The 2026 visual effects nominations underline just how broadly high-end episodic VFX is now spread across the major streamers, but Apple TV had the strongest showing in the top seasonal/movie category. With Foundation, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, and Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age, Apple landed three of the six nominations in Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Season or Movie, a particularly strong result and highlights the range of work represented: large-scale science fiction, creature/kaiju spectacle, and natural history-style photoreal animation.
FX/Hulu also performed strongly with Alien: Earth, while Hulu appeared again in the single-episode category with Paradise. HBO Max had a solid year as well, with IT: Welcome to Derry in the season/movie category and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms recognised for a single episode. Netflix, perhaps surprisingly, had just one nomination in the provided VFX categories, but it was for Stranger Things, a show that remains one of the defining VFX-heavy series of the streaming era.
On the vendor side, the nominations reflect the increasingly distributed nature of episodic visual effects. Wētā FX and ILM were both recognised through Stranger Things, with ILM also appearing on Spider-Noir. DNEG had a strong showing through Gen V, while Eyeline appeared on both Gen V and Spider-Noir, reinforcing its position in high-end streaming and virtual production-adjacent work. El Ranchito stood out for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, continuing its association with prestige fantasy television. BUF, Cinesite, Barnstorm, CoSA VFX, Zoic Studios, Pixomondo, UPP, FIN VFX, Crafty Apes, Untold Studios, and others also appear across the nominations, showing just how vendor-rich these shows have become.
One interesting pattern is the sheer breadth of genres represented. The nominations are not just dominated by traditional superhero or space fantasy work. They include creature horror, prestige fantasy, dystopian science fiction, natural history reconstruction, superhero noir, zombie drama, and grounded speculative drama.
The nominations also point to a broader industry reality: the most competitive television VFX work is now routinely on the scale of feature film pipelines, but with the scheduling and delivery pressures of episodic production. The companies that did well are those able to support not just beautiful final images, but complex production management, on-set supervision, simulation, creature work, environments, and invisible effects across entire seasons. Apple’s showing may be the headline statistic, but the wider story is that premium episodic VFX is no longer a niche category. It is now one of the central battlegrounds for streamer identity and audience spectacle.
Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Season Or A Movie
Alien: Earth • FX/Hulu • FX Productions Jonathan Rothbart,
Production VFX Supervisor
James Ledwell, Production VFX Producer
Mitchell Callisch, Production VFX Production Manager
Woei Lee, Production Associate VFX Supervisor
David Fletcher, SFX Supervisor
Jeffrey A. Okun, On-Set VFX Supervisor
Chris Ritvo, VFX Supervisor (Untold Studios)
Viktor Müller, VFX Supervisor (UPP)
Aladino Debert, VFX Supervisor (Zoic Studios)
Will Towle, VFX Supervisor (FIN VFX)
Ryan Freer, VFX Supervisor (Pixomondo)
Maksim Došlo, VFX Supervisor (Crafty Apes)
Foundation • Apple TV • Skydance Television in association with Apple
Chris MacLean, Overall Visual Effects Supervisor
Jack Geist, Overall Visual Effects Producer
Gabriel Sanchez, Post Visual Effects Supervisor
Stephan Schaefholz, VFX Supervisor
Arnaud Brisebois, VFX Supervisor
Carlos Monzon, VFX Supervisor
Mathieu Assemat, VFX Supervisor
Stephen Elphick, VFX Supervisor
Jindřich Červenka, VFX Supervisor
Damien Hurgon, VFX Supervisor
Ed Bruce, VFX Supervisor
Jan Rejnuš, Special Effects Supervisor
IT: Welcome To Derry • HBO Max • HBO in association with Rideback, Vertigo Entertainment, FiveTen Productions, K Plus Ultra, Double Dream, and Warner Bros. Television
Daryl Sawchuk, Overall VFX Supervisor
Steve Dellerson, Overall VFX Producer
Pier Lefebvre, VFX Supervisor
Jordan Schilling, VFX Supervisor
Steven Tether, VFX Set Supervisor
Darcy Callaghan, SPX Supervisor
Zena Bielewicz, VFX Supervisor E
ric Withee, VFX Assoc Producer
