Short has been nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series five years in a row.

Steve Martin shares Martin Short’s torn-up acceptance speech after Emmys shut out Only Murders in the Building

Short has been nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series five years in a row.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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September 15, 2026 12:20 a.m. ET

Martin Short and Steve Martin at the 2026 Emmys in Los Angeles; Martin Short’s ripped-up Emmys speech. Credit:

Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty; steve martin/instagram

- Martin Short lost the Emmy for Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for the fifth consecutive year, this time to Matthew Rhys.

- The *Only Murders in the Building* star playfully tore up his would-be acceptance speech on camera.

- Steve Martin shared a photo of one of the scraps of his ripped-up speech.

*Only Murders in the Building* didn’t win any Emmys this year, and Steve Martin has documented a physical manifestation of the show’s defeat.

The *Father of the Bride* star shared a photo of a crumpled scrap of paper on the carpet of the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Monday night after his frequent collaborator Martin Short lost the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series to *Widow’s Bay* star Matthew Rhys.

A comment from the official *Only Murders* Instagram account confirmed that the paper was a fragment of Short’s unused speech that he’d prepared in the event of his victory in the category.

“Best ripped up speech award goes to Marty 💛,” the comment said.

Short ripped his speech up in a joking manner when the broadcast cut to his reaction after Rhys was announced as the winner. Since the paper was torn vertically, the fragment that Martin shared didn’t feature any complete sentences, but it did contain some key phrases, including “To my brilliant,” “good as winning,” “Oh yes Steve Martin…,” and “Boy is it fun.”

Martin Short and Steve Martin at the 2026 Emmys in Los Angeles.

Randy Shropshire/NBC via Getty

In addition to Short’s nomination, *Only Murders* was also nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series, and Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Program (Half-Hour), all of which were ultimately won by *Widow’s Bay*. It also received a nom for Outstanding Contemporary Costumes for a Series, but lost to *Margo’s Got Money Troubles*.

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Short has been nominated for each of *Only Murders*‘ five seasons as both an actor and as an executive producer on the show. The mystery-comedy has never won in either category.

*Only Murders* has been nominated for 61 Emmys across its five seasons, only winning seven. Nathan Lane is the show’s sole above-the-line victor for his guest role in its first season, and the show also took two awards for its music in its third season (which centered around a Broadway musical), three for its production design (in seasons 1, 2, and 3), and one for its sound mixing (in season 1).

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Short has two Emmy wins to his name across 23 total nominations, taking home a trophy for Outstanding Variety Special in 2014 for *AFI’s Tribute to Mel Brooks* and another for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program in 1983 for *SCTV Network*.

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Source: “EW Emmys”