The Studio wins BAFTA and makes history Apfelpatient

Apple TV's comedy hit "The Studio" has won the 2026 BAFTA Television Award in the International category. This makes it the first comedy in history to sweep all the major industry awards in a single season after just one season – and also the most awarded series of the year.

The success story of "The Studio" reached a historic high point with its BAFTA win on May 10, 2026. Apple TV thus secured its first victory in the International category of the British television awards – and simultaneously set an industry record: no comedy had won in this category, usually dominated by dramas, for ten years. Apple was represented at the 2026 BAFTA Television Awards with a total of 15 nominations. The fact that the service so thoroughly dominates the industry's most important awards seasons underscores the strategy that Apple TV intends to further develop under Tim Cook's successor, John Ternus.

Apple wins three awards at the 2026 BAFTA Television Awards

Apple took home three awards that evening. In addition to the International win for "The Studio," "Slow Horses" won Best Screenplay in the Drama category – the award went to Will Smith. The documentary "Vietnam: The War That Changed America" won in the Director: Factual category, with Rob Coldstream taking the prize. The BAFTA Television Awards annually recognize the best British programming, acting performances, and productions.

Just a month earlier, Apple had already scooped up two more awards at the 2026 BAFTA Television Craft Awards: Writer: Drama for "Slow Horses" and Director: Factual for the Vietnam documentary. This continued the success of both productions throughout the entire British awards season.

Why "The Studio" keeps setting record after record

With its BAFTA win, "The Studio" becomes the first comedy ever to win all major awards in a single season. The show already holds the record for the most Emmy-winning debut comedy in history – 13 Emmys alone, including the top prizes for Outstanding Comedy and Outstanding Lead Actor for Seth Rogen.

In addition, it won Golden Globes for Best Comedy and Best Actor in a Comedy (again for Seth Rogen), Critics' Choice Awards for Best Comedy, Best Actor in a Comedy, and Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy (Ike Barinholtz), as well as an American Film Institute Award for TV Program of the Year. At the Actor Awards, the production also swept the categories of Outstanding Ensemble, Outstanding Male Actor (Seth Rogen), and Outstanding Female Actor (Catherine O'Hara). The Producers Guild, Writers Guild, Directors Guild, and numerous other industry associations also honored the series.

Apple TV as an award magnet: A review

In total, the awards for Apple Originals now amount to 817 wins from 3,498 nominations. The list ranges from comedy phenomena like "The Studio" and "Ted Lasso" to the global cultural event "Severance" and the most-watched Apple drama "Pluribus," all the way to "CODA" as an Oscar-winning Best Picture and "F1" as the highest-grossing sports feature film of all time. The standing the streaming service has now achieved is also reflected in the recent awards record: "The Studio" recently drew six nominations at the Gotham TV Awards, and at the Peabody Awards 2026, Apple TV took home two awards.

Apple's success story goes back a long way. At the 2025 BAFTA Television Awards, Apple took home four awards, including Editing: Fiction and Sound: Fiction for "Slow Horses," Original Music: Fiction for "Bad Sisters," and Children's Craft Team for "The Velveteen Rabbit." Four more wins followed in 2024, again with "Slow Horses" winning Editing and Sound, as well as Production Design and Original Music: Fiction for "Silo." "Bad Sisters" had already won in 2023 in the categories of Titles & Graphic Identity, Drama Series, and Supporting Actress (Anne-Marie Duff), while "The Essex Serpent" scooped the Costume Design award that same year.

What Apple derives from its success

Matt Cherniss, Head of Programming at Apple TV, described the series' journey as "historic" and highlighted the achievement of the creative team led by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. For a first season to garner all the relevant industry awards is extremely rare in modern television – and for Apple TV, it's welcome proof that its strategy of producing high-quality, prestigious content is paying off.

Apple is in the midst of a period where its streaming service is receiving greater attention, both in terms of content and finances. Just this past April, the service launched a subscriber survey on content and sports to gauge its future programming direction. Successes like the BAFTA win for "The Studio" are giving the service precisely the awards visibility it needs as a younger streaming provider competing with Netflix, HBO, and Disney+.

An overview of the three award-winning Apple productions

"The Studio" follows Seth Rogen as Matt Remick, the newly appointed head of the struggling Continental Studios. As the film industry fights for survival, Matt and his fractious management team juggle narcissistic artists and calculating corporate executives – always in a hopeless pursuit of the next big movie. Behind the power suits lies a constant state of panic, where every party, every set visit, every casting decision, and every awards show could potentially spell the end of their careers.

"Slow Horses" is a darkly comic spy series that follows a team of British intelligence agents in a storage department of MI5. Led by the brilliant yet insufferable Jackson Lamb – played by Oscar winner Sir Gary Oldman – the team navigates the deceptive world of espionage to protect England from sinister forces.

"Vietnam: The War That Changed America" is a documentary series narrated by Ethan Hawke, offering an in-depth look at one of history's longest wars. The story is told through personal eyewitness accounts and rarely seen archival footage. All three titles are currently streaming worldwide on Apple TV.

Apple's awards strategy is gaining momentum

The BAFTA win is more than just a single award. It confirms a trend that has intensified over the past few years: Apple TV has risen from a newcomer streaming service to one of the most prestigious destinations for high-quality series and films in just a few years. With "The Studio," it has now achieved what even established services have so far been unable to do – a comedy that sweeps all the relevant award categories in its debut season. For Apple, this is a strong signal at a time when streaming competition is intensifying and the service wants to position itself more clearly as a quality brand. (Image: Apple)