The Television Academy has announced the 2026 Emmy nominations for Outstanding Special Visual Effects, with Apple TV emerging as the biggest winner in the season and movie category.
Apple secured three of the six nominations through Foundation, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, and Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age, highlighting the platform’s investment in large scale science fiction, creature animation, and photoreal visual storytelling. FX/Hulu also earned strong recognition with Alien: Earth, while HBO Max received a nomination for IT: Welcome to Derry. Netflix’s Stranger Things rounded out the category as the streamer’s only VFX nomination.
The single episode category features Gen V, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Paradise, Spider-Noir, and The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, showcasing a diverse mix of superhero action, fantasy, horror, and post apocalyptic storytelling.
Beyond the streaming platforms, the nominations reflect the collaborative nature of modern television VFX. Major studios including Wētā FX, ILM, DNEG, Eyeline Studios, El Ranchito, Cinesite, BUF, Pixomondo, Zoic Studios, and Crafty Apes all received recognition for their work across multiple productions.
One of the biggest takeaways this year is the growing diversity of VFX driven content. Rather than being dominated by superhero projects, the nominees span science fiction, creature horror, prestige fantasy, natural history documentaries, and grounded speculative dramas, reinforcing that premium television VFX now rivals feature film quality in both scale and complexity.
Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Season Or A Movie
Alien: Earth • FX/Hulu • FX Productions Jonathan Rothbart,
Production VFX Supervisor
James Ledwell, Production VFX Producer
Mitchell Callisch, Production VFX Production Manager
Woei Lee, Production Associate VFX Supervisor
David Fletcher, SFX Supervisor
Jeffrey A. Okun, On-Set VFX Supervisor
Chris Ritvo, VFX Supervisor (Untold Studios)
Viktor Müller, VFX Supervisor (UPP)
Aladino Debert, VFX Supervisor (Zoic Studios)
Will Towle, VFX Supervisor (FIN VFX)
Ryan Freer, VFX Supervisor (Pixomondo)
Maksim Došlo, VFX Supervisor (Crafty Apes)
Foundation • Apple TV • Skydance Television in association with Apple
Chris MacLean, Overall Visual Effects Supervisor
Jack Geist, Overall Visual Effects Producer
Gabriel Sanchez, Post Visual Effects Supervisor
Stephan Schaefholz, VFX Supervisor
Arnaud Brisebois, VFX Supervisor
Carlos Monzon, VFX Supervisor
Mathieu Assemat, VFX Supervisor
Stephen Elphick, VFX Supervisor
Jindřich Červenka, VFX Supervisor
Damien Hurgon, VFX Supervisor
Ed Bruce, VFX Supervisor
Jan Rejnuš, Special Effects Supervisor
IT: Welcome To Derry • HBO Max • HBO in association with Rideback, Vertigo Entertainment, FiveTen Productions, K Plus Ultra, Double Dream, and Warner Bros. Television
Daryl Sawchuk, Overall VFX Supervisor
Steve Dellerson, Overall VFX Producer
Pier Lefebvre, VFX Supervisor
Jordan Schilling, VFX Supervisor
Steven Tether, VFX Set Supervisor
Darcy Callaghan, SPX Supervisor
Zena Bielewicz, VFX Supervisor E
ric Withee, VFX Assoc Producer
Maria Sartzetaki, VFX Production Mgr
Sebastien Chartier, VFX Supervisor
Ben King, VFX Supervisor
Lara Ramirez, VFX Editor
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters • Apple TV • Legendary Television in association with Apple
Sean Konrad, VFX Supervisor
Elizabeth Willaman, VFX Producer
Bryn Morrow, On-Set VFX Supervisor
Marc Varisco, On-Set VFX Supervisor
Bryan Hirota, VFX Supervisor
Pier Lefebvre, VFX Supervisor
Cody Baker, Colourist
Julian Summers, SFX Supervisor
Kelly Redmond, SFX Coordinator
Jeremy Burns, Additional VFX Supervisor
Lara Bannister, VFX Production Manager
