal flights of fancy and impromptu dance numbers, though the real charm comes from its loving portrayal of a cross-cultural marriage in which two people create a life for themselves that is equal parts the places they’re from and somewhere entirely new.”

Enjoy our reviews? Sign up for The Critics weekly newsletter.

 

Today in Culture

 

The Wizard of Rock Would Like a Word

“The biggest artists in the world are female artists at this point,” Todd Rundgren observes, “and that’s because of video games.”

The Wizard of Rock Would Like a Word

 

Did a Harvard Professor Influence the Unabomber?

An interview with the director of a new Netflix movie about Ted Kaczynski who believes there’s a link.

Did a Harvard Professor Influence the Unabomber?

 

Three Weeks In, Dudamel Is Killing It

Last night at the Philharmonic, a detailed and vigorous Mahler Fifth.

Three Weeks In, Dudamel Is Killing It