‘Widow’s Bay’ Director Hiro Murai Makes Emmys History For Comedy
Hiro Murai has become the first Asian director to win an Emmy for comedy directing with Apple TV‘s Widow’s Bay.
Murai, who joins Lee Sung Jin for Beef Season 1 and Hwang Dong-hyuk for Squid Game Season 1, marks the third Asian director to win in any Emmy category. He directed five episodes of the first season of Widow’s Bay, and he also serves as executive series on the horror comedy show.
The director’s win contributes to the avalanche of trophies Widow’s Bay received at the 2026 Emmy Awards, from wins for actors Kate O’Flynn, Matthew Rhys and Stephen Root to Katie Dippold’s tropy. The show’s first season took home the Outstanding Comedy Series trophy as well.
“It feels really special,” he said of making history at the Emmys. “When I was a kid in film school, I didn’t see a lot of people who look like me in these kinds of rooms. So I do know that it means something. It feels a little surreal to be on this side of it, but yeah, I hope there’s way more Asian filmmakers coming out and knowing that this is possible.”
Murai was nominated alongside Randall Einhorn (Abbott Elementary), Christopher Storer (The Bear), Andrew DeYoung (The Chair Company), Lucia Aniello (Hacks) and Mary Lou Belli (The Ms. Pat Show).
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“Wow it is so scary up here,” Murai remarked as he took the stage for his acceptance speech. “I always say my job isn’t to make the show; it’s just to let the right people in the room, and we had the most beautiful, kindest, most gifted people in our room on this show.”
He was previously nominated for his directing on Atlanta, Station Eleven and Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and he shares an Emmy for The Bear in the Outstanding Comedy Series category from the 2023 Emmy Awards.
“I’d like to thank Matthew, Kate, Stephen, our entire cast, crew, post team, some people I’ve been doing this with from the very beginning,” Murai continued. “Katie Dippold, thank you for being brilliant and letting me ride shotgun. I’m so proud of everything we did. And most of all, I just want to thank my family and my partner Emma.”
When asked what advice he would give aspiring Asian filmmakers, Murai said: “It’s about finding the connection point between your own experiences and the material and really just trying to find something meaningful to you as an artist. Something you contribute to the project.”
Here’s what he had to say backstage:
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