Adult Animation Royalty Take Center Stage Across the 2026 Awards Season

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It has been a banner summer and fall for adult animation and iconic puppet comedy. From late-night triumphs at the Creative Arts Emmys to major victories at the Astra TV Awards and Imagen Awards, the industry’s top shows have stacked up serious hardware.

Here is a breakdown of how adult animation favorites and the acclaimed revival of The Muppet Show fared across the biggest awards ceremonies this season.

The 78th Creative Arts Emmy Awards

The Creative Arts Emmys delivered major wins for long-running staples and indie-born heavyweights alike.

The Muppet Show Revival Sweeps Up Four Emmys

Disney’s special revival of The Muppet Show—executive produced by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and special guest host Sabrina Carpenter—turned out to be one of the night’s biggest multi-category dominators. The special secured four major Creative Arts Emmy wins out of its six nominations:

  • Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded): Taking the top prize over heavy hitters like Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour, this win earned pop star Sabrina Carpenter her very first Primetime Emmy Award as an executive producer.

  • Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special: Awarded to head writer Albertina Rizzo alongside Gabe Liedman, Nedaa Sweiss, Kelly Younger, and Andrew Williams.

  • Outstanding Production Design for a Variety Special: Recognizing Denise Pizzini, Chet Maxwell, Robert Aguirre, and Bethany Barton for recreating the theater’s iconic stage nostalgia.

  • Outstanding Picture Editing for Variety Programming: Awarded to editor Kelly Lyon.

In addition to its wins, the special earned nominations for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or Special and Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance for Matt Vogel’s portrayal of Kermit the Frog.

South Park Takes Home Outstanding Animated Program (and Trolls Donald Trump)

In one of the night’s most talked-about moments, Comedy Central’s South Park claimed the coveted prize for Outstanding Animated Program for its satirical episode, “Sermon on the ‘Mount”.

The victory was especially sweet given the fierce competition in the category:

  • Bob’s Burgers – “Grand Pre-Pre-Pre-Opening” (Fox)

  • Rick and Morty – “There’s Something About Morty” (Adult Swim)

  • The Simpsons – “Homer? A Cracker Bro?” (Fox)

  • Smiling Friends – “Le Voyage Incroyable de Monsieur Grenouille” (Adult Swim)

  • Star Wars: Visions – “BLACK” (Disney+)

During the acceptance, the South Park team didn’t hesitate to lean into their trademark provocation, taking jab-filled aim at former President Donald Trump on stage. The satirical broadcast poke capped off a massive milestone for creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who continue to dominate prime-time satire nearly three decades in.

Juried Emmy Winners & Voice Performance

The Television Academy also handed out its juried Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation awards:

  • Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal (Adult Swim) earned two juried awards, honoring David Krentz for Storyboards and Scott Wills for Art Direction on “Kingdom of Sorrow” and “Vengeance of Death”.

  • Eyes of Wakanda (Disney+/Marvel Animation) picked up an award for Uzoma Dunkwu’s Character Design in “Into the Lion’s Den”.

  • The Mighty Nein (Prime Video/Titmouse/Critical Role) won for Howard Chen’s Background Design on “Mote of Possibility”.

  • Star Wars: Visions (Disney+/Kamikaze Douga) saw Takashi Okazaki awarded for Character Design on “The Duel: Payback”.

In the voice acting field, The Muppet Show (Disney+) earned a nomination for Matt Vogel, while Trey Parker (South Park) and Steven Yeun (Invincible) were also shortlisted for Character Voice-Over Performance.

The 2026 Astra TV Awards

Presented by the Hollywood Creative Alliance, the Astra TV Awards celebrated both mainstream streaming juggernauts and fan-favorite cult hits.

  • Hazbin Hotel (Prime Video): Vivienne Medrano’s musical-comedy powerhouse took home Best Animated Series. In individual categories, Stephanie Beatriz bagged Supporting Voice-Over Performance for her role as Vaggie.

  • The Muppet Show (ABC/Disney): Proving that foam-and-wire comedy still holds unmatched star power, The Muppet Show won Best Variety Special, beating out stiff live-action competition.

  • Witch Hat Atelier (Crunchyroll): The fantasy adaptation locked down Best Anime Series.

The 41st Annual Imagen Awards

Focusing on authentic Latino representation across entertainment, the Imagen Awards gave major nods to Prime Video’s adult animated universe.

  • Hazbin Hotel Wins Best Voice-Over Actor: Broadway veteran Daphne Rubin-Vega took home the trophy for her commanding performance as Carmilla Carmine in Hazbin Hotel. Rubin-Vega won over fellow castmates Stephanie Beatriz and Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer in a category dominated by the demon-rehabilitating series.

About John Schwarz

John is the Chief Editor and Founder of Bubbleblabber.com. While at first a part-time project, Bubbleblabber quickly grew into a full-fledged operation and officially became a company in 2014. When John isn't running a business full-time, he likes to go to concerts with your mother.