TheWrap kicked off its second annual Showrunners and Creators of Emmy Season Breakfast on Thursday with the small screen’s top creatives coming out to toast the year’s best TV — and share the industry know-how and experiences that got them to where they are.
Series creatives from freshman hits like “Widow’s Bay” and “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” to returning series like “Abbott Elementary” and “Matlock” all joined TheWrap at the Maybourne Beverly Hills for the occasion, with “Matlock” Emmy nominee Kathy Bates opening the event with welcoming remarks that toasted everyone in attendance.
“From the outside, what you do can look effortless, but we know better. We know it’s long hours, constant problem-solving and a tremendous amount of responsibility resting on the shoulders of one person — the showrunner,” Bates said. “I’ve been an actor for a long time, and I can tell you the tone of the set, the focus on the quality of work, it all comes from the person who’s steering the ship.”
“A great showrunner doesn’t have just a vision, they carry it with them in their bones — every day, through every script, every conversation, every adjustment,” she continued. “And at the same time, they make space for everyone else to do their best work. And boy, that’s a tall order. And it matters more than ever right now. There’s so much competing for attention, but the shows that stay with us, the ones that really mean something, always come from clear, grounded human leadership.”
Sponsors of TheWrap’s Showrunners and Creators of Emmy Season Breakfast 2026 include Warner Bros. Television Group, Threads, the event’s official social media sponsor, and Ketel One Vodka, the official spirits sponsor, alongside table partners Apple TV, Disney, Oklahoma Department of Commerce, Universal Studio Group and WME.
Check out the full photo gallery of attendees, below.
Jennie Snyder Urman and Kathy Bates of “Matlock”
Greg Daniels, Oscar Nuñez, Chelsea Frei and Michael Koman of “The Paper”
Ava Coleman, Joya McCrory, Quinta Brunson, Kate Peterman, Justin Halpern, Patrick Schumacker and Brittani Nichols of “Abbott Elementary”
Kathy Bates
Katie Dippold, Showrunner and Creator, “Widow’s Bay”
Patrick Schumacker, Co-Showrunner, “Abbott Elementary”
Carolyn Cicalese and Susanna Fogel of “Ponies”
Oscar Nuñez and Chelsea Frei of “The Paper”
Justin Halpern, Co-Showrunner, “Abbott Elementary”
Jennie Snyder Urman, Showrunner and Creator, “Matlock”
Joya McCrory, Writer and Producer, “Abbott Elementary”
Eric Ledgin, Showrunner and Creator, “St. Denis Medical”
Quinta Brunson, Co-Showrunner and Creator, “Abbott Elementary,” Randall Winston, Producer, “Shrinking,” and Brittani Nichols, Writer and Executive Producer, “Abbott Elementary”
Oscar Nuñez, Michael Koman, Greg Daniels and Chelsea Frei
Katie Dippold
Eva Anderson, Executive Producer and Writer, “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” and Celeste Hughey, Showrunner and Creator, “The Burbs”
Greg Daniels and Steve Pond, TheWrap Executive Editor, Awards
Susanna Fogel and David Iserson of “Ponies”
VIP gift bag courtesy of Diageo
Ketel One Vodka and Seedlip alcohol-free Bloody Mary
Chelsea Frei, Carolyn Cicalese and Susanna Fogel
Kathy Bates and Jennie Snyder Urman
Susanna Fogel and David Iserson
Randall Winston and Eric Ledgin
Patrick Schumacker, Ava Coleman and Quinta Brunson
Patrick Schumacker
Quinta Brunson
Greg Daniels, Showrunner & Creator, “The Paper” and Director of Creator & Public Figure Partnerships, North America, Meta
Greg Daniels and Megan Bycel, Director of Creator & Public Figure Partnerships, North America, Meta
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Gianna Sobol, Writer, “The Testaments” and Nate Burke, Writer and Executive Producer, “The Testaments”
Shannon Mattingly, Senior Director, Media Partnerships, Meta and Chelsea Frei
TheWrap’s Showrunners and Creators of Emmy Season Breakfast 2026
Oscar Nuñez, Greg Daniels, Kathy Bates and Jennie Snyder Urman
Eric Ledgin and Randall Winston
Alex von Bargen, Head of WrapStyle and Publisher of “TheWrapBook”
Kathy Bates shares opening remarks during TheWrap’s Showrunners and Creators of Emmy Season Breakfast 2026
Steve Pond introduces the panelists
TheWrap’s Showrunners and Creators of Emmy Season Breakfast 2026
Justin Halpern
Katie Dippold
Bruce Miller, Showrunner and Creator, “The Testaments”
Susanna Fogel
David Iserson
(Back L to R) Steve Pond, Michael Koman, Greg Daniels, Celeste Hughey, Susanna Fogel, David Iserson and Eva Anderson; (Front L to R) Eric Ledgin, Jennie Snyder Urman, Patrick Schumacker, Justin Halpern, Katie Dippold and Bruce Miller
Michael Koman, Greg Daniels and Celeste Hughey
Patrick Schumacker and Justin Halpern
Celeste Hughey
Steve Pond and TheWrap’s Showrunners and Creators of Emmy Season Breakfast 2026 panelists
David Iserson
Bruce Miller
Eva Anderson
Nate Burke
Sherry Campbell, Community Outreach Director, Emerge Studios, Michael Musante, Meg Gould, Executive Director, Tulsa Office of Film, Music, Arts & Culture and Jeanette Stanton, Director, Oklahoma Film & Music Office
Alessandra Torre, Lead, Entertainment & Creator Industry Partnerships, Meta, Gianna Sobol and Megan Bycel
Susanna Fogel, Carolyn Cicalese and David Iserson