Jourdan Bizou, Visualization Supervisor
Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age • Apple TV • BBC Studios in association with Apple
Russell Dodgson, VFX Supervisor
Andrew R. Jones, Animation Director
Rupert Smith, VFX Producer
Tracey Gibbons, VFX Producer
Benjamin Loch, VFX Supervisor
Francois Dumoulin, VFX Supervisor
Romain Rico, VFX Supervisor
Gavin McKenzie, VFX Supervisor
Brian Fisher, Technical Reference Puppeteer
Alvise Avati, Animation Supervisor
Adrien Annesley, Animation Supervisor
Liam Russell, Animation Supervisor
Stranger Things • Netflix • Upside Down Pictures & 21 Laps Entertainment for Netflix
Betsy Paterson, Visual Effects Supervisor
Michael Maher Jr., VFX Art Director
Sean Ames, Additional VFX Supervisor
Craig Seitz, Additional VFX Supervisor
Tessa Roehl, VFX Co-Producer
Chloe Lipp, Associate VFX Producer
Brad Tobler, Senior VFX Editor
Martin Hill, Senior VFX Supervisor, WĒTĀ FX Limited
Richard Thwaites, VFX Producer, WĒTĀ FX Limited
Bill Georgiou, VFX Supervisor, ILM
Jessica Smith, VFX Consultant
Mark Hawker, Special Effects Supervisor
Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Single Episode
Gen V • New Year, New U • Prime Video • Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios, Kripke Enterprises, Original Film, Point Grey Pictures
Karen Heston, Visual Effects Supervisor
Sean Tompkins, Visual Effects Producer
Clara Hill, Visual Effects Production Manager
Dane Collier, Visual Effects Editor
Andrew Simmonds, Visual Effects Supervisor (DNEG)
Oliver Eikhoff, Visual Effects Producer (DNEG) M
atthew Novak, CG Supervisor (EYELINE)
Bhanu Prakash, Sequence FX Lead (DNEG)
Hudson Kenny, SPFX Supervisor
A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms • In The Name Of The Mother • HBO Max • HBO in association with GRRM and Friendly Wolf Pictures
Arron Roebuck, Overall VFX Supervisor
Paul Russo, Overall VFX Producer
Luke Dhand, VFX Editor
Angel Rico Riesgo, VFX Supervisor at El Ranchito
Sonsoles L. Aranguren, Additional VFX Supervisor at El Ranchito
Rocío Ruiz de Azúa, VFX Producer at El Ranchito
Mike Dawson, SFX Supervisor
Tom Lloyd, SFX Floor Supervisor
Paul Tuersley, VFX Artist
Paradise • Exodus • Hulu • 20th Television
John Weckworth, VFX Supervisor John Stewart, VFX Supervisor Chapel Folger, VFX Producer
John Brennick, Compositing Supervisor Evan Underwood, CG/FX Supervisor Christian Day, Lead Lighter
Chris Messineo, FX Lead
Scott Gastellu, Compositing Lead
Linda Tremblay, Compositing Lead
Meliza Fermin, DMP Supervisor K
ristofer Cross, Associate Producer
Blair Foord, Special FX Coordinator
Spider-Noir • Nightmare On A Gurney • MGM+/Prime Video • Sony Pictures Television, Amazon MGM Studios, Marvel Studios
Hnedel Maximore, VFX Supervisor
Brooke Noska, VFX Producer
Adam Rothstein, Additional VFX Supervisor
Timothy Hanson, VFX On-Set Supervisor
Jorge Macias, Lead VFX Artist
Taylor Faulkinberry, Senior VFX Coordinator
Joseph C Bond IV, VFX Editor
Suzie Askham, VFX Supervisor (Cinesite)
Tommy Tran, VFX Supervisor (Barnstorm)
ameron Neilson, VFX Supervisor (ILM)
Adam Balentine, VFX Supervisor (Eyeline VFX)
Sebastiano D’Aprile, VFX Supervisor (CoSA VFX)
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon • Costa Da Morte • AMC • An AMC Studios Production in association with Idiotbox, Skybound, Circle of Confusion, Valhalla Entertainment and Remainder Men
Jao M’Changama, Overall VFX Supervisor
Justine Paynat-Sautivet, Senior VFX Producer
Sébastien Voisin, VFX Producer
Tim Binmoeller, VFX Editor
Vanya Karamehmedović, VFX Coodinator
Xavier Allard, VFX Supervisor (BUF)
Cem Olcer, Lead Artist (BUF)
Mathieu Legros, Ocean Sequence Supervisor (MRC)
Mathieu Malard, VFX Supervisor (Mathematic)
Pau Costa, SFX Supervisor
Brett Tierney, SFX Floor Supervisor
Keith Pullman, Supervising In-House Artist
