How to Watch the 2026 Emmy Awards

The Television Academy has been switching some stuff up for the 78th Emmy Awards. First off, they’re already halfway over. The Academy dropped the “Creative Arts” off the Creative Arts Emmys, meaning all three nights of trophy-giving are just called “the Emmys” now. Also, the main event is on a Monday this year. Traditionally, the big awards shows are on Sunday, in honor of the Lord (HBO CEO Casey Bloys). But on years that NBC broadcasts the ceremony, the awards take place on Monday so as not to conflict with Sunday Night Football — a classic jocks–vs.–theater geeks scenario. To see which theater geeks could win trophies Monday, which ones are handing them out, and everything else to know about the 2026 Emmy Awards, read on.

Who’s nominated?

The Pitt leads in nominations, unsurprisingly, with 25 potential statuettes for everyone’s favorite medical drama. The final season of Hacks is in second place with 24 nominations. Apple TV’s new hit shows Widow’s Bay and Pluribus also had strong showings, with 19 and 18 noms, respectively. Colman Domingo was double-nominated, with one Guest Actor nod for Euphoria (which he lost to The Pitt’s Ernest Harden Jr. on Sunday) and one Supporting Actor nom for The Four Seasons. Matthew Rhys is also a double nom, for Widow’s Bay and The Beast in Me, and he can still win both.

Who is hosting, and who is presenting?

Mariska Hargitay (who won two Emmys already for her documentary, My Mom Jayne) is hosting the ceremony, the first woman to do so in 15 years. It makes sense for NBC; those guys love them some Detective Olivia Benson. Seriously, the NBCUniversal cafeteria in Los Angeles has loving portraits of the most important stars in its 100-year history: the Jaws shark, the Bride of Frankenstein, Oppenheimer, Olivia Benson, a Jurassic Park velociraptor, and Ted. They really love Ted.

NBC also announced some of the presenters for this year’s telecast. Zendaya, David Harbour, Florence Pugh, Amy Poehler, and Jon Hamm are all set to present. Bangel fans will be delighted to know both Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz are presenting as well. Some sort of Charlie’s Angels reunion seems likely, as Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith, and Cheryl Ladd are all appearing.

What did the Creative Arts Emmys tell us?

After Emmys nights one and two, the inaugural season of Widow’s Bay appears to be trouncing the final season of Hacks. This could impact one of the year’s most interesting races: Lisa Kudrow vs. Jean Smart. Both women are nominated for their final performance of an aging woman in comedy, raging against the dying of TV as they know it in the face of AI.

Stephen Colbert may possibly repeat his win for Outstanding Talk Series, as The Late Show cleaned up on nights one and two. Given that a Trump-tweaking season won South Park its first Emmy since 2013, it’s safe to bet that anyone MAGA hates the TV Academy loves.

How do I watch the red carpet?

The real question is how can you not watch the Emmys red carpet one way or another? E! will have its usual live broadcast, Live From E!: Countdown to the 2026 Emmys, starting at 5 p.m. ET. CNN and Variety will be doing a joint broadcast at the same time. And the Associated Press usually has a stream of the step-and-repeat on YouTube.

And what about the main event?

The 78th Emmy Awards will broadcast live on NBC and stream on Peacock starting at 8 p.m. ET.