Maria Sartzetaki, VFX Production Mgr
Sebastien Chartier, VFX Supervisor
Ben King, VFX Supervisor
Lara Ramirez, VFX Editor
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters • Apple TV • Legendary Television in association with Apple
Sean Konrad, VFX Supervisor
Elizabeth Willaman, VFX Producer
Bryn Morrow, On-Set VFX Supervisor
Marc Varisco, On-Set VFX Supervisor
Bryan Hirota, VFX Supervisor
Pier Lefebvre, VFX Supervisor
Cody Baker, Colourist
Julian Summers, SFX Supervisor
Kelly Redmond, SFX Coordinator
Jeremy Burns, Additional VFX Supervisor
Lara Bannister, VFX Production Manager
Jourdan Bizou, Visualization Supervisor
Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age • Apple TV • BBC Studios in association with Apple
Russell Dodgson, VFX Supervisor
Andrew R. Jones, Animation Director
Rupert Smith, VFX Producer
Tracey Gibbons, VFX Producer
Benjamin Loch, VFX Supervisor
Francois Dumoulin, VFX Supervisor
Romain Rico, VFX Supervisor
Gavin McKenzie, VFX Supervisor
Brian Fisher, Technical Reference Puppeteer
Alvise Avati, Animation Supervisor
Adrien Annesley, Animation Supervisor
Liam Russell, Animation Supervisor
Stranger Things • Netflix • Upside Down Pictures & 21 Laps Entertainment for Netflix
Betsy Paterson, Visual Effects Supervisor
Michael Maher Jr., VFX Art Director
Sean Ames, Additional VFX Supervisor
Craig Seitz, Additional VFX Supervisor
Tessa Roehl, VFX Co-Producer
Chloe Lipp, Associate VFX Producer
Brad Tobler, Senior VFX Editor
Martin Hill, Senior VFX Supervisor, WĒTĀ FX Limited
Richard Thwaites, VFX Producer, WĒTĀ FX Limited
Bill Georgiou, VFX Supervisor, ILM
Jessica Smith, VFX Consultant
Mark Hawker, Special Effects Supervisor
Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Single Episode
Gen V • New Year, New U • Prime Video • Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios, Kripke Enterprises, Original Film, Point Grey Pictures
Karen Heston, Visual Effects Supervisor
Sean Tompkins, Visual Effects Producer
Clara Hill, Visual Effects Production Manager
Dane Collier, Visual Effects Editor
Andrew Simmonds, Visual Effects Supervisor (DNEG)
Oliver Eikhoff, Visual Effects Producer (DNEG) M
atthew Novak, CG Supervisor (EYELINE)
Bhanu Prakash, Sequence FX Lead (DNEG)
Hudson Kenny, SPFX Supervisor
A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms • In The Name Of The Mother • HBO Max • HBO in association with GRRM and Friendly Wolf Pictures
Arron Roebuck, Overall VFX Supervisor
Paul Russo, Overall VFX Producer
Luke Dhand, VFX Editor
Angel Rico Riesgo, VFX Supervisor at El Ranchito
Sonsoles L. Aranguren, Additional VFX Supervisor at El Ranchito
Rocío Ruiz de Azúa, VFX Producer at El Ranchito
Mike Dawson, SFX Supervisor
Tom Lloyd, SFX Floor Supervisor
Paul Tuersley, VFX Artist
Paradise • Exodus • Hulu • 20th Television
John Weckworth, VFX Supervisor John Stewart, VFX Supervisor Chapel Folger, VFX Producer
John Brennick, Compositing Supervisor Evan Underwood, CG/FX Supervisor Christian Day, Lead Lighter
Chris Messineo, FX Lead
Scott Gastellu, Compositing Lead
Linda Tremblay, Compositing Lead
Meliza Fermin, DMP Supervisor K
ristofer Cross, Associate Producer
Blair Foord, Special FX Coordinator
Spider-Noir • Nightmare On A Gurney • MGM+/Prime Video • Sony Pictures Television, Amazon MGM Studios, Marvel Studios
Hnedel Maximore, VFX Supervisor
Brooke Noska, VFX Producer
Adam Rothstein, Additional VFX Supervisor
Timothy Hanson, VFX On-Set Supervisor
Jorge Macias, Lead VFX Artist
Taylor Faulkinberry, Senior VFX Coordinator
Joseph C Bond IV, VFX Editor
Suzie Askham, VFX Supervisor (Cinesite)
Tommy Tran, VFX Supervisor (Barnstorm)
ameron Neilson, VFX Supervisor (ILM)
Adam Balentine, VFX Supervisor (Eyeline VFX)
Sebastiano D’Aprile, VFX Supervisor (CoSA VFX)
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon • Costa Da Morte • AMC • An AMC Studios Production in association with Idiotbox, Skybound, Circle of Confusion, Valhalla Entertainment and Remainder Men
Jao M’Changama, Overall VFX Supervisor
Justine Paynat-Sautivet, Senior VFX Producer
Sébastien Voisin, VFX Producer
Tim Binmoeller, VFX Editor
Vanya Karamehmedović, VFX Coodinator
Xavier Allard, VFX Supervisor (BUF)
Cem Olcer, Lead Artist (BUF)
Mathieu Legros, Ocean Sequence Supervisor (MRC)
Mathieu Malard, VFX Supervisor (Mathematic)
Pau Costa, SFX Supervisor
Brett Tierney, SFX Floor Supervisor
Keith Pullman, Supervising In-House Artist