Rob Reiner earns Emmys nod for 'The Bear' 7 months after his death
Rob Reiner is a contender in this year's Emmys race.
The late filmmaker earned a posthumous nomination for outstanding guest actor in a comedy series on Wednesday, July 8, for his work on FX's restaurant dramedy "The Bear." Reiner portrayed businessman Albert Schnurr, a mentor to Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson) in Season 4.
It is unclear whether there were plans for Reiner to return for the show's fifth and final season, which began filming in January, weeks after his death at 78. However, "The Bear" continued Albert's storyline, making references to the businessman who (off-camera) partnered on an expansion. In the finale, Ebraheim called Albert to say that they'd found the "perfect" space.
"Anything else I can do?" Ebraheim asked before pausing to listen.
"As you wish," Ebraheim replied in homage to the 1987 film "The Princess Bride," directed by Reiner. Those are the iconic three words Westley (Cary Elwes) uses when responding to requests from Princess Buttercup (Robin Wright).
Reiner is nominated alongside Michael J. Fox and Brett Goldstein in "Shrinking," Hamish Linklater in "Widow's Bay," Christopher McDonald in "Hacks" and Connor Storrie in "Saturday Night Live."
While the Emmy Awards will take place on Monday, Sept. 14 (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on NBC and streaming on Peacock), the award for outstanding guest actor in a comedy series will be given out at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, scheduled for Sept. 5 and 6.
With the nomination, Reiner joins a short list of actors who have received posthumous bids, including Treat Williams, who died in 2023 at age 71, for best supporting actor in a series for "Feud: Capote vs. The Swans" (2024), and Ray Liotta, who died in 2022 at age 67, for best supporting actor in Apple TV's "Black Bird" (2023).
Chadwick Boseman, who died in August 2020, was also nominated for and won a posthumous Emmy Award at the 2022 Creative Arts Emmys for his role as Star-Lord T'Challa in the Disney+ series "What If...?"
Reiner and his wife, producer Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead in their Brentwood home on Dec. 14, 2025. Their son Nick Reiner, 32, was arrested later that evening for their murders. He pleaded not guilty in February, and his next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 15, the day after the Emmys.
In his lifetime, Rob Reiner received seven Emmy nominations. Most recently, he garnered two for 2023's "Albert Brooks: Defending My Life," outstanding directing for a documentary/nonfiction program and outstanding documentary or nonfiction special. For the latter honor, Michele was also nominated.
Reiner won two supporting actor statuettes for his portrayal of Archie Bunker's progressive son-in-law Michael "Meathead" Stivic on the 1970s CBS comedy "All in the Family." He missed his first win in 1974 while "very, very sick in bed," dad Carl Reiner explained as he accepted the trophy on his son's behalf.
"I hope this helps him get better. It's not going to hurt," the creator of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" quipped.
Carl, who died in 2020 of natural causes at age 98, told the audience that he and his family were "very, very, very proud of Rob" and his work on the Norman Lear show.
Carl presented his son with his second Emmy in 1978, a moment Reiner joked about in his acceptance speech.
"Talk about parental approval," Reiner cracked. "This is fabulous. A lot of you know me and know that I'm not very big with awards and award shows. But I'm very, very touched with this because it represents working with people that I loved and cared about, and I feel just very honored to have been a part of this show.
"We're all going tomorrow to Washington to be inducted into the Smithsonian," Reiner continued, "to meet President Carter in the Oval Office, and I feel very honored to be part of a show that had this kind of impact on America. Thank you very much."
Contributing: Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rob Reiner earns Emmys nod for 'The Bear' 7 months after his death
Reporting by Erin Jensen, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
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This story was originally published July 8, 2026 at 9:28 AM.